Sunday, May 15, 2016

Balloon Jams Part 2 Why sharing your designs is not bad for business



Balloon Jams Part 2 Why sharing your designs is not bad for business

This article is about why sharing your ideas and designs at a Balloon JAM is never a bad idea.

Auditions
Besides the Fun you'll have at the Jam and being around others that think a bit twisted like you do, Jamming gives you the chance to see the skill levels of the other twisters in your neighborhood. By watching what they can do you can find out who has the skills you can trust should you need to find a second, third or eighteenth twister for one of your gigs. Try asking for an audition for any one of the local twisters and you'' probably get some less than enthusiastic responses, but ask that same twister to show you how to do a parrot, a stork, an anteater  or other odd ball request and they'll bend over backwards to show their skill at a Jam.

Networking
It's the number one reason to Jam for me- as I can not only find out who can do what and how well, but I can see a bit of their show style as well. I don't do racy designs nor do I allow the twisters I hire for my big events so hearing a twister offhandedly remarking about their latest stripper event is one artist that will go on my "Not Likely" hire page. 

Education
Classes and Conventions are great ways to further one's education, but they are few and sometimes far between. Jams are usually to be attended for the price of a meal. What? Yes, the So Cal Jams are held at restaurants willing to have a bunch of twisters sitting around for a few hours, making cool stuff, and eating! SO instead of airfare, hotel and attendance fees, a 20$ bill for a decent meal and a night out with friends is a cheap way to boost my knowledge base. We do tip the servers well as we can be both loud and can be a bit messy, but they and their customers often get the left over designs and more than one of us have gone away with a booked gig! 

Another reason that I share my designs is that when I see that there are newbie twisters at a Jam I want the overall level of community twisting to be high, that is, even if I don't get all the gigs in my area, by sharing my better designs with the newbies, I know that the overall skill set of twisters is higher so all the potential clients are exposed to a better set of skills. And of course better skills translate to more money. 

Money
Since it is both ethically and legally wrong to try to fix prices, what each person charges for their own gigs is of course their own business, however Jams are a great forum to find out why a price is set, how to calculate a better price or even find ways to keep a close eye on costs through conversing with others in your trade. We also talk about what computer programs work best for tracking gigs, contracts and bookings- 

Lastly, what designs do I share?
Well, the infamous DC told us at a Jam one time that he never shared his "New" stuff, just the reasonably new ideas. and that makes perfect sense. We do not have to feel like we must share our super secret ideas, nor our actual costs or how we are able to close 99 percent of the gigs we do. Each artist chooses how much to share. I can do 30 plus types of balloon dogs, but I won't make my top-of-the-line 6 Balloon Show stopper jusy for the Birthday girl 'Fancy' Poodle, but I will show them my great 4 balloon Parisian Poodle. Hey, a guy's got to have a few secrets, right?     


Monday, May 2, 2016

Balloon Jams Part 1 Why sharing your designs is not bad for business

Jam Night Fun
So Cal Jam Night 

Balloon Jams- Part 1

Why sharing your designs is not bad for business 

We've all seen them, gotten invites to them, and some of us get asked to donate products to them. For those that haven't gone are you asking yourself things like, "Why should I go to a place, twist my best stuff and show everyone how I make the things I do?" Or, "Won't the people there try to steal my ideas, my clients, or move in to my territory? I mean, won't it be just like I am handing my clients right to them?"

Jams are all about like minded people getting together to share ideas, techniques or to just have a ball with other people that think like them. They are a safe zone, a haven for us odd balls that have chosen twisting as a hobby or livelihood. I come from a place where Balloon Jams were held A LOT! At one time there were 12 Jams a month and I attended 9 to 11 of them every month. Did some of my clients end up using my "competition" that was also there?  Yes. Because I went to the Jam? No. I provide a service for my clients and when I can no longer provide what they need, it's really in both our interests for them to seek out others to fill that need. I know that they will call me back when they need what I can do. I offer myself as Balloon Twister,  Face Painter, Glitter and Air Brush Tattooist, but I am not a Stilt Walker, nor a Juggler, nor a Fire eater/ Dancer nor do I dress in Costumes or in Clown. I know what I know and I want to focus on being the best I can be at what I already do. That means I train. The best way I learn is hands on.

Jams are about Teaching, Learning, Fun, Fellowship and sharing ideas on how to move businesses forward. Sometimes business practices are shared, marketing techniques revealed, or names of clients dropped, but the Jam is more. Lots more and I'll have more next time, in " Balloon Jams Part 2. Why sharing your designs is not bad for business"




Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Video Page on the way!

Hey all,

What's new:

I have been working on getting the new section up and running on the new website. Found a great resource and I have been moving along a bit faster than I had thought I would be so the Video page will be up on schedule.

Whats Coming:

Currently I have two videos for the products I make, I will be making one new video for each of the products that will highlight both the product and how to get the most out of it.
Every purchase will have the link to these video instructions included in the box so you will never be but a computer away from product help.

Ken

Monday, April 25, 2016

New! New Site, New Attitude!

NEW SITE!

Yes, this is a  new site and it's designed to help you find what you want faster. We put a SHOP NOW button right on the landing page to take you directly to the shopping page, simply go to the site and click the SHOP  NOW button and start choosing your stuff!

This blog page is for letting you know what is New and what is Coming Soon- both designed for keeping you in the loop. As we come up with more great products, we'll announce them here first, then the Face Book forums.  Be sure to check back often as we plan on doing something new every week!

First Item that is "Coming Soon" is a Video page to let you know how to use or setup or get the most out of our products. That will be on this site, and will be a one click to view process. I anticipate this online and running in one week, so come on back by 5/1/16 !