E-mails From Strategy

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

since this is essentially the thread about nothing, what kind of capital would I need to start out doing what you do?

[Balloon guy 158]

since this is essentially the thread about nothing, what kind of capital would I need to start out doing what you do?

The balloon business is about image. Professionalism is a hard image to obtain. The balloon guy is the lowest person on the job usually, but sometimes they are the most important, like at all political rallies, or at New Year's Eve.A good blower can set you back $200. A auto-sizer from Conwin runs about $800. Quality nozzles run about $150 each.Then you just need a job and you buy the latex to order.Skills though....they are priceless. Case in point yesterday:It seemed like any ordinary balloon job. My client, ATP, is having a convention at the Westin. They wanted imprinted balloons to last 4 days. They first asked about latex....latex? Those last 12-16 hours. But that's the job, educating while selling. She eventually went the way so many balloon clients go, cheap. She orders foil balloons herself ( foil is the correct word, not Mylar, which is a trade marked name for the material, so not used when discussing foil balloons ) she ordered foil balloons from an imprinting company. One of those promotional ens, cups awards etc companies. Of course they over heated the application of the logo on their 18" round purple foils...rookies.The result was that the foils were fused together, and as I inflated them, they began ripping. About 1 in 3 were able to inflate, 2 in 3 popped. This set the client into shock. I was being paid $500 to inflate 250 foil balloons and attach them to a ribbon and then cluster them into groups of 15 in each cluster. So pop or not, I was being paid the same, and since they ordered these themselves, I was relaxed knowing that I carried no blame.The poor woman was at her wits end, and being a gentleman I offered the best advice in the industry: "If the biggest problem you have in a 4 day conference is these balloons, then you'll be just fine"She was not to be consoled though, so I began applying my extensive knowledge of the industry and took control."Get me an ironing board and an iron with a low setting."I then departed, as I had another party to do. I finished that one in record time and raced back. The ironing board had arrived and was waiting for me in the office, but alas the client had decided to hold an impromptu meeting on the ironing board with the chef and the catering manager for the Westin. Of course I remembered my place and after passing by twice to let her see me and realize that I had arrived, I then laid down on a sitting couch where I nearly fell asleep. 30 minutes passed, and I had a nice rest when the meeting broke up. I then went to work. I set the iron on low, took a sheet of paper and placed it on the foils over the imprint. I then passed the iron over the paper ( the paper was necessary to create a barrier between the thin fragile mylar material and the hot iron ) I removed the paper and tried to inflate it. The mylar was still sticking, but I slowly added helium at short bursts to create the pressure needed to separate the top from the bottom. IT GAVE! I was able to continue the job, and the client was thrilled. I was able to save about 30 foils that otherwise would have been good for nothing, and finished the clustering, being careful to only curl the tails with a modicum of pressure to ensure a soft curl and not the dreaded rookie looking 'pig tail' that so many of my brethren are guilty of. Oh the shame for my industry.The client was so happy she gave me a $50 target gift card which is a standard thing for meeting planners to give out as thank you's. I of course gave this to my wife later.Then off I rushed to my last job for the day, feeling the pride only the most skilled craftsman can feel, knowing they have exhausted the depths of their skills to overcome the adversity that would have crushed a weaker man.The delay however was a bad one. It was 2:15 and I had to drive 15 minutes to my warehouse where my recently repaired 8' tall Oscar was waiting to be delivered to a $12mm home at the nicest country club in the desert. I decided not to pre-load the Oscar that morning since it had fresh paint and glitter and I didn't want to get high driving the van since the AC is out and it was 85 degrees out. So I rushed to the warehouse, cleaned up, threw out 2 empty helium tanks ( don't get me started about the recent 50% increase in helium prices ) and loaded the Oscar and the base. Added the needed light and thanked my good fortune that the lights I would need were already loaded from the last party I did the night before. As I left I texted my client that I would be there are 3 for the 4PM start of the Oscar viewing party at this swanky house. He texted back please don't be later than 3. It was 2:35 and I had a 25 minute drive so off I flew. 1 mile away though I realized my mistake.I had done a job the night before where I was paid to light a golf course green behind the house of a man throwing a birthday party. $545 to put two 8' tall light towers with 3 source 4 lights on each. The job went fine, the midnight strike was annoying, but a good cigar and a book helped me as I listened to crappy DJ music while they went an hour past their 11 PM end time they had confirmed with me.The Oscar party requested a light tower in back with 2 lights on a dimmer to illuminate the area in the back yard that was too dark to comfortably seat guests. As I drove away I realized I had forgotten to grab the 4' extensions for the 2 1/2 inch pipe that I used for my light towers. I had two 8' pieces, but no way to make them 12'. It was make or break time. Do I turn around, and add 15 minutes to my time because of the need to unlock a gate, go in and retrieve the 4' extensions, and close the gate, all resulting in my arrival around 3:15 or even later...or do I just drive on and figure something out?Of course I trusted my vast experience at problem solving, and hoped there would be a way to place the 8' light tower on an elevated area to get the lights high enough to light up a back yard I had never seen....There wasn't.In fact the place I was told they wanted the lights was the lowest point in the yard. That's when my skills kicked in. I took the 8' pole and screwed it into the 50 lb base plate, added the 2 35# sand bags, and then found a ladder. I took my second pipe, and placed it half way up the first pipe. I then used gaf tape and began wrapping the two pipes together, obtaining a 12' tall pipe in the process. I know what you're thinking ( besides thinking you can't believe I wrote all this ): "Why didn't he lay the pipes down and tape them on the ground instead of holding a 10# pipe in one hand and try to tape it with the other?"Silly question.But if you saw how packed the tables were, and the location I had to place the base plate you wouldn't have asked that question. I had to wedge the base plate between 3 small cactus plants that required me to lift up their arms in order to slide the 50# base plates under the plants without damaging the plants. Of course I could never had done this with a 12' pole throwing off my ability to maneuver the base plate into position. ( and yes I was pricked twice, drawing blood )So after adding 5 more sections of tape for redundancy ( a safety factor necessary when suspending a pair of 1000 watt lights 12' above the heads of millionaires ) I was able to achieve the necessary rigidity needed to clamp on the two lights. I like to think I saved the party, but to the client, I just lit up the back yard. And you know what? That's all I ever want them to think.And then I found $5.

[strategy 4]

you have successfully talked me out of wanting to do your job. but that story is great.

[iZuma 764]

balloonguy is the beans of party planning

[mk 11]

They first asked about latex....latex?

Vandelay Industries?

[akoff 0]

BG you lost me at 545.00 for a night job...1k min for shift work!!

[DJ Vu 176]

( don't get me started about the recent 50% increase in helium prices )

I know, right? Should be way higher.

balloonguy is the beans of party planning

Seriously.

[Balloon guy 158]

BG you lost me at 545.00 for a night job...1k min for shift work!!

Load time-5 minutesDrive time-30 minutesSet up time-15 minutesStrike time-5 minutesReturn drive time-30 minutesTotal time-1 hour 25 minutes1 of 3 events that day. 1 smaller, 1 largerSmoked a cigar during strike, listened to Phil Hendrie during return drive.

[Balloon guy 158]

I know, right? Should be way higher.

When I started I paid $24 for a 219 cubic foot tank. 19964 months ago I paid $52 a tank.Now I pay $84 a tank.An 11" latex balloon take .5 cubic feet of gas to inflate. So a 219 does roughly 400 balloons.Here's the interesting thing; a 16" balloon, only 50% larger in size, takes 3Xs the gas to inflate; 1.5 cubic feet.The same day as the day I lit up the green I was at another party at that same country club and they had requested an arch for the guest to enter through. Of course this always sounds great, but the truth is a home does not ever have the space needed to place a pure helium arch properly. So I proposed to instead do an air filled arch built on a metal frame. This requires a bit more work, but no helium, meaning that a small breeze will not render it an obstacle instead of an entrance enhancer.The client, who lives in a country club that requires you to own property in the club before you can pay the $200K to join and $30K a year in dues, did not want to pay the $300 I would have charged for this entrance decor so instead called me direct and ordered 15 3' balloons and 40 16" balloons, all white.Now I've done enough jobs to know that this would not be this simple. Clients never think about how they are planning to place these floating balloons. So I made 15 rice bags ( funny story but when I first started, I was looking for the correct material to fill small mylar bags to act as weights for balloon clusters and the first thing I tried was 50# sacks of rice, But the weight of a grain of rice and the cost was not as advantageous as rock salt, so I quickly switched to rock salt. Crushed rock salt is large heavy, readily available thanks to water softening equipment and if a client gets drunk and breaks the bag, rock salt will be easy to sweep up, and unlike sand ( which I know you thought of since I live in the desert ) does not damage a dance floor when spilled on. But the short time we made 'rice bags' created a name that we stuck with for the last 16 years, even though we normally use crushed rock salt ) 15 rice bags and cut 90 ribbon.I arrived and found out they wanted a few clusters ( told you ) at specific places, then wanted me to float the rest in their living room's ceiling. So I did the job, ended up with 12 extra rice bags ( which I needed for the next day anyway ) and a happy client. At strike I was met by 8-10 young men who had a little too much to drink, a pile of vomit in the drive way, and a pile of pizza boxes in the kitchen. This struck me as weird because I had placed a moon balloon next to the buffet that included a full grill for cooking the food the country club was catering. Yet the client had ordered at least 10 pizzas on top of his food for the party. And this is not the first time I'd seen this happen. They hire a caterer who charges at least $40 per person to feed them high end food, and they end up ordering half a dozen pizzas for the late night partiers.Oh but the balloons took a lot of helium and I am glad I raised my prices to $20 per 3' and $4 per16", plus 18% delivery charge

[Balloon guy 158]

balloonguy is the beans of party planning

I don't see it.First I don't use enough spaces between sentencesSecond I use longer paragraphsThird I'm not as funnyFourth I recognize that my Christian perspective prevents me from mentioning so many things' like the exact same party I wrote about first, the one I lit up the green, when I first arrived I walked along the side yard to carry the lights in back and walked right by the bathroom where the couple were both naked and getting dressed for the party. This happens way more often than you can imagine, and I always avert my eyes. ( It makes it easier that most of the time these are older couples, but I am also very conscience that this is my best client, this club, and anything I do to threaten my work there threatens my entire livelihood now that business is of 90% from its peak )I also will probably never mention the dentist I went to yesterday, a cute woman who rubbed her breasts against the top of my head numerous times yesterday while re-filling 2 cavities that had degraded enough to require repair.I just have too many restrictions on my stories to be in the same ballpark as Beans.

[akoff 0]

Load time-5 minutesDrive time-30 minutesSet up time-15 minutesStrike time-5 minutesReturn drive time-30 minutesTotal time-1 hour 25 minutes1 of 3 events that day. 1 smaller, 1 largerSmoked a cigar during strike, listened to Phil Hendrie during return drive.

cigar time changes everything!!

[Balloon guy 158]

Today I did a pre-light for a show on Saturday.I was given the Edmonton Oiler's logo and made it into a gobo Which is a glass lens with the logo embedded in it that I can shoot through a Leko light and project the image onto any surface.So I had the idea to shoot the gobo onto the golf course so it could be seen from the private restaurant at the country club. The owner of the Oilers is a member there and is having the whole team come down for a party.The golf course is pitch black at night.The gobo looked amazing. But they had sent me the wrong logo. they sent me last year's image that had a red border around it.They already spent $750 on the two gobos and now the party is 4 days away so I had to place a rush order on the correct gobo and that's an additional $350So they are $1800 in and the party hasn't even started.The image looked so good from the restaurant, but from the grass it was so elongated that it looked weird.Of course I had to take down the 12' tall light tower so the golf course cna be used, but I'll re-set it Saturday and focus it during the event when it is dark enough.Smoked a cigar while playing with it though.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

you gonna be there to see the team?I have some inside info for you to exploit if so.

[Balloon guy 158]

you gonna be there to see the team?I have some inside info for you to exploit if so.

I'm sure I'll see them. but I won't know any of them.I'm much more excited about making 3 grand for a days work

[akoff 0]

I'm sure I'll see them. but I won't know any of them.I'm much more excited about making 3 grand for a days work

not sure it would matter if you did know any of them!

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

not the biggest of reactions from the market today because of how solid the jobless claims and ADP numbers were. this was, for the most part, priced in earlier this week. the headline was great, revisions were just as nice.I'm trying very hard not to get too optimistic. the run in early 2010 wasn't nearly as long-lived, but it looked just as strong and folded super quick with the europe situation. the idea that people were still talking about QE just a few weeks ago is pretty laughable to me. at this rate, the fed might start dumping stuff off of its balance sheet before the election.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

There are still a lot of icebergs out there that can put a shock into things.Europe is still a cluster****. China could still have a hard landing although not likely this year and of course who knows what Israel is going to do about Iran's nukes. The best time for them to attack is before the election when they know that all American politicians will have to support them.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

are you short or something? serious question

[ShakeZuma 585]

jesus what is with you guys calling people short?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

are you short or something? serious question

When I'm in Hong Kong I don't feel short.

[Balloon guy 158]

There are still a lot of icebergs out there that can put a shock into things.Europe is still a cluster****. China could still have a hard landing although not likely this year and of course who knows what Israel is going to do about Iran's nukes. The best time for them to attack is before the election when they know that all American politicians will have to support them.

I heard a guy on the radio who was someone important wrt Israel.His point was that if President Obama is losing, it is likely he will take care of Iran as a way of cementing his place in history, and because he will not care about how his base feels about it.If President Obama is close or leading big, he will be too worried about his base to take any action, thus leaving Israel on its own to handle the situation.He felt any Republican would delay any action for a while because of the need to not be a Bush clone who 'goes right into a war' right after taking office, thus leaving it to Israel again.So either President Obama needs to have no chance, or Israel is going to have to bomb Iran themselves.So it is likely President Obama will be taking out Iran's Nuke program sometimes in October

[mk 11]

So it is likely President Obama will be taking out Iran's Nuke program sometimes in October

I say this as someone who is pretty fiercely against all this foreign adventurism, but let's not forget that Ahmadinejad is totally crazy, and a nuclear Iran on his watch is terrible for everybody.And that's not like the royal everybody, but rather the literal everybody.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

I say this as someone who is pretty fiercely against all this foreign adventurism, but let's not forget that Ahmadinejad is totally crazy, and a nuclear Iran on his watch is terrible for everybody.And that's not like the royal everybody, but rather the literal everybody.

There's a royal everybody?

[DJ Vu 176]

if you were a bank president and a subordinate asked for a raise armed with your FDIC filings and relevant salary data from BLS's OES, would you be offended or impressed?

[The Ocho 970]

if you were a bank president and a subordinate asked for a raise armed with your FDIC filings and relevant salary data from BLS's OES, would you be offended or impressed?

LOL, this cannot be a serious question.