The Trifecta of Art, Entertainment, and Business

Being a full time balloon artist and face painter is kind of like taking three (or more) people’s jobs and trying to combine them into one. Not only do we have to be skilled artists who produce dazzling designs, but we have to be entertaining and personable. Not only that, but we have to make it all work out financially so we can support ourselves and continue to wow customers like you for years to come!

How Long Does It Take To Learn How To Twist Balloons?

One of the questions that I get asked most often is how long does it take to be able to do that? (make balloons at my skill level) I answer by sharing my story. I first decided to start twisting balloons after my wife encouraged me to start learning. She had already been making balloon art for a few years and I saw how much fun she was having making balloon animals for people at restaurants.

I said to myself, I’m good at drawing and have artistic abilities so twisting balloons should be a piece of cake! Well, it turned out to be much more difficult than I thought. One of the most difficult things for me starting out was just tying the knot in the balloon to start the design! I blame it on my large fingers of course.

But that was just the beginning of my problems. Next I had to memorize how much air to put into the balloon before beginning to make each shape. If I put too much in then the balloon would get too tight before I was done with the shape and It would explode violently and scare the beans out of me!

Many balloons were sacrificed in order for me to learn my craft.

It was really frustrating. So much so that I called it quits two different times before I actually stuck with it. When I finally decided to get serious, I practiced every day for two weeks straight. I’d twist balloons for several hours in a row going through a list of about twenty different designs. Eventually I got to the point where I could make them quickly and was pretty consistent with each design.

Becoming An Entertainer

It was time to start making balloon designs for people, and this is when it became clear that I needed to work on the next facet of a successful balloon artist: being entertaining and personable.

You see it’s not enough to just be able to make a design. You need to make it and at the same time be entertaining and engage with your audience. This is where true balloon making or face painting mastery is needed. You need to be able to create the design with your hands, and be thinking about something else with your mind in order to engage with your clients while creating your work of art! It’s hard to go back and forth between conversation/banter and artwork, and it’s something that has taken me years to get down. It’s also something that we need to continue to work on forever to stay fresh and improve.

What good is it to make the most intricate balloon design if everyone around you is bored to death? The process itself can be interesting to watch, but the best balloon artists embellish and add in playful routines to transform their art into entertainment.

Turning It Into A Business

A successful balloon artist or face painter can’t stop there though, they also need to be able to run a business, or they’ll end up having to hang up their balloon apron for good!

We get asked all the time if we can donate our services. We get it. What we do brings smiles to people’s faces and can really lift up people who are having a hard time. We wish we could just work and only need the reward of making people happy, but good feelings alone don’t feed and clothe our family.

Not only can we not work for free, but we can’t undercharge either.

There are many expenses that go into running a business: supplies, web hosting, advertising, vehicle maintenance, phone and internet bills, etc. etc. Add in our everyday expenses to just live, and then you realize that in order to make a full time entertainment business work, it needs to be run like a real business . . . because it is one! In order for us to entertain you, and to bring joy to the most people possible we need to be running at a profit.

Jelly and I didn’t have any background in business or entrepreneurship, so this has been a big hurdle for us. It’s hard to understand just how much you need to know until you’re in the thick of it! Luckily, we have had some amazing mentors who have helped us out immensely.

So here we are, doing all of these things. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, but we’re learning every day and it’s a blast entertaining and meeting super awesome people and families all over Minnesota! Hopefully I’ve opened up a small window for you into what it’s like to run a family entertainment business.

We can’t wait to see you at your next event! Make sure to contact us well ahead of your event to ensure we’re available for it!

Matt & Jelly Otis

Facebook
Twitter
Scroll to Top Call Now Button