Quit Your Day Job: Be a Ballon Stylist
Lydia Purcell is the owner of Zeppelin Ballons. She makes unique and one-of-a-kind balloons installations. She talked to us about her unexpected journey to balloons, and the joys of owning your own business.
“The part of my job that I love the most is putting the installation together, the actual act of creating something. Blowing up the balloons, that’s just the labor-intensive thing that has to be done. But putting it all together, the finished product, that’s amazing! A lot of customers ask what it will look like and I just say, I can’t explain, it’s in my head, just trust me” laughs Lydia happily when talking about her business.
Lydia Purcell is the owner of Zeppelin Ballons. She makes unique and one-of-a-kind balloons installations.
“I love the spontaneous part of it, where I have no idea what’s gonna happen. I get a high out of it. It’s so mysterious, I have no idea what it’s going to be, I like the surprise”.
From Party Supplies to Balloons
Lydia used to owe an online party supply store for some years. But somehow it was getting boring, she was ready to move on. All her customers were online, and she wanted more local ones, she wanted to get out of her house and meet people.
The balloon industry allowed her to do that. It came naturally. “I was able to change my career focus. Quit doing online party supplies and go full in into balloons. And increase my revenue in the process. So, that’s a big success”.
“It’s funny because my sister reminds me that I’ve always said I’ll never do balloons, Balloons are so outdated. But we are changing the way we use balloons. And I was like ok, I can do that! But she still reminds me and teases me about that” she smiles peacefully.
Lydia was very scared when starting though. She was convinced that everyone would make fun of her. “Because it’s an art, and that’s a very vulnerable thing to share”.
It took her a long time to get over it, and she still fighting a “high case of impostor syndrome”. Working on it every day.
All The Way to Her Very Own Shop
The first year, she was doing the balloons out of her house. Then, she managed to open her very own shop. Just a bike ride away, she loves it.
“My favorite moment of the day is when I come into my shop. It has these big windows, and all the sun is coming through. I’m so happy to be here, it’s like a beautiful second home for me”.
She feels like she now has a separation between work and home, where “people can come in and visit, and chat balloons and pick up orders. That’s been a very big goal that I completed”.
“I love working with other small businesses. Watching what it does for other businesses. I get a lot of joy and pleasure out of that”
Lydia gets lots of orders for birthdays, probably the most popular events. She gets baby showers, bridal showers. A lot of corporate events, or non-profit wanting to have their galas or events look good. Some funerals as well, taking the angle of celebrating life, trying to find a way to make the space a little happier for the people coming in. And her favorite: a lot of business grand opening.
“I feel like I have an important role to play: that the business get seen, and I like the challenge of that. And I love working with other small businesses. Watching what it does for other businesses. I get a lot of joy and pleasure out of that”.
Usually, if clients have a theme and a form in mind, she gets to be creative and create something from thin air. A typical install takes her anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour to prepare and inflate. Then, between 15 to 45 minutes to install everything.
Single Mom, Bright Future, Taking Risks
Lydia loves her job and is proud of what she’s already accomplished. But it was a tough road.
“Being a single mom and a solo business owner is hard. Having to work even when you’re tired, make sacrifices for other people. Having to put yourself last. Customers expect something from you, and the level of that expectation is high. And my children are the same, which is normal and obvious, they’re not asking for more than they deserve” she smiles.
But she’s incredibly grateful for them. If at the beginning of the business, they thought she was going insane, they caught on quickly.
“They’ve been such a huge support to me. They let me work late, they don’t complain. They know that I work this hard for them”.
“Quit your day job! Take really big scary risks. Because then you have 24 hours a day to work on what it is you want to live up to”.
She muddled through and the future is bright. Lydia’s just started Zeppelin Soft Play: she’s collecting soft play items, like a ball pit, and jump houses. The goal is to build a “temporary playground that you bring to somebody and set up and their kids can have fun. Which is great for Covid. You can’t go to the facilities, so I bring the facilities to you”.
When asked for parting advice, Lydia laughs. “This may be bad advice, but quit your day job! Just take really big scary risks. Because then you have 24 hours a day to work on what it is you want to live up to”.
“The first business that I started, I had four months’ worth of living expenses saved up. And I quit my job. I didn’t know what I was going to do, knew it was something kind of creative, in the party industry. I did a bunch of things until one thing stuck, which was the party supplies. I don’t think I would have done that if I had kept my job. And now I’m kind of addicted to the scary risks. I’m like, OUH, what if this is a huge mistake, let’s find out!”.
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