I'll be honest; I've spent months calling my ChatGPT dumb. It ignores me, promises spreadsheets it never makes and generally acts like it went to a different school than everyone else's. Then I talked to my friend Lenor... and realized the dummy in that situation might be me.

In this episode I catch up with my longtime balloon buddy Lenor of Lights Camera Selfies / Elevate Your Skills, who runs balloons and photo booths out of Hollywood, Florida, and has quietly turned AI into her most reliable assistant. She's not a tech person shouting at you to optimize your life; she's a one-woman show who just wanted her creative time back.

We get into the exact ways she uses ChatGPT to track her real balloon costs, fix her helium math, prep for a city commission meeting and even measure a room when she forgets her tape measure.

Lenor is becoming a certified AI counselor and launching an intro AI class built for balloon and photo booth pros, so this one is packed with beginner-friendly tips you can actually use. If AI has felt overwhelming or a little icky to you, this conversation meets you right where you are.

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What happens when a former social worker, a military veteran and their soul sister decide to go all-in on balloons? You get one of the most creative business models I've seen in a while.

In this episode I'm sitting down with Heather and Brian from Soul Sisters Creations in Marysville, Ohio; just outside of Columbus. These two (plus their third partner Megan) went from doing nine events a week out of their house, to Balloonathon, to opening a storefront just two months after competing on a TV show called The Blox.

We get into how they divide roles in a three-person partnership, why they hired Brian before Heather even paid herself, how their DIY balloon kits work and a Community Creations Corner concept that honestly blew my mind. If you've ever wondered whether a partnership could actually work in this industry… this one's for you.

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Ever feel like you're leaving money on the table without even realizing it? In this episode, I'm breaking down eight ways I've found free money hiding in my balloon business; from credit card points to reusing balloons to rental items that practically print profit.

Whether you're just getting started or you've been in the game for years, these strategies can help you squeeze more juice out of the work you're already doing. Some are as simple as making a return you've been putting off, and others could literally set your kids up for retirement.

Let's find that free money!

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In this episode I am joined by Shelby who is the owner of Sunny Day Party Art and we are talking about self care and mental health. This was a great interview - a lot of relatable conversation, but also with helpful tips and practical strategies that Shelby is sharing… not as a therapist, but as a fellow balloon decorator, to deal with the stress that comes with this job.

We talk about parenthood, asking for help, the pressure we all face and much more. It was a vulnerable conversation that I know so many will relate to.

In the UGlu Hotline, hear one of the many advantages of making friends with your "competition".

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She went from making her first balloon mosaic with Party City balloons to decorating the Rogers Stadium for the World Series. And the strategy behind her growth? Simpler than you think.

In this live episode from the International Balloon Convention, I sat down with Ana Karina of AK Balloons. She is originally from Venezuela, now based in Toronto, Canada, and came to the balloon industry from the corporate world as an accountant.

After seven years in business, she now runs a balloon studio with a full team and counts major sports venues among her clients. In this episode, she shares how word of mouth and a simple daily outreach habit built her corporate client base; how she successfully outsourced social media; and why she believes you should never cut your marketing budget no matter what.

In the UGlu Hotline, hear what Erin of Young & Wild Balloon Co. does with her SOP docs!

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Ever wondered about the people behind the balloons you use every single day? This episode is one of those career-highlight conversations you don't want to miss.

I sat down with Leo and Marcela of Sempertex at the Sempertex International Balloon Convention in Orlando. Leo is the CEO and Marcela, the VP of Sales and Marketing. We talk about the incredible 87-year history of this family-owned company; from Leo's Austrian grandfather founding it in Colombia in 1938 to the bold decision to focus exclusively on natural latex balloons.

Leo and Marcela share how they hire for culture and values, why 65-70% of their team is women, how they work with 250 farming families in a crop substitution program and what the DUR recycled balloon initiative looks like. If you've ever wanted to feel more connected to the brands you depend on, this is the episode.

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If you run a balloon business by yourself, you might get to the point where you just can't do it all alone anymore, and that can be a very overwhelming place to be.

So I sat down with Jessica, the owner of Balloons by F&F, and we had a very honest conversation about hiring:

• Who to hire first,

• The little details about hiring that are easy to forget,

• What tools are helpful for tracking the work,

• Some of the mistakes we've made along the way,

• How to not get lost in the weeds when starting,

• A position to hire you maybe haven't thought of,

• And ultimately, what gets unlocked in your life and your business when you finally hire help.

I love talking about hiring because even though it's scary to start, there are so many right ways it can be done.

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If your phone's camera roll looks anything like mine, it's just thousands of pictures of balloons, mixed in with screenshots of inspiration, mixed in with photos of my family… and no strategy or organizational method to the madness.

So in this episode, I'm talking with Dionne, a professional photo manager. She owns Captured Memories Photo Solutions and we are both 17hats ambassadors.

She shares some really good insights about photo storage, including:

• backing up versus syncing your photos (and which option to actually choose)

• strategies for getting rid of all of the photo clutter

• why taking screenshots of your own photos compounds the problem

By the end of the episode you'll know what to do to put a system in place so that your camera roll can actually help you and your business, while keeping all those photos of your kids and pets cleanly separated.

And thank you to this month's presenting sponsor, Grow My Balloon Biz! Don't forget to check out Carolina's episode, which was the first one in May.

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