Think back to the last time you were at a festival or family oriented event. What kinds of things were there for kids to do? How about the opportunity to sculpt fanciful characters from colorful balloons or to transform into ghostly apparitions or have roses literally bloom from their cheeks?
Wouldn’t running a business that provides these services be fun?
Amie Mount runs such a business. And she does so with her whole family. Mount was a stay-at-home mom before starting Wishing Wells Reflections. She wanted a way to spend time with her children while also teaching them the importance of a strong work ethic. So she built a full-time business that fits her family and lifestyle. Read more about her journey in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
What the Business Does:
Provides various party activities for kids. As of now, the list includes: face painting, cup o grams (which are balloon animals attached to cups of candy or other treats), balloon twisting, glitter tattoos, and more.
Business Niche:
Delivering a unique experience through one-of-a-kind works of art.
Mount and her team don’t just paint faces and twist balloons into the shapes of loveable fanciful characters. They focus on creating art that is truly unique. Mount says:
“A lot of other similar companies focus on being fast and getting through the line instead of quality and giving the customers the wow factor.”
How the Business Got Started:
Out of a desire to create a business around her children.
Mount used to be a stay-at-home mom. But she wanted to show her kids the importance of a strong work ethic. So instead of sticking with a traditional full-time job, she wanted to try out entrepreneurship.
She first tried face painting with her own kids. Then it quickly grew into a business with a growing list of offerings. She explains:
“Little did I know I would get the idea to take something that not only made my kids happy, but use it to form a full-time business. I literally went to the store, picked up the paints and brushes I could find (safe for skin) and started painting my heart out, my children happily donating their faces. This quickly turned into not only face painting, but balloon twisting, glitter tattoos, and cup o grams. Each service was made with the goal of incorporating my children into the business so that we could work ‘together.’”
Employees:
Three.
Biggest Win:
Making so many children happy.
Biggest Risk:
Quitting their day jobs.
Both Mount and her partner left their full time day jobs after starting the business. She says:
“This was a risky decision, and could leave us flat broke if it had gone wrong, but for us it was the opposite. It allowed us to provide for more clients and lifted restrictions of working only on weekends.”
Lesson Learned:
Always consider the future.
Business wise, Mount said she’s been happy with the way things have gone. But she said she would have done a few things differently leading up to starting the business. Specifically, she would have focused on keeping her credit score up early on. That would have made getting things like business loans easier. She says:
“If I could change one thing it would have been thinking about my future more seriously as a young adult.”
How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000:
An enclosed utility trailer or bigger vehicle.
Since the business is mobile, the supplies and people needed to provide service must be mobile too. But as the business has grown, this has become a bigger and bigger challenge. Mount says:
“Between our supplies and our growing family participants in the business we have no extra room.”
Company Mascot:
A caterpillar.
Favorite Food at Work:
Walking Tacos.
Mount says:
“They are almost at every festival we work at.”
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Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program.
Images: Wishing Wells Reflections
[“source-smallbiztrends”]
