Balloon & Party Industry Alliance (BAPIA) - Join Us!

UK'S LARGEST
TRADE ORGANISATION

FOR THE
BALLOON & PARTY

INDUSTRY

take advantage of the
comprehensive members benefits

@bapiaparty www.facebook.com/balloo
nandparty/

What do you get as a BAPIA member?

For £160 per year (or 12 monthly payments of £15) the
following benefits are included in your membership:

£10 Million Public and Products Liability Insurance Cover
£10 Million Employers Liability Insurance Cover
£100,000 Legal Insurance Cover
Tax & Legal Helpline
£100,000 Professional Indemnity Cover
Discounted Stock & Equipment Insurance Cover
Discounts from Leading UK Wholesalers
Discounted Training Opportunities with Leading Training Providers
Online Presence through www.BAPIAonline.com
Social Media Presence through @BAPIAPARTY
Access to the Annual Great Ormond Street Hospital Decor Day
Access to the Friendly, Helpful and Supportive BAPIA Facebook
Group
Membership and Support of Helpful & Proactive Industry
Organisation 
Monthly Facebook Photo Competition with 3 Prizes Per Month
Free Professional Terms & Conditions for Members Use.
Free Members Webinars

We believe that recommendations are the best way to
grow, so why not ask your training provider or
wholesaler if they would recommend BAPIA!

BAPIA is a member of global industry organisations working together to
protect the industry and the environment to ensure that they can both survive

and thrive together.

Are You Setting up a Balloon
Business?

Here are some helpful tips and advice for those new to the
world of balloons and setting up a business.

Setting up your own business

Setting up your own business and becoming self employed can be one of the biggest and most exciting
adventures of your life! Being your own boss, and everything that you do, will be in the interest of you
and your business.

You will need to decide if you are going to trade as Self Employed or as a Limited Company. 
When you are self employed you literally work for yourself (sole trader or sole proprietor is just another
name for a self employed person.)
Being a limited company is completely different. A limited company is a separate legal entity, if you have
your very own limited company you are generally not regarded as self employed. A Limited Company
gives some protection against company losses but is also obliged to do certain things such as submit
audited accounts to HMRC.

To learn more about setting up a business and all the legal stuff required in the UK, visit
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business.

Choosing a Business Name

This is one of the most important things that you will do. There are so many things that you will need to
do when setting up a new business, but without a business name it will be impossible! 

Open a business bank account 
Invoice customers
Write terms & conditions (Terms & Conditions are included with BAPIA membership)
Set up a website and social media business accounts
Order business cards
Open trade accounts

In the world of social media and SEO (search engine optimisation), choosing a name that people are
more likely to search for is important, as this will give you a much greater chance of appearing in search
results. So start by thinking about what your customers are likely to be searching for.

Obviously having the word balloon somewhere in your business name is important and if you can
include your location too, that would be a huge bonus! 

Legal stuff

Start by registering your business - in the UK visit https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business

Insurance Cover - You may not consider that having insurance cover is important but all businesses
should have it, including home based businesses. There are a number of different insurances that a
business should have:

Public & Products liability (FREE with BAPIA membership) – which insures your business against third
party claims for personal injury or property damage.
Professional Indemnity (FREE with BAPIA membership) – covers your professional advice. Employer's
liability (FREE with BAPIA membership) – provides cover for your employees (this is legally required)
and If you are operating your business from a shop or store you will also require
Building and Contents insurance. Here at BAPIA we have agreed an exclusive, discounted
arrangement with our brokers to offer you the most comprehensive insurance as a BAPIA member.

Inform HMRC or your government revenues and customs department  - In the UK you need to
register with the UK government (HMRC) to tell them that you’re self employed, check to see what your
legal requirements are in your country.

Find an Accountant - It might be advisable to find an accountant who will tell you what you will need to
do to ensure that you fulfil your tax obligations. 

Comply with data laws - It’s not just big companies that need to know about General Data Protection
Regulation - GDPR. Small businesses also have a legal responsibility to keep personal data safe and
provide a clear policy on how that data will be used and why.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation

Employing Staff - If you are employing staff there are so many other legal requirements that you will
need to abide by, we strongly recommend that you look into all of those too!
www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people

How Much Should You Charge?

To know how much to charge for your balloons and decor, you need to know how much you are going to
charge for your time, and how much you should allow to cover your overheads (business running costs)
and believe me, even when you work from home you have overheads. Added to that will be your
material costs, helium and delivery charges if applicable.

So the first thing you should do is work out how much you are worth! Deciding on what to charge for
your time is not easy, but if you do not charge enough you will struggle to make enough money to live
on.

As much as it is great being your own boss, you need to consider all the things that you won't benefit
from when being self employed such as holiday pay and sick pay.

There are a number of great resources that you can use to help you with pricing:

https://smallbusinesstoolbox.uk/small-business-basics/how-much-should-i-charge/

The Very Best Balloon Blog - How Much Should I Charge For That
The Very Best Balloon Blog - How Much Would You Charge For This Design

Training

There are a number of great training providers in the UK, of which many are BAPIA members as
individuals or as supplier/manufacturer members. Training is one of the major keys to success.  With the
right knowledge and information you can build and grow a successful business and by keeping up to
date with the latest techniques and designs your business can continue to flourish. Take a look at our
training calendar and see what is available in your area.

https://bapiaonline.com/training

Helium

Helium is an inert gas. It is colourless, odourless and tasteless - inert means it will not react with any
other elements, therefore it is impossible to cause a fire or to burn. However, it is a pressurised gas and
requires careful handling.

Balloon Gas

Balloon gas is often use in the balloon industry. It is a mix of helium and air. The mix is approximately
98% helium and 2% air and is often a recycled product that can no longer be used for medical use.

There are a number of different helium (balloon gas) suppliers in the UK, the 2 main suppliers being:

BOC/Linde
Air Products

If you are planning to use helium, you should establish who your helium supplier is before you invest in
any helium inflation equipment as each cylinder type has different fittings.

Setting up a helium account with a balloon wholesaler can often be less expensive than hiring directly
from the helium companies, as they can benefit from discounts that they generally pass onto their
customers.

Helium Safety

Always use a trolley when moving or transporting balloon gas cylinders. A trolley will also act as a
support stand when inflating during on-site decorating jobs.
Always secure cylinders. In case you cannot secure them in an upright position, simply use them lying
down on the ground and prevent them from rolling.
When transporting or moving cylinders, always make sure that you remove the balloon filling kit and
that the cylinder is well secured so that it cannot move at all.
Helium is a non-flammable gas. However, if the tank is puncutured or knocked over and the valve
damaged, the gas can escape with such force that the tank can be propelled at a very high speed.
Although balloon gas is not poisonous, it is an asphyxiant. If it is inhaled, it can be fatal. A similar
thing can happen if a cylinder is opened in a non-ventilated room.

Tools of the Trade

Every industry has their Tools of the Trade and the balloon industry is no exception!
Deciding on what equipment you are going to need is a bit of a minefield - should you spend a few
pounds on a hand pump versus spending hundreds of pounds on an automatic air inflator?
Can you imagine a tailor without a sewing machine or a builder without all their power tools?
As much as you can do all air-filled decor with a hand pump it will take you many hours whereas with a
good electric inflator you can create something very beautiful in a much shorter time - remember  "time
is money".
To see the full range of equipment that is available to purchase in the UK check out the Qualatex and
Amscan catalogues and ask your training provider for recommendations on what equipment they
suggest that you start your business with.
Here is a great source of reference which talks about Which Electric Balloon Inflators is Best for
you and your Business - https://theverybestballoonblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/which-electric-
balloon-inflators-is.html

There are many different adhesives that you can use with balloons. Each glue or tape type works
differently and are good for different purposes. Check out; A Sticky Situation - Which Glue is Best
for Your Balloons. This post will guide you through the most regularly used glues and tapes that are
used by balloon professionals.
https://theverybestballoonblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-sticky-situationwhich-glue-is-best.html

Resources

There are some great resources in balloon industry, of which many are
exclusive and free to BAPIA members.

Terms and Conditions - writing the terms and conditions for your business can be a very time consuming and
 complex job and employing a solicitor to write them can be a very costly exercise. All BAPIA members have free
access to a set of professional Terms and Conditions that they can use for their business. These are available to
download from the Members Area on the BAPIA website. www.bapiaonline.com

Webinars - As a member of BAPIA you will have access to free webinars, links to past classes are available in the
Members Area on the BAPIA website. www.bapiaonline.com

Free Marketing Materials - there is a range of social media ready-made posts available, that are exclusive to BAPIA
members in the Members Area on the BAPIA website. www.bapiaonline.com

Qualatex offer many great resources on their website - www.Qualatex.com, these include Images Balloon
Magazine, Free Marketing Materials, Step-by-step recipes and designs and much more!

Amscan Decorator offers a host of resources to help and inspire. You will find a large library of Step-by-step
instruction sheets for lots of different designs and occasions; help and support for all your Conwin products and Hi-
Float questions, safety information and lots, lots more. https://www.amscan.co.uk/decorator_resources/

Premium Balloon Accessories has a comprehensive range of air inflators and digital helium sizers for all inflation
needs. You can check out the range at www.premiumballoon.com/our_products/

The Very Best Balloon Blog - Witten by Sue Bowler and sponsored by Qualatex, this is the place to
get all your questions answered. Sue has been writing the blog since 2011 and to date has over 400
inspiring blog posts. Each post covers a balloon related topic, this could be about pricing or how to
work with balloons in difficult weather conditions, it also has many step-by-step designs, and recipes,
seasonal ideas and so much more! If you are looking for help on a specific topic, simply Google The
Very Best Balloon Blog and then add in your keywords and it will bring up every blog that relates to
that subject! There is also a search facility within the blog. Sue also works as part of the BAPIA Team!

Q Corner - Q Corner is a bi-weekly live-streaming balloon talk show hosted on YouTube by world-renowned balloon
artists — and wisecracking quip machines — Keith Stirman and Dominic Cassidy of All Things Fun in Peterlee, UK.

In the span of around 30 minutes, each episode of this “edutainment” (education + entertainment) program will
feature a wide variety of topics, including:
Business & Marketing Tips
Giveaways
New Product Features
Challenges
Q&A Sessions
Industry Interviews
AND MUCH MORE!

Simply go to YouTube and search Q Corner.

BMTV - Balloon Market TV - action packed and filled with some truly inspirational how to videos and
covering a wide variety of topics - this weekly show is definitely  worth watching!

Including:
• How to videos
• Customer insights
• Manufacturer interviews
• Product reviews
• And much more....

What our members say:

BAPIA always go above & Bapia organise amazing
beyond to support the Training days with our

industry so you don't feel own Sue Bowler!
alone in business. It's like a Covering lots of new
ideas and Basic training !
family!
Want to learn ? Go
Jumping Jack Events nowhere else !

The Balloon Factor

Your genuine
care and support

for your
members
surpasses any
other supplier or
service I’ve
encountered.
Chris Francis

Excellent service Informative, helpful,
provided... not only the professional and
insurance, but so helpful
and informative for our always one step ahead

trade too! Make Me Smile Balloons
and Events
The Bees Knees
Balloon Co.