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Marketing in Rural Areas

April 30th, 2012

When you are trying to market a business, one of the best places to be is in the city. It’s natural to assume that trying to have a business in the city is much more difficult than trying to run one in a more rural area, simply because you may believe that you will have far fewer inflatable jumper rental businesses to have to deal with if you are in a rural area.

In reality, however, trying to market your business in a rural area can actually be much more difficult than trying to market it in a larger city. But what makes marketing in a rural area so difficult? One thing that makes it difficult is that many people in smaller towns do not deal with change well. They tend to like things exactly as they are and they may have a difficult time allowing a new company to get the business that an older, more established company may have already been getting. There are, however, a few things that you can do to help market your inflatable jumper rental business in a rural area.

Make Friends – One of the most important things you can do when it comes to marketing your business in a rural area is to make some friends. In smaller areas word-of-mouth is far more important than how much money you spent in getting a great ad design. The more friends you make, the more likely those friends will be to tell other people about your business.

Donate to Charity – While donating money is a great thing, donating your time, and your inflatable jumper, to charity can be a great way to help get your business known in a small town. Many small towns come together when they are trying to support something, or someone, and showing that you’re willing to be one of them, and that you’re more than willing to donate your time and your inflatable jumper, will put your business in a good light.

Keep Things Cheap – Take a look at your expenses and try to keep things as affordable as you possibly can. People in smaller towns generally make a lot less than those in larger cities, so keeping things affordable is definitely a good way to get new clients.

There are a number of things to keep in mind when it comes to advertising in a small town, but first and foremost remember that reputations are key in small towns. The better your company’s reputation is, the more likely it is that you will get work.

 

Setting Rules for Your Inflatable Jumper Business

March 15th, 2012

It’s one thing when you own your own business and you are the only employee, but things get more complicated when you hire employees. Suddenly you are not the only person that you have to worry about, and not only do you have to worry about the safety of your other employees, you have to worry about how they will reflect on your company as well. If you are at the level in your inflatable jumper business where you feel as though you need to hire help, you should always set a few ground rules.

Rule Ideas

There are a number of different rule that you can put into action, and the rules that you choose to set into place are dependent on the rules that you feel are necessary. This all depends on the area that your business is located in, as certain areas are more formal and expect different things than others. But here are a few basic guidelines that work well for any business, including an inflatable jumper business.

  • Rule 1 – No Swearing: Swearing is something that we tend to do as a reflexive action, and believe it or not studies have actually shown that if we swear when we are injured it does help to minimize the amount of pain that we are in. But swearing in front of clients is never okay, and having a strict “no swearing” rule in place is never a bad thing.
  • Rule 2 – Dress Code: Let’s face it: you don’t have to wear a shirt and tie in order to set up an inflatable jumper. But while there’s no need to be extremely formal when setting up a jumper, it is a good idea to make sure that all employees wear a similar outfit. Even if they are only wearing brown pants and a plain black shirt you can rest more comfortably knowing that it gives your business a much more professional appearance.
  • Rule 3 Time Management: it is never a good idea to pay for empty time, but when it comes to setting up inflatable jumpers your employees need to realize how important staying on time is. Being late can make a customer very unhappy, which can lead to fewer jobs, so always stress how important time management is to your employees.

Setting up your own bounce house business can be stressful, and yes, the stress can multiply once you hire others. But if you set up a list of rules and stick by them, things will run much more smoothly.

If Your Inflatable Jumper Gets Caught In the Rain

February 14th, 2012

It’s nice to wish and hope that all of the days that your inflatable jumpers get rented are going to be days that are sunny. Unfortunately we live in the real world and quite often these that should be filled with jumping around are hampered by unexpected thunderstorms. If the storm begins before you set up the inflatable jumper, it is a good policy to speak with the person who was renting the jumper and to reschedule, especially if it looks like the storm is going to be a long one. But what do you do if you already have the bounce house inflated and it starts to rain?

Safety First

The first thing you should know is that a small drizzle of rain is not going to hurt your bounce house. What constitutes a small drizzle? If the rain is only coming down gently, and the wind isn’t blowing, then your bounce house is likely going to be fine. If, however, the rain becomes more intense you will definitely need to take some steps to make sure that everyone is safe. Firstly, make sure that everyone gets out of the inflatable jumper as soon as it starts to rain. While little bit of rain won’t hurt your jumper, rain can cause complete chaos inside of the jumper as children will slip and slide and will be much more likely to get injured which is something you definitely don’t want.

Once the jumper is empty of people, and if the weather has worsened, it’s time to deflate it. Turn off the power to the blower and let the inflatable jumper deflate naturally. Commonly business owners will just leave the inflatable jumper on the ground during storm. If you were to pack up the jumper during the storm you would risk having to deal with mildew on your jumper. While it is possible to pack up your bounce house during a storm, you want to make sure that you thoroughly dry out the bounce house as soon as possible afterwards. It may be a better idea to instead cover-up the jumper with a tarp as soon as it is deflated. Weigh down the tarp so that it does not fly off of the jumper. Then, once the storm ends, you can re-inflate the inflatable jumper and can weight it down to make sure is thoroughly dry before packing it away.

Promoting Your Inflatable Jumpers By Having a Brand

August 31st, 2011

Starting your own inflatable jumpers business is definitely a scary proposition, especially if you’ve never started a company before, as is the case with most owners of this type of business. Getting the funds to purchase your inflatables can be tricky and intimidating, but one of the most difficult things for most small business owners is learning how to promote their brand. There are a number of ways to do this, but do you actually know what a brand is? Do you have a brand for your business? Having a brand can be the difference between your business growing and it staying small.

What Is a Brand?

A brand is defined as a name, slogan, symbol, or sign that is used to identify a seller’s products or service. Take the big M for McDonalds, for instance – that is a brand that is easily recognizable throughout the world. Coca-Cola’s distinctive red logo is another great example of how well branding can work. But branding isn’t just having a great logo or slogan, it’s figuring out what your business is and what you stand for. The first step in building your brand is figuring out who you are.

Your brand is how people perceive you. Do you want to be seen as a grumpy business owner who doesn’t set up your inflatable jumpers properly? Or do you want to be seen as a happy, helpful owner who is interested in making sure that their customers needs are fully taken care of? That is the first thing you need to figure out when you’re trying to build your brand. Once you know who you are, and what you want your business to stand for, you can start to build your brand.

Building a brand can be tricky, but there are a number of websites online that have great tips and tools about how to create a brand. Having the right image and font for your businesses name is important (as is, of course, having the right business name), and you want to make sure that everything about your brand is not only comfortable to you but also that it suits your business to a “t” as well. Then you can plaster your brand on your business cards, on social media sites, and on any advertising that you pay for. Having a great brand is the ideal way to make a person instantly think of your business when they’re looking to hire someone who rents out inflatable jumpers.

Holding an Open House For Your Inflatable Jumper Business

August 3rd, 2011

You’ve started your business, you’ve got it up and running and you’re earning a steady income, but you want to grow even more. You’re ready for your business to get larger and to get more customers, but how can you do this? There are a few things that you can do in order to spur your inflatable jumper business into growing larger, but one thing that you might want to think about doing, that will not only help you to net a great deal of new contacts but also will be a great deal of fun, is to have an open house.

Hosting an Open House

Imagine this: all of your inflatables set up in one location. Popcorn, hot dogs, or cotton candy ready for people to enjoy and watching as children and adults alike enjoy the inflatables that you’ve set up. Hosting an open house for your inflatable jumper can be the perfect way to help your business to grow for a variety of reasons, but let’s start with the “how to” portion of having an open house. How can you have an open house if you don’t have a large enough piece of land to set everything up?

You can do this one of two ways: you can either use a large piece of land or you can use a building. Many business owners are actually leaning towards the building option so that they do not have to worry about their open house being rained out, and it can actually be fairly cheap to rent a warehouse for a day or two. Find an empty ware house near you and inquire about renting the space for a few days. If you’d rather stay outside look to renting space in parks and on school property.

Once you’ve figured out the where, it’s time to set everything up. Figure out if you’re going to serve food (it’s usually a good idea) and start passing out fliers and getting the word out. Local radio stations are great for this, as are social media sites. Then watch as child after child comes down an inflatable jumper that you own and watch how many business cards you give out as well. This is also the perfect time to make corporate contacts as well, all of which can help you to take your business to the next level.