Meet Naomi Spencer
“Growing up, I could never have imagined I’d be where I am now.”
Naomi Spencer, 37, from Birmingham, explains how she started her balloon business with the help of The Prince’s Trust in 2009 and has so far met "funny" King Charles six times in the process. She lives with her partner Junior and three children, JJ, age fifteen, J’rae, age seven, and one-year-old Jhené.
"Shortly after presenting me with my business award, the then Prince Charles turned to my son JJ, then just a toddler, and said, “You’ll be proud of your mum when you grow up.”
It was an incredible moment and made me realise just how far I’ve come – from a single mum on benefits to a successful businesswoman and public speaker and the creator and founder of Balloon Colour Blending.
Growing up, I could never have imagined I’d be where I am now.
Even though I was doing well academically at school, I was badly bullied by a group of girls. Instead of tackling the bullying, the school said it would be better if I found another school. So aged 14, I left school and never went to another one. Times were different back then and no one ever checked up on me.
I got a place on a hair and beauty course when I was 16, one of the few things I could do that didn’t require any qualifications. But I didn’t enjoy it and instead got a forklift truck qualification and also worked for a car manufacturer. I earned decent money doing night shifts as an agency worker.
But then at 21 I got pregnant with Jermaine, known as JJ. I couldn’t do the demanding shifts any more and there was no maternity leave support.
Still, I was determined to make something of myself and to give my son a good start in life. At one of my income support meetings, I mentioned a dream I’d had about starting a business making soap that looked like cakes. The adviser mentioned The Prince’s Trust and in 2008, within weeks of applying, I was on their business course.
It was daunting, but the people I met were amazing. I learnt all the basics, from how to open a business account to how to sell and market. I was given a £1,000 loan with minimal interest to pay back, and I was matched with a business mentor who I met monthly and bombarded with questions.
I started JJ at nursery and began selling my soaps with the help of a rent-free weekly stall, but the business wasn’t really taking off. Then came JJ’s christening. I’d ordered balloons spelling out his name, plus ceiling balloons for the children to grab and play with. But the company messed up my order. I was so disappointed and told my mum, “I could do better than this!”
And that’s what I did. I added balloons to my soap stall and they were a hit. I made £1,000 in one day! Through a Prince’s Trust contact, I met the events team at Aston Villa FC and was taken on as their main supplier. It was a huge confidence boost.
Since then I’ve created balloon arches, table centres pieces and sculptures for thousands of events, from small parties to huge receptions.
Meeting King Charles
“I’ve now met King Charles six times at Prince’s Trust events. He’s very funny and is always interested in how my business is doing. He also introduced me to Pimm’s, which I now love!
I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without the trust. As well as the initial support, I am now one of their Ambassadors and I visit schools and prisons, talking about my life and how far I’ve come. I have also become a delivery partner where I create classes for the young people to be involved in through balloons.
I want young people to know that they can be successful and that there is help out there for them. Like me, most just need a bit of help unlocking their potential.”
Ballooning Around
Naomi did not realise the full potential of balloons until she met Stuart Davies, when she was accepted to be on the very first Big Balloon Build which was held in wales. Not knowing anybody else attending she made the journey to Wales where she spent 4 days creating the first immersive balloon display that would be open to the public. She realised how much she had learnt and how much confidence this gave her and registered for the future years going forward. In the second year Naomi met two amazing Ladies that she will forever be thankful for and have now become not just balloon associates but FRIENDS, Amy from Peanut Balloons and Kerry from kalisanuk.
From this Naomi then hosted the first Big Balloon Build in England, in her hometown Nechells, with her nominated Charity being free at last.
This gave her so much fire and confidence she then went over to Florida to be apart of the Qualatex Event Balloon Wonderland using a quarter of a million balloons and with another 60 balloon artists from around the world to create the most magical balloon kingdom all in aid for “Give Kids The world.”
Naomi will be attending this year's Big Balloon Build as a Team leader which will be held in Guilford London and the host will be Amy Brown from Peanut Balloons
Climbing Mountains
In 2019 Naomi climbed the tallest freestanding mountain in the world Kilimanjaro for a charity that is very close to heart “free at last”. After spending 8 days on the mountain Naomi realised the challenges she had overcome throughout her journey, no matter what you do in life it will never be easy, but perseverance, determination and most of all believing in yourself is all that matters.
Present
Fast forward to present Naomi has just launched a new website which is not only the first in the world, it is no doubt an industry standard that will allow users to find and use bespoke colours at a click of a button. Naomi has spent almost 12 months creating this website, after going live in august it has already gone global with subscribers in USA, Australia, Uk and many + countries.
Since Naomi has been a member of BAPIA she has seen first hand the benefits of what they offer and used the support in place and also been able to be a part of the event days they have. So she feels it is only right she gives back and is offering all BAPIA members a 50% discount for 6 months on Balloon Colour Blending - see the Member Only Resource Centre on the website.
If you would like to learn more about how the site works and how to get the best out of it Naomi is running a Christmas Content Day at BGC Wholesale Birmingham on 23rd November 2023, which will also include hands on balloon structures, organic arches and balloon stacks and is only £35 registration and will also include goody bags with lots of discounts including Haydens Pop and Prop Shop.
To be apart of the content day REGISTER HERE.
