Meet Maria Rodriguez | Balloon Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process on starting my own business was when the pandemic was happening last year. My kids had to stay home and so did I, which meant that we had to be home on lockdown 24/7 and have precaution if we went out. My girls and I started feeling pretty alone and very bored at home all the time. So my little girls birthday was right around the corner, so I started looking around for decorations and stuff. Out of nowhere I had seen this bouquet of the little mermaid which was the theme of the birthday party. I had asked how much the bouquet was, and when they told me the price I was like ” wow so much money for this ? I bet I can do this on my own !” Keep in mind that I have had no classes on this I just always really loved to challenge myself and see if I can do it on my own, and so I did. That’s when I noticed how much I really loved doing balloons and seeing how happy my little girl was made me realized how much I would love seeing other people smile during this hard time we are leaving in. Later on November 8, 2020 I went to Houston Tx to go take some classes and get a certification on balloon décor. I’ve kept my busy and safe during the pandemic with my onw small business! I started growing more and more each day and I saw a lot of progress during this whole year and improved so much for better. I feel so proud of myself I feel happy, excited and sometimes I even get really emotional on how my small business has grown and helped me during such hard times. I feel very grateful with my family, followers, and clients that have helped me reach where I am now!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
well, my proudest moments I’ve had was when one of my clients had contacted me to make them a flower bouquet for Mother’s Day this was my proudest moment because when I took the flower bouquet to his mother they were in an argument and the son still had given her something for Mother’s Day and the lady was so happy. This experience really hit me because my client really showed me a vulnerable feeling she had, and it showed me that in reality I’m doing this to put a smile on others people faces than for the money! The memory of me knowing that I made someone happy last longer than money. No getting to where I am today wasn’t very easy and I still feel like I have more to go. There were some points in were I felt like giving up because I had invested in this business for months and I wasn’t selling I felt like it was just a waste of money, but in reality, I was just growing and I had to fix my mindset in where I need to know that I’m not going to sell all the time there is going to be days I may sell really good and other days that I’m not! But I’ve learned that I still have to keep going and not give up on myself!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was in town, I would take her first to eat breakfast at San Martin Bakery. Then from there I would take her to McAllen Outlets to just go look around the stores and walk around. After this we can go eat lunch at Whataburger and get a number 4!! Of course, I would have to my best friend to Buc-ee’s to get the famous beaver nuggets! and to finish the day of we would go to eat dinner at Texas Road House and take pictures at the bridge in Downtown!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a very big shoutout to my family, because they were the ones who have always encourage me to do this and even support me financially when I needed it.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bb_balloonsbymaria/