Pictured above: Naomi Spencer - going up in the world with
her new balloon business
An ambitious young Birmingham entrepreneur's business is going
up in the world - after expanding into the balloons market.
Naomi Spencer, a 24-year-old single mum from Nechells, last year
launched Candy Bubbles in a bid to clean up in the novelty soaps
market after ending 12-months of unemployment.
As the business grew she looked for areas in which to diversify
her product range and, after floating the idea of balloon
decorations, she decided to have a pop at it.
Naomi launched Candy Bubbles with support from Birmingham-based
employment experts Pertemps People Development Group and The
Prince's Trust who each provided grants of £1,000 along with
vital advice and guidance.
Working in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and other
organisations, PPDG delivers employment and training initiatives
helping disadvantaged job seekers in Birmingham, Solihull, West
Bromwich, Coventry, The Marches, Liverpool and Teesside access the
workplace or self-employment. More than 100,000 job seekers have
been helped into sustained employment since the projects began.
PPDG delivers a range of initiatives including Employment Zone, New
Deal and Lone Parent mentoring, and Learndirect training
programmes. It has trained over 130,000 people in vocational
skills, and more than 175,000 people have benefitted from
professional information, advice and guidance services.
Naomi started with a stall at The Pallasades shopping centre in
Birmingham where she sold novelty soaps including many in the shape
of sweets and cakes, along with bath bombs, floral fizzes, and gift
baskets for occasions such as Mother's Day and weddings.
She said: "During my time at The Pallasades I met so many people
and found new things in the market that customers would be
interested in, such as home fragrance, baby gifts, nappy cakes,
wedding gifts and balloons for all occasions.
"I had my son christened and paid a balloon specialist a lot of
money to create my room into a balloon paradise - sadly, this was
not the case as when I turned up at the venue the balloons were
awful. This made me think that I could provide the service better,
so I went on a balloon course and passed with flying colours. Since
then I've attended more courses dedicated to weddings, christenings
and birthdays."
Naomi is now planning to open a new shop in City Arcade,
Birmingham, in July. She has decorated halls at a wide range of
venues including Great Barr Hotel, The Elbow Room, the Alexandra
Theatre, The Drum, the Apollo Hotel and many others.
"Over the past year in business I've learned a lot. I look back
and see I've made errors but I know how to correct them. My goal
now is to double my turnover and keep looking for ideas to keep
customers hooked," she added.