Meet Derienne Shaffer of Jump Time Georgia in Metro Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derienne Shaffer.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Before I graduated college, I had aspirations to own my own business and become an entrepreneur. Initially, I wanted to create or innovate a product for kids. I would just sit with my boyfriend and brainstorm random ideas for business ventures. On Easter Sunday in 2018 as I was getting dressed I thought to myself renting out bounce houses for kids would be a good idea. I went over to my mom’s house for Easter dinner and she had a bounce house in her front yard for the kids. I used that as my confirmation, I called my boyfriend and I told him I had figured it out. The very next week a shipment arrived to the house, it was our first bounce house. We started doing everything together, getting our business through word of mouth. We would pack up the bounce house in a small suv and make it work.

We also had a cotton candy, snow cone, and popcorn machines. We eventually got another bounce house that summer because we did have calls coming in. A lot of the calls were for waterslides which we didn’t have. In the fall, we started planning for spring and summer 2019 because those are our peak seasons. We had to make sure we rolled out waterslides this year because that’s what everyone kept asking for. We expanded this year with more units, bigger and better machines, tables and chairs, games, and adding photo backdrops to our packages. The idea of Jump Time Georgia started as a source of extra income, this year we’re on track to gross six figures.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it has not been a smooth road at all! I honestly don’t even know where to start. Even today, I am still learning and experiencing new struggles. Just when I think I have it all figured out and have experienced everything that could go wrong something new comes up. From overbooking, unexpected equipment failures to poor route scheduling. In the past, we struggled with arriving to parties on time due to having bookings too far apart and things going wrong at setup. Overall it’s been a bumpy road, and every week I am planning new ways to ensure we don’t have any of the same issues week after week.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jump Time Georgia – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Jump Time Georgia is a party rental company. Our packages include: bounce houses, waterslides, concession machines, tables, chairs, games, and photo backdrops. We’re known for having the best packages with the best prices. We have quality equipment and ensure quality customer service. As a company, we’re proud to be family owned and operated.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In the future, I would like to expand and have our customers come to us for their entire event. A one-stop shop for parties.