Community Highlights: Meet Imani Brown of Brown Sugar Balloons

Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Brown.

Hi Imani, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Around the time of my oldest son’s third birthday, my husband and I had been suffering financially. We didn’t have any money to take my son anywhere for his birthday or money to buy him any gifts. But because he was young and loved balloons, it wasn’t hard to impress him. I had one of those one-nozzle balloon blowers from Walmart in my closet because this wasn’t the first time balloons saved the day. So, I went to Dollar Tree, grabbed a few packs of those cheap balloons, and hubby and I blew them up for him in our room while he was asleep the night before his birthday. The next morning we threw them all in the living room, and when he woke up, the joy on his face made everything alright! Believe it or not, it hadn’t clicked to me that balloons could be a saving grace to our financial hardship. And after creating my first balloon garland for my baby shower, 4 months later it still didn’t register. At the time, it was all about creating the excitement in my life that I no longer felt.

3 years later, I became a teacher, and if you know anything about a teacher’s paycheck, it’s just not enough. So, during prayer, I told God that I wanted a second stream of income, but I wanted it to come from something I create. I’ve always been an extremely creative person: journalism, fashion design, wardrobe styling, DIY, makeup, website design, graphic design, YouTube vlogging, short form content, dang near anything creative you can think of; I’ve done/do/can do. That’s one of the gifts that the Lord blessed me with. The gift to create. So naturally, in my mind at least, I needed to be getting paid for my gift; I just wasn’t sure what. I toyed with different ideas, like custom crocs & key chains, but none of those made sense financially to me.

One day, while on maternity leave, I saw a video on Instagram of someone sharing how much money they got paid from doing a specific balloon install, and immediately I said, “I can do this, EASY!” or so I thought. I did very little research and ordered some cheap balloons on Shein for practice purposes, and when they came in, I sat down and began creating what I thought was about to be the best balloon garland ever. And to make matters worse, I recorded the whole thing! Even the part of me weeping and stabbed the balloons with a knife out of pure frustration. This wasn’t a give-up moment; this was a “let me sit and rest my thinking, figure out where I went wrong, and we’ll try tomorrow ” moment again. After I cleaned up my mess, I went to my room, still crying, and edited the video that I had recorded with intentions on positing to TikTok because I knew that nobody was talking about this part of the balloons. The beginning part, the fails, the mistakes. This video was the start of a series called “Balloon Diaries,” and the mission was to share what I learned from teaching myself the art of balloon styling “one design at a time.”

Of course, when you’re a content creator, you post every video with the hopes that it will do well analytically, but when I tell you I HAD NO IDEA that video was going to do the numbers that it did or be how I got my first few clients! That video got 98.7 views, 6,243 likes, and 604 people commenting, encouraging me, loving on me, advising me, offering mentorship! Like it was CRAZY. I felt so welcomed by the balloon community, and that really gave me the fire I needed to keep pushing forward.

I kept practicing, I kept posting, and people began DMing me asking me how much I charged for installs and wanting to hire me for their events. I learned how to reach out to companies and offer my services; I perfected my pricing, and just like that, Brown Sugar Balloons was born! Now, in 2027, I’ve officially added party favors to my service list!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
You know those areas in Atlanta where you can be driving past a bunch of mansions, but the roads are awful? Like, the roads are so bad, but the houses are way nicer, so you almost don’t even realize how bad it really is? I think that’s how it’s been for me. I don’t really realize how tough it has been because the money has been so helpful in the darkest of times. I could literally not know how we’re gonna pay a bill sometimes, and then I’d get an inquiry, and the client wants to pay in full. Of course, I wish to have a big influx of clients so that I’m not even looking forward to my teacher pay check like I do, but it’s all in God’s timing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Brown Sugar Balloons?
I am a Balloon & Event stylist based in Metro Atlanta. I specialize in parties, grand openings, baby showers, balloon bouquets, festivals, church events, and anything! If you have an event that needs decor, I can do it! Most recently, I began offering custom party favors: custom shot glasses, ice buckets, cups, lighters, fans, pins, stickers, chip bags, chocolate bars, water bottles, candy anything you want; I can customize it! I will soon be offering shirts as well!

I am super proud of how far I’ve come. All the long nights, lost sleep, early mornings, sweat, blood, tears were and are all worth it! One day, I will be a full-time crafter, hopefully sooner rather than later, but soon nonetheless!

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
JUST DO IT! Literally, order you some cheap balloons from Shein! Get everything! Foil balloons, latex balloons, 260s, everything; get a design off of Pinterest and TRY IT! Post about your experience learning it, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. The balloon community is so welcoming and helpful!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Brownsugarballoons.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/brownsugarballoons