My toughest customer yet…
A couple of months ago I asked my three year old what sort of birthday party he’d like. (A lesson learned – never do this!) He wanted a superhero party with a batman bouncy castle, superman soft play and everyone from his class to attend.
Unfortunately, his ambition did not align with my budget.
I do like a challenge though, so I explained that unfortunately I will not be able to deliver all elements of this event but I will make sure he has a superhero party to remember!
We agreed an invite list of his 10 closest friends and invited 13 knowing not everyone would be able to make it. 13 attended! Invitations were created using a Canva template and printed at home. With a touch of photoshop and generative AI to turn my son into superman flying over buildings, they looked great and received positive comments.
Onto the party itself… the venue was not a village hall but home. I hand crafted several superhero theme games including;
Thor meteor smash – each child smashes a paper mâché ball with a wooden hammer to reveal a prize
Spidey catch – using gooey webs to catch sweets hungry hippo style
Villain skittles – some paper cut outs on empty squash bottles. Take them out to win a prize
Pass the parcel – with superhero stickers, tattoos and gliders as prizes
Piñata – not one but two homemade paper mâché ones
I always hand-make birthday cakes and asked my son what he’d like. One day it was a Superman cake, then Batman the next. Another day it was Spiderman. So I included them all…
The day arrived, it was noisy and chaotic but fun filled. The games went down a storm, particularly the web game which was fun for spectators and players alike. The pinatas were also a big hit (pun intended) and I was glad I made two as some children were too shy to take a hit the first time around.
The cake received lots of positive comments, though also led to another request and I am now making my nephew a Spiderman cake for his birthday in February!
At bedtime I asked my son if he’d enjoyed his party. “Yes” he said. “Was it ok not having a Batman bouncy castle?” I nervously asked. “It was better than a bouncy castle.” He replied. Boom! Another satisfied customer. I’ve also received several messages from parents saying how much their children enjoyed it.
So, what has this got to do with work?
Client expectations sometimes don’t meet with budget or time restraints. It’s important to acknowledge this early and reset expectations.
Anything is possible. You may not have the budget to execute exactly what you’d envisioned but we can always do something with the budget that you do have.
Make the most of every resource. I didn’t have budget but I had time. If you don’t have time you may have people. Or perhaps a little of all three which can go a long way.
Time + effort can create special moments. Don’t worry, I won’t be turning up to meetings with paper and glue but I always give 100% effort when working with my clients
Out the box thinking can turn ideas into reality. Not sure which cake you want? We’ll combine them into one epic one!
Don’t be afraid to be different to your competitors. My son wanted a bouncy castle and soft play because every party he’d been to before was just that. We swam in a different lane and everyone loved it. They will hopefully remember it too.
