Name of business: Blown Away by Liz

Type of business: Party services

Location: Turlock (mobile)

Contact information: Instagram at @BlownAwayByLiz

Specialty: Lux balloon decorations, backdrops

History of business: When Turlock mother Elizabeth Rodriguez offered to help decorate for her sister’s party, little did she know that she would expand her hoppy into a licensed business. In just over a year, she has gone from working with small Amazon kits to creating sensational setups with her business, Blown Away by Liz.

“At the beginning, I was just doing balloon garlands for family and friends and I literally did my sister’s party with an Amazon kit, but now I’ve expanded to do backdrops and kids tables for birthday parties,” Rodriguez  said.

But Rodriguez  explained that making the transition from an online kit to helping decorate celebrations like weddings and quinceaneras was a learning process.

“Little did I know that helping family and friends was nothing compared to owning a business and using quality balloons. I also learned that it does matter where your event is going to be, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, how large of an event it’s going to be,” she said. “Over time and with more experience, I just decided to go ahead and turn this into an actual business.”

And once Rodriguez  obtained her business license, it was off to the races.

“At first, I just started doing this here and there, but know I’m doing this almost every weekend,” she said.

While the business adds to her already busy schedule as a full-time worker with three kids, she says that it’s the people she works with that make it all worth it.

“I like meeting new people and every client that books me has been great, and it’s interesting because I end up doing every milestone for them,” she said. “One of my clients, I did her gender reveal, baby shower, we did her six-month pictures, then we just did his first birthday, and I think it’s really cool that I get to have the opportunity to do that.”

By earning the trust of community members and having more and more completed projects under her belt, Rodriguez  is now getting opportunities to go bigger and better with her party setups.

Blown Away by Liz currently has a set minimum of $300 per event. Recently, she did her biggest project yet, a $3,000 Wild Ones-themed party emulating a zoo, complete with tables, custom backdrops, center pieces, balloons and other decorations.

Blown Away by Liz operates with an online storefront on Instagram, under the handle @BlownAwayByLiz. Rodriguez  encourages those interested in her services to follow the account to browse her previous work and to message her regarding quotes and other information.

“It’s been a great experience,” Rodriguez said. “I’m hoping that this coming year, we can do even bigger things.”