Sarah is warm, bubbly, and unmistakably a mom! The kind of person whose kids come up in conversation because she's so proud of them. Her business started almost by accident. In 2018 she did her first balloon installation, and by 2019 it had become an actual business. Before that, her background was in retail merchandising here on the Peninsula. She's built her whole empire from the ground up, on her own terms. 

The origin story is such a good one: she was asked for a themed setup for her son's eighth-grade promotion, and Sarah's reaction was basically "I’ll do it, but I'm doing it my way." When she looked around, the only real balloon companies she could find were out in Tennessee and Australia. It wasn't the crowded market it is today. There's more competition now, but back then she was building something from scratch. 

What gets her out of bed every morning is fear. Not fear in a bad way, but the fear of disappointing a client, of not being good enough for the people who've trusted her. In a world full of confidence and ambition, it's refreshing hearing a successful business owner admit that.  

Something most people don't know about her business: she actually has a storefront, and it's so worth seeing! Behind the scenes is a full workroom where all the balloons get inflated and assemble which was really cool for me to see. Up front, the space is spacious, thoughtfully decorated, and very Sarah. Her personal style is a big part of what sets her apart from anyone else doing this. 

What she loves about doing business here is the balance of being big enough to matter and small enough to feel like a real community. There's a smaller overall pool of business to go around, but within that pool, word-of-mouth carries an enormous weight. Most new clients start the same way: "so-and-so referred me."  

As for the Chamber, she feels really supported. The shop-local, shop-small ethos is not just a slogan, and as a small business owner, that matters to her. She's apprehensive about jinxing the specifics of what’s ahead for Poptopia, but she's VERY excited about what's coming next. Being part of the Chamber has made her feel very cared for as the staff and members are so active and driven, and she's especially excited about the word-of-mouth opportunities that come out of events like the mixers. 

Her advice to students, and really to anyone starting out: stop stressing about having it all figured out. You can't control everything, you can only control the controllables. Life unfolds the way it's supposed to if you're patient. There's a plan, even when you can't see it yet. She worked hard and followed her creative instincts, and that's what got her here. She tells her own daughter the same thing: you won't be happy without your creative side. You have to do what you love, because passion is just one of those things you cannot force. 

That point led to a broader conversation about paths that don't look like the ones we expect. Sarah's own path proves that the "traditional" route isn't the only one that works and that sometimes the detour is the whole point. 

She's also thoughtful about how she uses AI. She occasionally uses it in her emails to keep the customer experience consistent and warm, even on the days when she's not at her best. She's clear-eyed about pricing, too, and as she puts it, you don't hire your uncle to shoot your wedding photos when you could pay a little more for someone who really knows what they're doing. She made an example about a $100 top that is marked down to $50, is but is still just better quality than a top that is originally priced as $50.  One is still the same product for less, the other is simply less. Poptopia is that good quality top. 

Talking with her, it's easy to see that you’re paying for the amazing person behind the balloons, not just the product itself. Bubbly, comfortable in her own skin, stylish, and clearly a wonderful mom!