This 32-year-old S’porean sells balloons for a living, making a profitable business in less than 2 years – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

Dora Lee, 32, started her Funlah party business almost three years ago with only a bottle of paint, a balloon package and a helium gas tank.

This “gung-ho” mannerism is not uncommon in Dora’s vision. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has seen the right part of his ups and downs. From handmade clay jewelry to custom phone covers to yoga fitness suits, the entrepreneur has been selling a variety of things for eight years, until he found items for the party, and that was a long-lost love.

“I decided to look for a new business that would allow my creativity to flourish and something that would give consumers happiness when they receive their orders. The first thing that came to my mind was birthdays, which are always happy. That’s why Funlah was born to bring fun and laughter to all special celebrations, ”Dora said.

Today, Funlah is profitable and has grown from a few customers to thousands of frequent customers, Dora said.

From cancellations to requests

But the pandemic certainly threw a key to the business.

“In early 2020, sales fell at the end of the holiday season and Funlah also took a break from the Chinese New Year. From then on, sales were not very positive as Singapore began to see new Covid-19 cases and many people were very worried. We started receiving calls and emails to postpone the celebration, and some decided to cancel the party. ”

However, after the Circuit Breaker, things started to get better and he took Dora by surprise.

Even though people can’t celebrate their birthday or graduation in a large group with friends and family, the gift of balloons has become very popular. “Grandparents send balloons to grandchildren and we have celebrations through Zoom calls, teachers send graduation balloons to students and people do small celebrations at home,” he said.

“E-commerce gifts have become ‘things’ and the demand for home celebrations has also increased. This has helped us gain brand awareness, and eventually led to more requests for our party balloons.”

The online presence attracts customers to the balloons

The order jump was impossible without the presence of e-commerce in the business and Google search traffic, where most customers found Funlah through organic searches.

The wide variety of balloons and competitive prices also helped to attract new customers to the business.

The most popular products in the business are balloons, followed by party supplies such as banners, tassels, back curtains, and baby play pins. The collection ranges from generic balloons to animals, sports and superheroes. There are also Disney princesses, cars, Pokemon and Paw Patrol.

“In general, most of our customers will place their order online and some prefer to chat with us via WhatsApp or Messenger before placing an order online, as this is the first time they have received balloons,” Dora shared.

Most customers place orders in advance, but Funlah ships the same day. However, same-day delivery often depends on the schedule and workforce, he said.

Up, up and away

Dora reported that Funlah is making more profits than last year, but the entrepreneur has taken profits to reinvest in the business.

“More than 50 percent was reinvested in the business for future growth, with many party elements and new members joining our team,” he said.

He added that as Christmas celebrations begin to plummet, demand and inquiries for Funlah’s party items have grown by 20 to 30 percent, and will continue until next year until China’s New Year, which is February 1.

2022, however

If the pandemic has taught her anything, it’s to be resilient to change, and Dora says she’s ready to manage 2022, anyway.

“In 2020, we had to deal with a lot of anxiety and frustration as more parties and events were canceled. Many products were out of stock and shipping was delayed. I had to look for new alternatives and other suppliers to get the items. ”

“It was a difficult experience because the supply chain was damaged, especially balloons in the United States and some of our suppliers had limited manpower to meet our demands,” he said.

Despite the increase in sales, Funlah is not taking a break and is offering customers a wider range of products and offerings. Last month, she released custom hand-painted helium balloons for customers who plan to give these party items to friends and family for personal messages.

Featured Image Credit: Funlah