ROSEVILLE, Calif. — If you've been to a Sacramento Kings game or attended the recent Nextdoor 100 Block Party, you may have seen one of the colorful displays created by Lush Balloons.
Michelle Brown is the CEO and co-founder of Lush Balloons and just opened a new retail warehouse in Roseville. Brown said she also plans to have an event space available to rent in August 2022.
What started out of her home in Natomas in 2019, Brown said her family-owned balloon decoration business took off in March 2020, near the start of the pandemic.
"I'm so proud of our team and being a minority-owned business, being woman-owned and led like it's extremely hard. A lot of people like kind of taking you as a joke or thinking that you're not serious, but for us, we love what we do and we love bringing joy to Sacramento," Brown said.
Brown said her husband was able to quit his job last year and focus on the business full-time.
"Who can say like you're gonna quit your job in the middle of a pandemic when everybody stops short to come focus on your business?" Brown said.
Brown said she is Hispanic and her husband, Davonte, who goes by Sean, is Black and customers are sometimes surprised that they own their own company. Although it can be challenging for Brown to process the emotions when she hears these reactions, she said it doesn't stop them and if anything, it fuels their determination even more.
For other people looking to start their own business, Brown has this advice.
"You can't just sit around [and] wait for something to happen. Somebody tells you 'no?' Great, that's one 'no' closer to a 'yes' and just never let anybody bring you down or never let anybody take away your shine," Brown said.
For people interested in ordering balloons Brown said she works with all budgets and they offer balloon bouquets and various displays for any event.
"No matter what the situation is, we're here to just bring joy to people," Brown said.
For more information, visit Lush Balloons' website.
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