I'm curious, how long do you take to do a balloon on average? I mostly do 2-4 minutes per design. I like to keep things moving to allow time for other things - doing funny stuff to be entertaining while doing balloons, doing more magic, etc. Maybe if I get through the balloons then I can do face painting or game leading or caricatures, or more magic. Also, it really bugs me when I spend a while on something and it pops when I'm almost finished, or it pops 10 minutes later or falls apart - it makes me not want to bother with the fancy stuff. That's especially true on hot humid days when the balloons are popping like popcorn. I know a guy who only does the fancy stuff, so he spend 10 minutes or even more on each one - I don't know how he gets away with that cause he won't get through many people - but the balloons look great. A few designs, though simple (like the racing roller coaster - balls in the twisty thing)look impressive but are kinda quick.

I based it off how many kids I have and how much time I got to give everyone a balloon
so if I got 10 kids for an hour I do about 5 minute designs
at a festival they want 300 kids I do the 30 second crap lol

Depends if they hire me to do the big fancy stuff and time allows I take 5-6 minutes. Line work its 1-2 minutes max. I hate line work but it's money.

I think this is probably a fair amount of time...

In my case I never do anything less than a 2-3 balloon design.. Usually most of my stuff is 5 minute designs with a few 2 minute ones thrown in. If they want some junks fast stuff or tell me they have 30 kids and only want to pay for 60 minutes of my time I will NOT do it. I simply won't do the job unless they add more time or they can call someone else. I don't want to be known as the guy who makes 1-2 balloon swords, flowers and dogs that EVERYONE can do. If do these jobs the only thing I can compete on is price. I don't want to get in that battle. I want to show I am better than that.

I try to avoid being like Wal-Mart trying to be one guy who does everything.. Facepainting leave that to someone else.. Games and clowns.. Leave that to another expert...

If it works for you great. Its just not for me.

I give kids and their parents the best I can make given the amount of time we have and the number of kids. It's never the same two times in a row. Bottom line --- they are happy and that trumps how long it takes, in my opinion.

Do you guys do extra stuff to make it more entertaining (Not that the act of making balloons isn't entertaining by itself - especially if you are doing the fancy stuff)? Do you guys do slapstick like having the balloons flop into your face or fly away or whatever? What is your philosophy on taking time for quick magic or slapstick or verbal humor while ballooning? Do you think ballooning is good by itself and doesn't need anything else to be entertaining? Or do you do other stuff, and when? Do you always make a point to do extra stuff, or just if there is time?
I always try to be entertaining as possible, no matter what. So for me, I do the slapstick balloon gags, the verbal humor, & quick magic as much as I can without slowing things down too much. One reason I do it is to make it more fun for me, which in turn makes it more entertaining for them. Plus, if I'm doing balloons for 2-4 hours straight my brain and hands need a break. I try to find the right balance - if I have a line a half hour long, then I do less, but the line is boring for the kids waiting, so I still want to do a little to keep them entertained - I think it balances out the extra few minutes that cause people to wait. Then, also, I am known as the funny balloon guy, not just another balloon guy. I'm not one of those guys that does all that fancy super cool stuff anyway, and usually don't have time for that anyway. My friend Dizzy Doc in Ohio, on the other hand, is off the chart talented at the fancy cool stuff, so that's his thing - we don't all have to do it the same.

I hope in the near future I get enough gigs where I can turn down the crap but for now I do like to eat!!

I hear you Preston... It will happen.. Get a few dinner gigs on kids eat free days.. I do 3 a week and it helps get more work and makes me money.

Charge them plus tips is a great combo.

I do lots of gags, but I keep it moving fast. I only do one-balloon shapes, because I am primarily a magician, and the balloons are an add-on at the end of the show. So two to three balloons a minute, non-stop stream of gags and chat, and get through them as quickly as possible.

The more fancy stuff is an entirely different market. While I admire it, I don't want to get into it.

Private parties I do. They've hired me to entertain them so that's what I do. At line twist events I'm hired to make balloons but I also throw in a quick gag here and there as time allows.

I make 1200 balloons in 10 hours work

Roberto, must be you get a lot of request for worms and snakes....

Wow...120 balloons an hour. That's a lot of swords!

I use the jokes and gags, games and the like while doing line work, the kids have more fun and will listen to me when I tell them some thing. and are better behaved because of it.

I will do almost any thing to keep from making a doggie, I don't dumb down for line work. the more you push your self the faster you get at the big stuff.
And Danfreed, lock twist every thing, and burp as needed.

10 balloons for a 1/2 hour
20-25 in an hour

Using the no repeat method ... I have a song list and I twist some of my best and quickest balloons in conjunction to the songs played.

15 per hour by request...

Actually at that rate it is quite possible to make a good selection of dogs, rocking horses, swords, guns, parrots, rabbits, swams - all the simple one-balloon shapes. He would not have been confined to swords and worms.

One balloon rocking horse?

It's an old one. I do it for the birthday child. I put a bubble inside, sing a silly song while I make it, and it makes a nice end to the show. It was one of the first shapes I learnt.
This is not my one, but the same basic shape, lifted from the internet.

Click here to view attached image.

I enjoy what I do enormously and try to make the most elaborate things possible. I can be between 4 to 10 minutes for a single creation. I live in a small town and the parents know what they are getting into with me. I am the guy that actually cares about what he puts out there and that is going to take a little time. One of the first questions I ask when booking is how many kids they are expecting and from there I can tell them if it is going to work or not.

Dan, I throw some gags in there when I feel appropriate. I find that one of my issues is that I am far to focused on perfectionism that I may not connect at a more personal level. It is rather complicated because I also realize that I never billed myself as the funny man balloon guy so I don't know why they would expect it. On occasion I incorporate 3 foot rounds into party sculptures. When fully inflated and tied off I will pull the Atlas pose as the weight of the balloon slowly crushes me. I wear a vest and often thread balloons through the shoulders just to get them out of the way but it gets a laugh.


Dylan

That's cute! I have never seen a 1 balloon rocking horse before. Interesting...