Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Woodward.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I taught special education before this, and I’ve always been the type looking for an outlet for my creativity, usually in the form of some wild business idea I’d talk myself into and out of. Balloons were the one that stuck. It started small, just decor for my own kids’ birthdays, and it turned into something I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Arcadia Balloon Co. became real in 2025, run out of my house in the Arcadia neighborhood in Phoenix. I’m still the one behind every part of it, the design, the building, the delivery, the install, which means every job carries a piece of the person who used to plan lessons for a living. That background shows up more than people expect. I plan everything out ahead of time, I answer questions before clients think to ask them, and I always follow up to make sure the day actually looked the way they pictured it. I’ve also never met a stranger, so working together tends to feel easy from the first message.
What started as a favor for my own family has grown into backdrop rentals and balloon garlands for birthdays, showers, grad parties, and a growing list of corporate clients across the Valley. Still solo, still out of my house, with two little boys who are honestly the reason I started making any of this in the first place.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t all been smooth. The creativity and the customer service side came easily, that’s just an extension of who I already was as a teacher and honestly as a person. The harder part has been learning how to actually run a business: what works to grow it, what doesn’t, how to market something well when nobody teaches you that as part of being creative. That’s been the real learning curve, and it’s still ongoing.
We’ve been impressed with Arcadia Balloon Co., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Arcadia Balloon Co. is a Phoenix-based balloon and backdrop business, run out of my house right here in the Arcadia neighborhood, in between chasing around a four year old and a one year old. Officially I’m the one-woman operation, though my husband has become an honorary member of the team, mostly on backdrop building and painting duty, and he’s the one who occasionally gets sent back out for strike when a backdrop needs to come home.
Before this I taught special education, and that background shows up in almost everything I do now more than the balloons themselves do. I plan every job out carefully, I answer questions before a client thinks to ask them, and I always follow up to make sure the day actually looked the way they pictured it. Teaching also means I’ve never met a stranger, so working together tends to feel easy from the first message, whether that’s a family in my own neighborhood or someone across the Valley.
I design and build every balloon garland and structure by hand, and I paint and customize a rotating lineup of backdrops that I rent out for parties and events around Phoenix. What people tend to notice most is that everything is made specifically for their event. Nothing comes off a shelf. I match colors to the exact palette a client has in mind, and I’m there for the whole thing, from that first conversation about what they’re picturing, through building it, delivering it, and setting it up myself, usually around nap schedules.
What I want people to know is that this started small, as decor for my own kids’ parties, and it’s grown into something that gets to be part of a lot of other families’ celebrations around Phoenix now. Being a mom and a former teacher is woven into all of it, not something I do on the side of running this business. It’s still the part I love most.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Honestly, the resource that’s helped me most isn’t an app or a podcast, it’s other people. I lean a lot on the balloon and event community, other artists and vendors around the Valley who are generous about sharing what’s working for them and asking questions when something isn’t. It’s a small enough industry that a lot of us end up rooting for each other more than competing, and that’s made a real difference, especially starting out solo with two little kids and not a lot of time to sit down and figure everything out on my own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arcadiaballoonco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcadiaballoonco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arcadiaballoonco
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-woodward-292a40107/
