We had the good fortune of connecting with Jazzmine Rivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jazzmine, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
The most difficult decision Ive ever had to make was resigning from my full time career to pursue The Balloon River full-time.

Being an overly calculated and over prepared kind of person, it was always so hard to be ready & to trust myself. Its easy to work hard towards a promotion but harder to bet on yourself everyday. I also worked incredibly hard to get where I was in my career, so it almost felt like I was giving up on another part of me. The me I worked so hard to be at the time. I loved my job and everything I did on a day to day from my team to my clients. It was not easy to look at my team whom I’ve groomed to “leave the nest”, and tell them that Im leaving.

Today, In hindsight, I can see that those experiences and people Ive met has led me to be who I am today. It was the hardest decision but it was the best one I’ve ever made.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a balloon artist, I create beautiful installations with air filled balloons for many events from milestone celebrations to corporate brand activations. From baby showers to weddings, balloons have been taking over and its like, “not a party if you don’t have balloons” , right?

What sets me apart from many in my industry is my ability to create custom color pallets for our clients and visual design boards. Custom colors are when we put two balloons in each other to create a brand new color that is not manufactured anywhere in the world. Visual design boards set the client in the mood so they can see “what we see” for their upcoming event.

How did I get here today, professionally? I wish I can remember, I definitely was running on little to no sleep while building this. Prior to this I was a Career Branch Manager for one of the top 10 financial institutions in America. Having large responsibilities from 9-5 and then starting/running a business on the 2 days you have off was hard, not to mention having little children (at the time 2 and 5 yo).

I always choose to look at those hard times and challenges as opportunities. What could have been done better/differently, what could I do next time etc? Accepting the fact that there are short term losses for long term gains, in any circumstances has helped me get through things by finding the silver lining.

Im most proud of being able to not only be a part of thousands of families most special moments and memories, but since we started educating/mentoring other balloon artists , we have now been a part of the professional growth of over 200 students. Many students were able to create a stream of income for themselves, some even creating a full time income. Thats something I could have ever imagined doing when I fist started this journey.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend came to town we would probably head into some of our favorite local spots for a week of self care!

We would pay a visit to our favorite luxury day spa called SOJO in Edgewater, NY thats an all day relaxing experience thats guaranteed to leave you with spaghetti legs. If we were able to grab a room there, we would order take out from a Havana’s cafe which is a nice little cuban restaurant in the area. My girls and I love to shop so we would go across the street to The Pomenade, shop us a new outfit and head to a nice pub called De Novo where we can enjoy the view, a drink and chat.

Another area we like to visit locally is Downtown Jersey City. There is an area called pedestrian square where the street is closed off and guests can wine and dine in the street while people walk by and enjoy the local shops. South house is a great restaurant with great vibes and good food.

If we wanted to go for a fun adventure Id probably either stop by RPM Raceway for a nice fun lap around or we would go to Bowlero which is a nice adult arcade/bowling alley.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my husband because without his support, I couldn’t ever imagine being able to accomplish all that I have and will. Aside from my husband, I would love to acknowledge two mentors in my life who played a great role in my story, Jessi and India.

Jessi (@mommywithscissors) was the first person I discovered in the event industry and I was suddenly mesmerized by her work. I followed her on social media and messaged and commented her until she can get my attention, persistent much (haha). One day, she messaged me back and since then was my mentor. She granted me many privileges to work along side of her to gain hands on experiences.

India, is a mentor who mentored me during a Women In Power event while I was in banking (circa 2015), our commitment was for 1 year but we stayed in touch. Since then, India was an instrumental coach in my growth professionally in banking but also guided and advised me when I was making the transition into entrepreneurship. Today India helps connect me& keep me connected to the internet world and has been instrumental in my online community of fellow artists.

Website: Theballoonriver.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/theballoonriver

Image Credits
Photo of me teaching : Miguel Pichardo Photography Photo of me on the sofa under the fringe : Miguel Pichardo Photography Photo of rooftop installation + couple : Randylange Photography Outdoor green installation: Shamemories Photography

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