I have found myself a few extra (unplanned) days in Exmouth WA – as all the planes are grounded. It is quite an interesting sensation to be given two extra days of holiday. I was already mentally making note of all the things that need to be done on my return, plans to be reviewed, evaluations to be done, budgets to be approved – it is after all only a few weeks to the end of the financial year. Instead…
As we head off for a five day break with the family I was delighted to receive the photo below from friends who have just welcomed their first child into the world… Truly delighted that young Sam is really ‘into’ his RedBalloon baby experience.
Today is momentous, for me personally and for the amazing RedBalloon team. Today, RedBalloon is celebrating the sale of a million RedBalloon experiences. It seems like yesterday that I launched RedBalloon (during the dot com crash, no-one can accuse me of not having an optimistic outlook) and waited (and waited) for two months and four days to sell our first experience. Thank you to our first customer, Damian Chown, who says he chose to purchase from RedBalloon because it was…
The wonderful RedBalloon product team never cease to amaze me with how they source such innovative, memory-making experiences. Today’s additions to our experience line-up are so exciting, especially the beer belly casting kit that I’ve already earmarked for some of my friends with a little too much taste for the amber nectar! For watersports lovers, if regular water skiing isn’t enough, why not try being towed behind an F-16 Fighter Jet for the ultimate water skiing experience? Or for the…
One of the fabulous parts of my role is visiting and experiencing the amazing range of experiences that RedBalloon has to offer. This weekend my colleague Georgia and I visited a brand new supplier… and what a delight. I have never before been to a Health Retreat… in fact I was a little unsure of what to expect. I knew that to maximize the results of the retreat part of it would be to unplug for the weekend. No phones,…
I just received this delightful email from a RedBalloon experience supplier. It is such a beautiful story of a perfect gift…. and something I had never considered. A pet is often very much a member of the family – and when the family member (especially children and the elderly) is in hospital for a very long time they can desperately miss the family pet. As Jill explained: “Hi Naomi, I supplied a cushion to a RedBalloon customer who had bought…
I often marvel that the experiences that I love the most are the one’s that are most unexpected. And on Sunday morning, I got to delight in the feeling of flying. On Hamilton Island with the RedBalloon Corporate team we delighted in doing things that we had not done before. I have been sailing – but never on a catamaran that is rigged just for speed. Keith our host was completely thorough in his briefing – we learned how to…
Some people shudder just to read the word fitness; others instantly feel a dull sense of guilt in the pit of their stomach, others of course live for it. Wellness, fitness, nutrition – are not things that you would expect to hear about from me. Looking after myself though is one of my responsibilities. I have so many people that count on me… not just my children, husband, family and friends, but the RedBallooners, our suppliers, customers, and the broader…
Today was my first day back in the office after school holidays… I arrived early, to start sorting through the mail, and messages before the meeting rhythm started. Quite a few of my colleagues were gathering together excitedly – eight of the team were going Sky Diving – including Jemma GM. One of the delegates for this adventure was running late, so the team began to jest that I could take her place. I was glad when Sarah-Jane arrived, however…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
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The power of the mini break
Some weeks I am so busy when I fall into bed at night I can barely remember what I did that morning… yet I am no good to anyone if I rush around without making sure that I look after myself. Often I just need a few moments to myself to gather my thoughts during the day, whether it is taking a walk at lunch time – or patting Dexter dog. There is a big difference though between a little…