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Blog: 10 Years of Ultrapom: Year 7

2017 was the year that we finally were going to just hunker down and not make any big changes… and then we were offered to purchase one of our competitors, Celebrations Party Rentals, and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  We were trying to get into more standard rentals, like chafing dishes, polyester tablecloths, etc. Celebrations had the inventory and staff know-how to do that.

Going through the process of buying another business was a huge learning process for me, and I am now hesitant to do it again. My approach to life is pretty much summed up with the phrase “what could go wrong?!?” So when I thought about buying another rental company, I figured it couldn’t be that hard of a transition, since they essentially did the same thing we do.  But they also were a slightly bigger company than us, with greater annual revenue, a bigger warehouse, and more staff.  So when I signed the sale closing documents on September 15, we more than doubled our company in one fell swoop, Ultrapom became the second largest rental company in Kansas City, and the largest locally owned rental company in the city. (Yet somehow our biggest competitor is ten times our size, though it’s owned by a private equity fund and is part of a national chain.)

Celebrations was located in Lee’s Summit, and had a warehouse twice the size of ours. For about 6 months, we worked out of both locations, which was pretty stressful for me, and hard to get the two groups of employees to be a team.  So we were on the hunt to move again!

The summer of 2017 was also a bit of a golden time for Ultrapom.  We had a great group of people working together that also had fun together, and we got to do some pretty fun events.  

For several years, we have done a company holiday card, always with a theme of togetherness. In 2017, we raised the bar on how ridiculous our card could be with our 80s workout themed card – that also brought our Ultrapom and Celebrations crew together, because we were “working it out together.” 

Photos by Paul Andrews Photography

Since then, we have tried to top our holiday card each year, including our Kardashian Family/Vanity Fair cover from 2018:

Photos by Paul Andrews Photography

then our Greatest Show on Earth theme of 2019:

Photos by Paul Andrews Photography

and our most recent card had a theme of Queen/Bohemian Rhapsody with pandemic twist (Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a pandemic, no escape from reality):

Photos by (you guessed it) Paul Andrews Photography

And every year, Paul Andrews Photography and White Carpet Bride are down to clown with whatever crazy idea we have.

GIVEAWAY: So, in honor of ALL the lessons we have learned about running a business, as well as our constant theme of working together as a team – with both our internal team and with other vendors, today’s giveaway is just for our fellow event business owners!  We are giving away services that have helped us grow and develop as a business team.

  • 1 hour consultation with KR-HR: Based in Overland Park, Karen Hughey provides human resources consultation services to small businesses all over the country.  She has helped us hone our employee handbook, navigate labor laws, and make sure we are providing the best resources that we can offer to our employees.
  • $200 in printing services from Soli Printing: Located in the Crossroads, Soli has been our go-to printer for years (and printed every one of our holiday cards shown above!)
  • Business branding shoot with Jana Marie Co: I love Jana’s heart for seeing other businesses succeed, and her eye for photography and design is well developed.  We have worked with her from very early on in our history!
  • Quarter Page ad + 6 month online listing in Wed KC (or ad upgrade if already an advertiser): We have worked with Wed KC since 2013 (when it was still EA Bride), and have always had a great experience! We were honored to assist with their inaugural Vendors Choice Awards, and humbled to win in three separate categories that year.  The Vendors Choice Awards is such a great gift to the the KC wedding industry.

Like always, head over to our Instagram post to enter!

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