A Surprising Business – Les Ballons Messagers

Jean-Christophe Fauteux, Futurpreneur Canada, Client Relationship Manager, Quebec

Jean-Christophe Fauteux and Emily Wake went on a one day trip to follow our community partner, Conseil Économique Haut Richelieu (in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), while he was doing his post care follow-ups with Futurpreneur Canada entrepreneurs. Our first stop was, Les Ballons Messagers, a costume shop with over 1,200+ costumes to rent, costume accessories, make-up, and have their own online boutique that ships anywhere in Canada. Karine Letourneu and Sebastien d’Astous are the entrepreneurs behind this Quebec business.

Futurpreneur Canada financed Les Ballons Messagers in 2010 and it was for the purchase of the assets of the business by the entrepreneurs. Soon after the purchase, they found out that being entrepreneurs might not be as easy as they thought. They found out that there was a lot less inventory then mentioned in the purchase agreement, and their landlord was very strict on rent payments. Karine and Sebastien were able to cut down some unprofitable services in the first year and were able to grow the business enough to pay their rent.

The advice that they have to new entrepreneurs is that they should ALWAYS take their time with the purchase of an existing business and try to negotiate the price as much as possible. They should make sure that the appraisal has been done properly and that there are not any hidden surprises.

Visit Les Balloons Messagers at: http://lesballonsmessagers.com/ or their online boutique at: http://pajac.com/fr/. They ship everywhere in Canada!