Sandi Masori is like the song by the Rolling Stones, “She comes in color everywhere… She’s like a rainbow.” She wears many colorful hats in her life as an artist, businesswoman, and single mom. She was the owner of a balloon business, Balloon Utopia, and now owns a business advising people how to get their books published, Sandi Masori- Book Strategist. She is also the mother of two boys. She juggles her life in a very dynamic way, her brain exploding in a wide ranging palate. A burst of energy, she can be easily distracted, and then, come up with profound insights and ideas on life and work.
One of the many hats that Masori, 45, wears is that of creative and inquisitive artist. This started early in her life. She got her BA in Religious Studies –with an emphasis on Middle Eastern studies- from UC Santa Barbara. After getting the CLAD/ESL credential, she moved to Los Angeles to teach in an elementary school in 1994.
To supplement her income, she worked as a cocktail waitress at the now defunct, Wizards, a magic themed dinner theater. That is where the real magic began for her as she hung out with the magicians there, learning magic tricks. She also learned about balloons from her mentor, Dawn. The two of them started “busking” around LA, performing both magic and balloon tricks. She also started using her growing balloon expertise for behavior modification with her young students in class.
In March of 1995, she traveled to Japan as part of a magic show. She found an agent in Osaka and ended up living there, teaching ESL and working at an amusement park doing balloon magic. She was known as “Sandi the balloon girl”. She stayed in Japan for one year.
When she was 25, her life took a different turn as she went to Israel to make her Aliyah. This is where she met her future husband, a Yemenite Israeli. He was also artistic and they started working together doing balloon tricks and decorations in Israel and then in 2000, moved back to San Diego.
As a wedding gift, her parents, Don and Nancy Harrison, got them a unique gift. They found the four best balloonists in the USA and the newlyweds got to study with each one for one week. This took them to various cities. It also helped them to hone their talent and move from entertainment to larger decorations. They opened a business called, Balloon Utopia.
From 2000 to 2008, they made a good living although sometimes, it could be feast or famine. In 2008, Masori, realized they had to redo their website and search engine for SEO optimization and to protect their rankings, so she went to Atlanta to learn how to promote the business better with online marketing.
Her name then went on a list and she began to receive emails from others with questions about video marketing. This led to a YouTube Channel, sandiballoon, in 2009 and her first book, “The Ultimate Guide to Inflating your Trade Show Profits” in 2012. This was part of her marketing arsenal for her business. By training clients and showing expertise, she could get noticed more.
It worked and it helped her to get on various TV shows- including the Today Show, where she showed her balloon expertise- as producers like authors. She went on to write six more bestselling books on balloons, and she has made numerous TV appearances. Because of this success, more people starting asking her for help in marketing and promoting their own books.
Her first client was a doctor and the list grew from there. This became her well paid professional hobby, but it was soon to grow into something more as she was getting burned out on the balloon business. Because she was a well-known balloon artist, she spent many weekends and holidays away from her family. It was also very physically demanding work. She realized she was being split in too many pieces, so she is in the process of selling her business, Balloon Utopia. Masori will retain the educational side of the business. She confided she was very happy with this decision as she felt a good person was taking over her “baby”.
In addition, she is excited about making publishing her full time business and helping others become bestselling authors. She calls herself a book strategist. She helps her clients self publish and maintain control while establishing themselves as experts in their particular field. Right now, her focus is on business authority books.
Finally, her latest endeavor and present “baby” is a new show on her YouTube channel called, “Shape up Sandi”. The show is a light hearted transformational journey where she welcomes different guests who teach her how to adopt a healthy lifestyle and try out new things. She hopes to entertain and inspire others and have fun. So far, she has had her teeth whitened by singer Cardi B’s dentist, and she is working with Maru Davila of Flaca Forever. She just finished following the two week detox. Although she feels better, she confessed, “I am craving chips something fierce.” This honesty and letting us live vicariously through her is what is good about her new show.
The ultimate goal is for the show to become a reality show on TV, as her dream is to be a TV personality. She met with a TV producer and he told her she needed to get one million subscribers to get her own TV show. Right now, she has 49,000 subscribers. She has also started an Indiegogo fundraiser to help reach her goal.
Finally, she is a proud mom to two “amazing kids” as she calls them. She and their father divorced two years ago and he moved back to Israel. She lives here with her 17 year son, Shor, her 11 year old son, Sky, and their dog, Buddy. The boys are proud of their mom and all her accomplishments. The three of them just came back from a Caribbean cruise.
Her new show and fundraising campaign are as she says, “One of the hardest and most challenging things I have ever done”, but except for spending more time with her boys, she doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. It is not in her restless and creative nature.
Her website is ExpertBook4u.com
Her indiegogo website is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shape-up-sandi-show
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