From Banker to Party Specialist!

I left my job and put my party hat on!

Entrepreneur: Amber Dinda
Business: Par-T-Perfect Party Planners Inc.
URL: www.par-t-perfect.com
Product: To create lasting memories for children. Our mission statement says it all… “To provide a complete children’s party and event service – delivering superior quality, creating lasting memories”.

Par-T-Perfect is a full service, year round children’s party and event company. Let us do it for you with our unique themes, fun inflatables and complete party packages.

Our enthusiastic, experienced party leaders will organize the games, crafts, face painting, balloon twisting and more.

The Company: Par-T-Perfect’s key to success across Canada has been based on four points; Safety, Service, clean equipment, and creativity.

Par-T-Perfect Oakville/Burlington specializes in complete planning of children’s events for under 12 years of age. The company has an extensive line of interactive equipment including; crawl zones, bouncers, and ball pits that are available to rent or as part of a package. Other services available include; face painting, balloon twisting, and a wide assortment of costumed characters. Party themes range from; “Dress Up Trunk and Tea Party with a Princess”, “Bugs, Bubbles and Butterflies”, “Candy Olympics”, “Teddy Bear Making”, “Fantastic Foam Parties” and more.

Beyond the standard birthday parties, Par-T-Perfect has become a main supplier for corporate picnics, Christmas parties, charitable events and community festivals across Canada.

My story: I am a local mom living here in Oakville with my husband and two children. After finishing my maternity leave for my second child at one of the big five banks, I feared how my family might be affected upon returning to work. The 1 hour commute each way to Toronto everyday did not seem as appealing anymore.

One night my husband was exploring business ideas on the internet when he found Par-T-Perfect, a kid’s event company based in Canada. "Yeah, wouldn't that be a wonderful way to make a living; throwing parties for children” we mused. What could be a better way to spend your time than providing children with great parties and creating lasting memories that they will be able to cherish for a lifetime. I was convinced; I had found my new calling!

After thoroughly researching Par-T-Perfect, I was positive it would suit the family oriented communities of Oakville and Burlington where we have lived for the past six years. The decision was made. Canada’s first national children’s event company was now coming here. I opened the local franchise on July 1st, 2005.

Biggest Challenge Working From Home: For me, it was getting used to the “unstructured” nature of running my own business. I no longer work 8am – 4pm and run to catch the “GO Train”. It took a little while to get used to it (not long though!!). Once over that initial challenge – I have now completely settled into my routine and I love it. I can walk my kids to school, volunteer in their classrooms and just be a part of their life and not feel like I’m missing it. And in exchange for that, yes I am often working on the computer late at night or puttering in the garage on Friday nights packing the bins for the weekends’ parties – but loving every minute of it. Working from home has become a true blessing for me and my family.

Biggest Challenge of Starting your Own Business: I am happy I made the decision to go with a franchise. I’m in business for myself but not by myself. I work closely with 17 other franchisees and the franchisors, helping in all kinds of ways to get my business going. With a proven product and service, my challenge is educating the public about who we are and what we can offer and the best way to go about doing that.

My Goal for the Future: To create many lasting memories for the children of Oakville and Burlington. I remember an event I had during my first month where Par-T-Perfect organized the kid’s activities for a large furniture store grand opening and we set up a huge display in the parking lot - “This sure is different than my past career and so rewarding. I get to see big smiles everyday”. What could be better than that?

Please visit my website www.par-t-perfect.com for full descriptions of our services. I can be reached via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

More fun than you can imagine!!