For Balloon Worx owner Judy Ekert, it's the customers that have become friends, and the staff that are like family, that make the highs and lows of running a small business worthwhile.
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After 17 years in business - which have included a flood, fire and pandemic - Mrs Ekert, 63, will retire on Thursday, handing over the reins to her daughter and long-time staff member Stephanie.
The Ekert family opened Balloon Worx in Cessnock in 2005, after running a similar business in Bundaberg.
Starting out as a party supply business, Balloon Worx has moved seven times around the Cessnock CBD - "each move for the better", Mrs Ekert says - and has expanded into giftware, wedding and event hire services and floristry over the years.
The shop flooded and caught fire in the space of a few months in 2012, which Mrs Ekert said brought out the best in the local community.
"When we had the fire, within an hour customers and people from the nearby businesses had turned up to help," she said.
"It's a great community - we all help each other."
Mrs Ekert said she will miss seeing her customers, but she knows the time is right, and that the business is in good hands, with all current staff staying on.
"It will only go from strength to strength," she said.
Mrs Ekert's husband Graham is also retiring from his business, Cessnock Maintenance Services, and they are looking forward to travelling and spending more time with their grandchildren.