Here are some of our photo booth success stories from the month of September!
Another month has gone by and we couldn’t be happier with all of the progress that we have been seeing with all of the PBI Family members. As you know, our exclusive Facebook community has been popping from all of the activity that you guys have been up to. We would like to highlight some of our favorite stories and photo booth success we noticed this month!
Our Top Contributor This Month in the Facebook Group
Congrats To Zoraida C Alvarez For The Top #PBIfamily Contributor Of The Month Of September. Who Will Win This Month?
Zoraida is new to the PBI Family but she is doing well already with her business, Pics and Tales Photo Booth. She is continuously gracing us with great news about her business inspiring new and old members alike. We are happy to see her utilizing the group for help in her own business, and giving help to others. We are happy to have you in our family, and wish you even more success with your photo booth business!
Oh Snap, All Snap is Here! Congrats Guys on Your New Branding.
First Gigs with their New PBI Photo Booth Equipment
Thanks for sharing your first gigs guys! We know that the first few gigs are a really exciting milestone. It proves to us that this concept can really work. Keep working hard and you can grow your business to be as big as you want.
Kristel and Michael Rogers had a great first gig this September. Congrats guys!
Tharaneka Sparrow was also kind enough to share their first event with us as well! We look forward to seeing the rest of your success to come!
Winner of Our Media Kit Prize Raffle!
EddyGee won our Media Kit Prize from our raffle. Enjoy!
Make sure you sign up for all of our contests so you can be our next winner. Find out about them in our Secret PBI Family Photo Booth Success Facebook Group!
September Big Wins
#PBIFAMILY
We like to acknowledge people when we see them making strides or having particularly big wins. This month have have two.
First we saw Alejandra Charles head out for a 3 event night. He was running 2 weddings and 1 quinceñera. That truck looks packed.
The other good thing we saw was that Brian Burns did $6100 worth of business.
We wish you all even greater success this month as you keep developing and growing your businesses!
5 Common Small Photo Booth Business Mistakes You Should Avoid
Blog
TL;DR:
Launching a photo booth business? Avoid these pitfalls:
You have passion and dedication. Surely that’s all you need to launch a successful photo booth rental business, right?
Not quite. We’re sure you’ve heard the statistic that 65% of new small businesses fail within the first decade. Clearly, even enthusiastic new entrepreneurs can fall for the most common small business mistakes.
While idealism is a great trait for a business owner, you’ll also need to plan for the future. That requires a significant time investment. In fact, a failure to think about the future is one of the biggest business blunders new photo booth business owners make.
In this blog, we’ll share the 5 most common mistakes small business owners make and how to get ahead of them. Keep reading to learn where others have gone wrong and how to avoid the same fate.
1. You Don’t Have a Business Plan
If you do nothing else, make a business plan.
According to the Small Business Administration, a business plan is “a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business.” Without a plan, you won’t have a basis for any of the decisions you make regarding your business. More importantly, without a baseline, you won’t be able to track your process. That means you won’t know if your choices are effective.
For example, in the photo booth rental business, market research is critical. If you attempt to market to everyone, you will waste spending and miss opportunities.
2. You Didn’t Set SMART Goals
In addition to a business plan, you should consider setting SMART goals for your small business. The career experts at Indeed tell us that SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.
In other words, you should know exactly what you want to do. More importantly, you need specific, quantitative criteria that lets you know when you’ve done it.
For example, you might have an overarching goal to grow your business. Figure out how much growth seems achievable, and how many rentals you’d have to book to achieve it in a given period. For example, to grow by 20%, you may plan to book ten more rentals per month for a calendar year.
3. You Don’t Understand Your Market
As we mentioned above, market research is essential in the photo booth industry. You need to understand what other rental businesses are in your region, and what types of niches they fill.
Is there already a big local player in weddings and parties? You might want to target schools, fundraisers, or corporate events. Failing to tailor your prices, packages, and outreach is one of the most common and preventable startup mistakes.
4. You Don’t Have a Strong Enough Financial Plan
Does your financial plan include a detailed budget, cash flow projection, and break-even analysis? If not, you’ll have no way to understand whether or not you’re profitable. Plus, if you find yourself in need of funding, these documents will demonstrate that you understand your needs. It’s a great way to inspire confidence in potential investors and meet your goals.
5. You’re Not Marketing Your Business Correctly
Your business plan should also include a marketing plan. While word-of-mouth might book you a few gigs out of the gate, that well will quickly dry up.
Are you exploring paid media avenues? Do you have a social media presence? Getting the word out there requires creativity and, in some cases, making a tweak to your budget.
It’s worth it, however. If nobody knows about your business, it won’t become profitable.
Are you ready to start your own photo booth rental business? You can learn about more common small business mistakes when you attend our free Photo Booth Boss webinar. We’ll equip you with the tools you need to start and sustain a successful business. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Photo Booth International family.
A Comprehensive Guide to Your Photo Booth Business Plan
BlogYou’re ready to become an entrepreneur, and a photo booth rental business seems like a great place to start. After all, the rise of social media means that everyone is eager to document their special events. Today’s wifi-enabled photo booths allow guests to tag and post their best shots instantly. They’re hot commodities at all sorts of events, and organizers are eager to work with you.
Before you invest in your first booth, however, you’ll need a photo booth business plan. A business plan is a document that outlines both your goals and how you plan to accomplish them.
Developing a business plan is an opportunity to do research into your local vendor market. As a result, you’ll better understand your target audience. Most importantly, business plans are tools that ensure your business is viable. With a strong business plan for your photo booth rental company, you’ll make more money than you spend.
In this blog, we’ll explain what you should include in a strong photo booth business plan. Keep reading to learn how to run and photo booth business, starting from the ground up.
What Goes Into Photo Booth Business Plans?
A photo booth business plan is a document that helps you clarify your goals and potential obstacles before you face them. If necessary, it can help you secure funding by neatly and comprehensively presenting a cohesive vision. Plus, it can serve as a roadmap to help you determine if you’re staying on track once you’ve begun operating.
Below are the elements that should go into your photo booth business plan template.
Business Summary
Every business needs a USP or Unique Selling Proposition. According to Entreprenuer.com, a USP is “the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.” What makes your photo booth rental business unique, different, exciting, or better than competitors? In many cases, the choice to purchase high-tech photo booth equipment sets new businesses apart.
In this section of your business plan, you will also want to identify a target market.
Mission Statement and Values
What do you believe in as a business owner? This statement should be short and sweet, including your business’s purpose, values, and target audience.
What kind of change do you hope to make by offering this service? How will your rentals improve parties and events? What role will your customer service and other amenity offerings play in crafting an engaging experience for guests?
Marketing, Sales, and Lead Generation Plan
What types of packages will you offer, what will they include, and how much will they cost?
How do you plan to spread the word about your business and its offerings? Will you use social media channels? Will you incorporate a paid strategy, and how will you fund it? What will lead generation look like for your business?
Operations Plan
Will you be the only member of the team, or will you hire others? Make sure to outline your own experience, as well as the responsibilities of all staff members. Include a list of all procedures to follow upon arrival at an event, including set-up.
You might also wish to include a document outlining your business’s approach to customer service. Be sure to include refund policies and approaches to de-escalation.
Financial Projection Document
How much money will it cost you to invest in equipment and operate your business? Don’t forget to incorporate funds for any marketing costs, which can add up. Forecast your business revenue, factoring in any risks you might need to take. If possible, try to calculate your profits for the next five years, assuming all goes as expected.
It can be helpful to format this section of your photo booth business plan in the form of spreadsheets. Include as much data as possible, and aim to make it visual.
Request for Funding (If Applicable)
Purchasing your first photo booth requires an investment. Not everyone beginning this journey has the funding to buy their first booth. You may need to petition someone for funding. This document is a persuasive, fact-based tool that can help get an investor on your side.
In many cases, early investors are friends or family members eager to see you succeed. In your request, clarify how much funding you need, as well as how much you expect to make as a result. You might also be able to take advantage of financing options from your booth vendor.
Become Your Own Boss With a Photo Booth Business Plan
Your photo booth business plan is a document that can help unlock your earning potential. Still, it can be overwhelming to create your first business plan from scratch. If you need support getting your photo booth business off the ground, Photo Booth International can help.
We’re offering a free Masterclass to share our secrets to building a million-dollar photo booth rental business. You’ll learn about the blueprint that helped transform our income and our lives. We’ll be teaching attendees everything from business tips to the kind of booth set-ups that draw interest. You’ll see a photo booth business plan sample to make developing your own easier.
Reserve your pass to start the process and transform your business into a success.
Unveiling Earnings: How Much Do Photo Booth Owners Make?
BlogIf you are considering jumping into the photo booth space, now is a great time to do so. The photo booth kiosk market is estimated to grow to $15,786M by 2030. That is a potential compound annual growth rate of nearly 10%!
But in more practical terms, you are likely wondering how much photo booth owners make in any given year. To calculate that, we’ll need to make a few assumptions and calculate some averages.
Factoring in the Business Model
Like any small business or side hustle, the business model is everything. After all, with a photo booth, you’re not an employee. You’re an owner.
That means you don’t have the cushion of guaranteed income. But you also don’t have an earning ceiling hanging over your head.
This dynamic is what allows for such an enormous potential when photo booth owners’ annual earnings are concerned.
When photo booth owners roll out their business, they first decide on whether they’ll operate on a:
Neither is inherently better than the other. And neither is an automatic ticket to higher profits for photo booth entrepreneurs. In truth, each business model is perfect for a certain kind of entrepreneur. Namely: those who prefer a greater quality of bookings or a greater quantity of bookings.
Doing the Math
To calculate the potential income of photo booth owners, we’ll need to make a few assumptions.
For the purposes of this article, let’s assume our photo booth owner in question runs their booth on a flat fee model. Let’s also assume they have a three-hour minimum for bookings.
Next, we need to factor in location. While each spot in the country is going to have a different market, we’ll use New York as our example. According to The Cut, a three-hour wedding photo booking will cost $1,300 total.
It’s fair to say photo booths are most popular on weekends. Special events typically run on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays. It’s also fair to say you’re only one person, so you and your photo booth can only staff one event at a time.
But, with an average 3-hour booking, you could potentially run five events per weekend:
At $1,300 a pop, that’s potentially $6,500 per weekend in profits for photo booth entrepreneurs.
Now, assuming you want to actually take a couple weeks of vacation per year, you’d have 50 working weekends per year.
From here out, the math is easy. $6,500 multiplied by 50 gives us the estimated earning total of $325,000 in photo booth owners’ annual earnings. Not too shabby for some rough calculated earnings for photo booth business owners!
But don’t just take our word for it. Learn how the leader of Photo Booth Dallas and Photo Booth International built a successful photo booth business starting from nothing. Register for the FREE Webinar and discover the “Blueprint Behind My 6-Figure Photo Booth Rental Business.”
Become A Photo Booth Boss
With a photo booth, the sky is truly the limit. Sure, impressive earnings are possible with a photo booth even just as a side hustle. But imagine what you could stand to earn running events throughout the week as well. Everything from corporate events to birthday parties has the potential for you to earn more.
But maximized photo booth owners’ annual earnings are only as good as the booth they run.
Photo Booth International loves hooking up would-be entrepreneurs with the best photo booths on the market. Our models are modern, engaging, and sure to draw a crowd. Learn More About Photo Booth Int.