We bought our printer separately and we’re having trouble getting the photos to cut – ASSUMING THIS IS A DNP PRINTER OR SIMILAR, USE THE PRINTER SOFTWARE CONTROLS TO TELL THE PRINTER TO CUT THE PHOTOS
The best way to advertise – THUMBTACK, GOOGLE ADWORDS, ADWORDS EXPRESS
How long before you were up and running – STARTED BOOKING BEFORE WE BUILT OUR FIRST BOOTH – 3 MONTHS BEFORE ADDED STAFF – $150K WITHIN 1 YEAR
How can we tap into the corporate market which seems to be serviced by only a handful of photo activation companies? How do we reach the right people to get those national and corporate events? FIND THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING OR HEAD OF MARKETING AT THE COMPANY THAT MAKES THE PRODUCTS,, OR AT THE ADVERTISING AGENCY ALREADY WORKING WITH THOSE COMPANIES, AND COURT THEM TO OFFER YOUR SERVICES FOR THEIR ACTIVATION EVENTS. HOWEVER, THIS IS LIKE A SPORTS AGENT WHO ONLY WANTS TO REP SUPERSTARS. DON’T OVERLOOK SMALLER CORPORATE CLIENTS WHO WILL PAY YOU $3K – $5K PER EVENT. THINK ABOUT ALL THE COMPANIES THAT ATTEND TRADESHOWS AND EXPOS IN YOUR AREAS – ANY COMPANY EXHIBITING COULD HIRE YOU. ALSO IN-STORE EVENTS FOR LOCAL STORES/RESTAURANTS. HAVING A TRACK-RECORD OF WORKING WITH COMPANIES AT THE LOWER/LOCAL LEVEL WILL HELP YOU LAND THE LARGER CORPORATE ACCOUNTS OVER TIME.
How do we break out of being seen as weddings and birthday party booth companies and become seen as event engagement specialists? FOCUS ON WORKING TOWARDS THIS GOAL, DOING SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED CORPORATE EVENTS AND BRANDING YOUR SERVICES AS EVENT ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS. OVER TIME YOU WILL HAVE THE NUMBER OF EVENTS TO QUALIFY AND HAVE THE EXPERIENCE TO BE EVENT SPECIALISTS.
How do we compete in rural markets that are plagued with many groupon and part time people who offer booths for crazy low prices? Often brides do not compare quality and only see price! BE BETTER AND MORE POLISHED – BETTER WEBSITE, BETTER APPEARANCE AND SOPHISTICATION. ADD EXTRA INCENTIVES/VALUE FOR THE EXPERIENCE (FREE PHOTO BOOK ETC.) EXPAND YOUR GEOGRAPHIC AREA TO SERVE NEARBY URBAN MARKETS, IF POSSIBLE.
How much income can I make with a single photo booth? 2 EVENTS PER WEEK @$500 EACH = $52,000. 4 EVENTS = $104,000. AFTER THAT YOU WILL LIKELY NEED TO ADD ANOTHER BOOTH + STAFF TO CONTINUE GROWING…8 EVENTS = $208,000 ETC. ETC. ETC.
How much prep time should I expect to spend for each event? 1-2 HOURS PER WEEK PER EVENT.
What options do you have for financing if I can’t afford the full upfront cost of a photo booth? WE HAVE GREAT FINANCING PARTNERS ABLE TO WORK WITH MOST CREDIT
how popular are flipbooks – NOT. WE DON’T GET REQUESTS FOR THIS VERY OFTEN AT ALL.
how to market the hashtag printer as a stand alone service – SHOW IT OFF DOING SOME COMPLIMENTARY EVENTS AND TAKE GREAT PICTURES OF IT “IN ACTION” AND USE THOSE ALONG WITH A CLEAR DESCRIPTION IN YOUR MARKETING MATERIALS; EXPLAIN/MARKET IT WELL ON YOUR WEBSITE.
is there training for how to create new layouts and overlays WE UPDATE OUR TRAINING VIDEOS MONTHLY IN OUR “MEMBERS AREA” ON OUR WEBSITE. IN FACT WE HAVE A NEW ONE ON THIS SUBJECT JUST ADDED LAST WEEK. IF YOU’RE A CLIENT OF OURS LOG IN AND WATCH THE VIDEO. ALSO TRY THE SUPPORT PAGES, TRAINING AND TUTORIAL VIDEOS PROVIDED AT YOUR SOFTWARE COMPANY.
Other than having a burning desire to succeed What area / areas is most important to building a 6 figure business? MARKETING, STAFFING, INTERNAL CONTROLS AND TRAINING. DISCIPLINE.
How soon did you do fundraising? What kind of fundraising pkgs did you develop? QUICKEN LOANS, AND LIFT FUNDS PROVIDE US WITH THE CREDIT FACILITIES WE NEEDED TO GROW THE BUSINESS. WE USED THEM IN YEAR 2 AND 3 AND WE PAID THEM OFF IN THE SAME YEARS.
Do you try and work with other photo booths in your area with selling advertising on monitors? What kind of pkgs did you develop for other companies buy ads from you? WE DO NOT DO THIS.
How many photo booths did you start with? ONE IN DECEMBER OF 2012; ADDED TWO IN MARCH OF 2013 AND GREW FROM THERE. NOW HAVE 10+ BOOTHS IN OUR RENTAL FLEET AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
