Everyone loves a good photo booth. They’re a huge hit at weddings, birthdays, company parties, and holiday events. They can fit pretty much any party theme and they’re a wonderful way to make sure everyone has something to remember the memories made.
But, have you ever thought about everything that goes into setting up a photo booth? Most people would rather hire a photo booth business than go the DIY route.
This means someone has to offer photo booth services, though! That person can be you. Owning a photo booth business may be one of the best decisions you ever make.
Here’s how to actually make it happen!
1. Identify a Target Market
Although a photo booth is easy to work into any celebration, it’s better for your business if you identify a target market. You can’t just assume that you’ll open for business and all of a sudden be setting up a photo booth all over town. You need to figure out whether you’d prefer to do corporate events, weddings, birthdays, or some mixture of these things.
Then, really get to know your target market. Figure out how much a corporate event usually costs. Understand how to get attention from soon-to-be brides and their wedding planners.
Whatever kind of event you’d like to focus on, get a deep understanding of the people who plan them. This is your first step in generating leads and making sales!
2. Research Your Competition
Keep in mind that you’re probably not the only person who’s decided to start a photo booth business. Do some research to figure out who your competition is in the local area.
Figure out how long they’ve been in business and what events they specialize in. Learn more about what sets them apart, then start thinking about how to differentiate yourself.
3. Figure Out a Funding Strategy
Here’s the thing: you can have the most amazing photo booth business ideas ever, but you won’t succeed if you don’t have enough funding to start your business.
Luckily, you can avoid a lot of the overhead traditionally associated with small businesses. You don’t necessarily have to pay for things like a photography studio space or a whole lot of high-end photography equipment, either. You do still need to set some money aside for things like marketing campaigns and branding tools, basic photo booth equipment, and employee salaries if you plan to grow a team.
4. Buy All the Essential Materials
The basic materials of a photo booth include the backdrop, the camera, and the props. A photo booth business, though, should have multiple of these.
Invest in at least 10-20 photo booth backdrops so you’re able to provide your clients with options. Figure out what kind of camera and printing system you’d like to set up with as well, and always have one or two back-ups ready to go. Get storage and transportation devices for your equipment, too.
As far as props go, the more you have, the better.
5. Invest in Marketing and Advertising
Once you’ve done all your market research, budgeting, and bought all your supplies, you’re almost ready to open for business. The next step is to start branding your photo booth company and marketing your services!
This is huge. You need to have a marketing campaign going before you’re actually ready to launch. Such planning helps you hit the ground running and make sales as soon as you do open for business.
A few great marketing tools to do this with are:
- SEO and content marketing
- PPC
- Radio advertising
- Print marketing
- Event marketing
Digital marketing is non-negotiable. It’s up to you whether you want to go the SEO or PPC route – or create a mix of both – but you need to do something to create a strong digital footprint.
Radio ads will help you reach your local audience, and you can gear them to the stations/time slots that make the most sense for your target market.
Print marketing means buying business cards, flyers, and maybe a billboard ad or two. Event marketing, on the other hand, means showing up to networking events to talk about your business and attending conferences like wedding expos or entertainment events.
6. Ask for Help
There’s no shame in reaching out to friends and family members when you’re getting your small business off the ground. Think about it: how great would it be to see if your cousin wants your photo booth at her wedding or if your sister can talk her boss into having a photo booth at the Christmas party this year?
Using your personal connections to generate business is genius. It boosts the amount of work you’re able to do in a short amount of time. It helps you get customer reviews and a bit of experience under your belt, which are both necessary when appealing to the photo booth clients you don’t personally know.
7. Celebrate Your Wins
Keep in mind that success doesn’t happen overnight. Creating a thriving small business takes lots of time and sacrifice.
But, soon enough, the fruits of your labor will start to show! Celebrate them.
Congratulate yourself when you book your first client that isn’t a friend or family member. Set specific milestones to reach as a business owner and do small celebrations every time you hit another one. Each new success story is a big deal. It’s a sign that you’re going in the right direction and that all your hard work is paying off.
Plus, these moments are what keep you going during the times that business does slow down or things don’t go as planned.
Start Your Photo Booth Business Right Now!
What are you waiting for? If you’ve already thought of the perfect name for your photo booth business or you can’t help but daydream about the kind of clients you’ll have, you clearly want to do this.
So, just go for it!
Start making all the plans today to launch your new business in the near future. For more tips to help you go from the career you have now to being your own boss, click here.