Despite the effects of the pandemic, the photo booth industry is growing fast. It does not take much to start up compared to other businesses, and the fees you can charge are attractive. You can start at $100/hr to $350hr on the higher end to provide photo booth services to an event. However, it can seem overwhelming to start any new business. Fortunately, the process can be broken down into steps and approached systematically.
A photo booth business is a great idea, and first, make sure it is a good idea for you. Then, try to see that you are likely to succeed. To do that, start with market research. See if there is any competition or, better yet, no competition for you in your area. Next, look at who your likely customers will be, what they want from a photo booth service, and how much they are willing to pay. Try to gauge interest. You can also follow this checklist:
10 Easy Steps to Start Your Photo Booth Business
When you are looking to start your photo booth business, it's important to have a clear plan and follow a series of strategic steps to ensure your business is successful and sustainable.
Here are 10 easy steps to guide you through starting your photo booth business:
- Research your competitors and market.
- Determine your total start-up costs (purchasing your own photo booth plus equipment) and projected earnings.
- Write a solid business plan.
- Choose your business structure.
- Create a brand.
- Register your business.
- Open a business account.
- Purchase equipment.
- Make a website.
- Market your brand and photobooth services.
Next, do your best to determine your total start-up costs. If you can’t do that exactly, that is okay. Try to estimate as best you can and make sure that you can cover the costs over time. Then take your expected expense budget and compare that to your expected income. Obviously, you want to know that you can cover the costs of doing business and make a profit. You may still expect to run in the negative at first. Here you can read more tips on how to find a photo booth supplier.
The third step is to write a solid business plan with your goals. Try to be S.M.A.R.T. about this. You want your goals to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. That way, you’ll have some idea of what you do, how exactly you’ll do it, and when. You will also be able to know if you have achieved your goal. Continue gathering information that is useful throughout the entire process. You want to make sure that you are informed with useful information. Avoid paying too much attention to vanity metrics.
Next, you should consider your business structure. Commonly you will have choices such as sole proprietorship, S-corp or LLC. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. A sole proprietorship is commonly the default option. It is the easiest to set up, but with more risk to you should the business fail and harder to scale up. S-Corp has certain advantages, and so does create an LLC. LLC stands for Limited Liability Corporation and can help limit your personal liability. You may want to talk to a lawyer for advice when you are ready to decide. It is a big decision.
With some of the harder parts out of the way, it is time for some fun creating your brand. First, you’ll need a company name to build your brand identity. Next, you may wish to create and register your brand name and a logo as a trademark to protect your business. Do that around when you also register your business. With that done, you can create and fund a business bank account with a bank. It is important to separate the money in your business from your personal money. The more seriously you treat your business, the more others will take it seriously.
Now that you have a real business, you will need assets and equipment. You can find photo booth equipment for sale offers.
You should make a website and social media for your brand. Focus on your photography and the services that you offer. Try to target your market. For example, if you want to cover weddings, then show pictures of weddings. If you want to cover corporate events, then show that. This will help you with the last important step, which is marketing your business.