If you’re considering buying a photo booth, know that you are not buying a “business”. You are however buying a piece of equipment that will allow you to create your own business. When you truly buy a business you are buying, not only the equipment, but the customers, branding and all the work that the previous owner put into that business. There should be records, email lists, contact information and more.
Illusion #1
The illusion some people have is that when they buy the photo booth that they are immediately “in business”. This is true in a sense. You can buy your booth, take it home and immediately book a gig. No one is stopping you but there is a bit more to running a successful business than booking a few gigs and most booths do not come with a customer base included.
Typically, when buying a photo booth you are only buying the equipment. It will be up to you to register your business with the state, usually about $150.00, as an LLC or S-CORP. The main difference between these two is mainly taxes and how the filing is handled. Those that want less paperwork usually go for an LLC and those that want a better tax shelter go for the S-CORP.
Tips for Websites
The next step is a company logo, business cards and a website. Your website is a very important part of your business and the second illusion many people hold is that websites are like cars, you just choose what you want and it runs. The truth is that websites are more like children. You are always looking after them. They need a lot of attention and guidance and there is no “one way” to make them perfect. They are constantly growing and changing, forcing you to keep learning and challenging what you know.
Websites are also multi-faceted. They are meant for interaction and data collection. If you are not collecting information with your website you are missing the boat. Websites are not meant to be advertisements. They are there to engage and encourage potential customers to take action.
When a potential customer comes to your site you want to capture their information, either by getting them to call you, write you or fill out a form. There are many ways to do this including: newsletter subscriptions, free reports, quizzes, e-books and discount mailing lists. Always think about the action you want your potential customer to take and make it easy for them to do it.
Lead Generation
Since you will likely have zero to only a few customers at first you must begin building your email lists from the beginning by using a service like Aweber. Contact management is crucial to the life of your business. Sign up for Meetups and Meetup.com and engage people in your community. Word of mouth works wonders but there is nothing like networking to bring in a constant flow of new potential business.
Learn about Facebook advertising and how it works. Did you know you can do research about your niche market by starting the submission process for placing a Facebook ad? If you don’t understand demographics learn. It is easy to get started with a few quick Youtube tutorials to get your feet wet in the world of marketing.
Make no mistake, a photo booth business is like most other businesses at its core and if you want to be successful you likely have a lot of learning to do along the way. That being said, the photo booth business is one of the most fun and entertaining businesses for small business owners to get into. People really do flock to the booths and you will pick up clients fast if you maintain a professional attitude and a healthy interest for the business. AAAphotobooth has years of experience and top quality booths. When you decide you are ready to buy a photo booth they are one of the best companies to get you started. Above all have fun and follow your dreams, wherever they may lead you.
