Scaling Out Loud

Catalina Bloch
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Scaling Out Loud The Photo Booth Business Podcast for 6-Figure Founders Ready to Break the 7-Figure Ceiling If you’re a 6-figure photo booth business owner stuck in the "Chief Everything Officer" role, juggling bookings, managing tech headaches, and feeling crushed under your own success, this podcast is for you. Hosted by Catalina Bloch, founder of MDRN Activations, MDRN Photobooth Co., and creator of Photo Booth Mastery, Scaling Out Loud pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to grow from six to seven figures without burning out in the process. Catalina’s not just talking theory. She’s actively running a 7-figure booth brand while helping hundreds of founders do the same. Each episode is packed with strategy, real-world insights, and unfiltered lessons that speak directly to photo booth entrepreneurs. Inside, you’ll learn how to: • Systemize your business and step out of the weeds • Attract and close high-ticket corporate and wedding clients • Raise your prices confidently and profitably • Build a team you can actually trust • Turn hustle into strategy without losing your edge No recycled advice from other industries. No vague "just work harder" mindset. Just real talk from someone who's built what you’re building and isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said. If you're ready to trade chaos for clarity and bookings for bigger opportunities, hit subscribe and follow Catalina on Instagram @photoboothmastery. Your next level doesn’t start with more work. It starts with listening.

  1. 5d ago

    I tried the booth everyone’s asking about - Scribble Booth

    Ever wondered if that viral "scribble booth" trend is actually worth the investment, or if it's just another shiny object eating up your equipment budget? I put the Scribble Booth by BoothActive to the test so you don't have to guess. You've probably seen these popping up everywhere lately, ever since a videographer put a piece of plexiglass in front of a celebrity red carpet and had people sign their names on camera. It went viral, and now every booth company under the sun has their own version. I wanted to know if the portable, brandable version from BoothActive (aka the Neon Booth) actually holds up in a real event, so I got my hands on one, ran it through an actual live event, and I'm giving you the full unfiltered breakdown. I unboxed it, assembled it myself, ran into a few hiccups, worked out the kinks, and took it out into the field at a high-traffic, low-light event to really put it through the wringer. What You'll Learn: What's actually included when you order the full Scribble Booth kit (and what you'll need to buy separately) The real assembly experience, including one thing you need to check in your inbox before you even start Why the backdrop isn't optional if you actually want this thing to look good The lighting setup that took some trial and error to get right (and why your camera matters more than you think) Whether one attendant is enough, or if you need two to run it smoothly The honest pros and cons after running it at a real event Whether this is the right addition to your booth lineup, or if a solid-shell version makes more sense for you Mentioned Resources: BoothActive: Scribble Booth / Neon Booth (all-in-one kit, $3,500 USD) Replacement outer fabric cover: $647 (order directly from the manufacturer) Camera used: Canon R100 Video booth software: Snappic Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  2. Aug 6

    The $10K Quote I Almost Didn’t Send

    At PBX earlier this year, I sat down for an on-stage interview with Brandon CEO of PBSCO in front of a room full of photo booth owners. The questions went past pricing and talked about territory I don't usually cover here: the three plateaus that almost stalled this business, including the stretch where I took it from $500,000 to $1.5 million in eight months. I wanted to bring you this conversation straight from the stage because it's the plateau by plateau, mistake by mistake breakdown of how I went from building a business around a maternity leave check to crossing seven figures with MDRN Photobooth Co. and MDRN Activations.  Every founder hits a wall. Mine showed up three separate times, and each one forced me to change something I didn't want to change yet. This episode walks through all three, plus the mindset block that kept me stuck longer than it should have.  What You'll Learn: Why I built my entire first year around one number, $30,000, and what happened when I blew past it in a few months The corporate client that changed my whole strategy, and the $10,000 quote I almost didn't send because I thought it was too high The three plateaus that almost stalled my business, and what actually broke through each one Why I didn't hire a full-time employee for years, and what I looked for instead The mindset shift that changed everything, and why I kept calling a legitimate business a side hustle for way too long How getting specific about who I was targeting (not just "weddings") took my brand from six figures into seven Why I eventually split one brand into two, and what that protected The exact part of my sales process that runs without me touching it, and why I only talk to leads who are already sold  Mentioned in this episode: BoothBook (CRM) WPPI (wedding industry trade show) Cricut cutting machine MDRN Photobooth Co. and MDRN Activations Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub - https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  3. Jul 30

    Is your business failing or evolving?

    I used to think my business was a photo booth company. Turns out it was never really about the booth at all. If you asked me twelve years ago what my business would look like today, I'd have told you we do weddings and we're a photo booth company. That's it. That's all I could see. Today we're an experiential marketing and brand activations company, and we're in the middle of pivoting again toward permanent installs. The name barely changed. Everything else did. I want to talk about this because I think a lot of you are sitting on a business you've already outgrown, and instead of calling that progress, you're calling it failure. You've got a version of the business memorized in your head, and you're so attached to it that you can't see what's actually trying to happen right in front of you. In this episode I walk you through every pivot my business has gone through, the ones I chose and the one that got forced on me, why splitting my brands was one of the smartest moves I made, and how to tell the difference between a real opportunity and just being bored. What You'll Learn: Why I split my wedding brand and my corporate brand, and what happened when I stopped trying to talk to both buyers in one place The exact three signals I use to tell if a new direction is a real opportunity or just me getting restless Why "maintenance mode" isn't the same as giving up on a revenue stream The famous companies that started as something completely different before finding what actually made them money A simple two-sentence exercise that will show you exactly where your business is already headed, whether you've decided that or not Mentioned in This Episode: Illuminate, Cat's application-only creative retreat for founders, happening in Miami this October: https://illuminatecreative.live Follow along and share your two sentences: instagram.com/photoboothmastery  Your Next Steps: Apply to join us at Illuminate: https://www.illuminatecreative.live/application-form Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Follow along and share your two sentences: https://instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  4. Jul 23

    7 figure booth owner, manufacturer and software developer. Meet Steve

    If you've ever used a piece of software that's more powerful than it is intuitive, something that takes real time to learn but rewards you once you know it, you've probably used Breeze at some point. And today's guest is the reason it's gotten more accessible without losing that depth. Steve Bliesner is the founder of Hey Okay, formerly known as Photo Booth Guys in Australia and the UK, and he's been in this industry for over 16 years. He's built photo booths out of timber and aluminum, manufactured the gorgeous Art Series booth, launched an audio guestbook brand during COVID that became a seven figure business on its own, and eventually bought Breeze, the photo booth software he'd used and loved for over a decade. Steve gatekeeps nothing. If you've ever caught him speaking at Photo Booth Expo or BoothCon, you know he hands over the playbook every single time. This conversation goes deep into what it actually looks like to build a business for 16 years without ever really stopping to catch your breath. Steve talks about starting as a wedding photographer looking for an add-on service, the mistakes he made scaling into new cities, why he's never been a fan of white labeling, and the hard truth about why most photo booth businesses aren't worth much when it's time to sell. Then we get into the story behind buying Breeze, why the plan was never to make it "easy," and what's coming for Breeze users this year. What You'll Learn: Why Steve started as a wedding photographer and how that shaped the way he built his photo booth business The real story behind manufacturing the Art Series and why he eventually stopped making his own booths How his dad passing right as COVID lockdowns hit led to two separate seven figure product lines Why "if you saw it at the expo, you missed the window to make real money on it" The scaling mistake Steve says he'd change if he could do it again Why most photo booth businesses have almost no resale value, and what actually makes one sellable The story behind buying Breeze from its original founders, and why he never planned to make it the "easiest" software in the industry What's coming from Breeze at Illuminate in Miami this October Resources Mentioned: Breeze: https://www.breezesoftware.com/ Hey Okay: https://photobooth.co/ Illuminate Conference (Miami, October 11-14, 2026) https://www.illuminatecreative.live/ Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Subscribe on Youtube

  5. Jul 16

    Stop Waiting for Permission

    Illuminate Is Coming to Miami. Here's Who's Already Signed On. Every photo booth conference you've been to probably felt like the same room, the same faces, the same "how to do the thing everyone's already doing" content. This episode is different because the thing we're talking about is different. I sat down with Lisa Oler and Meir Israel, my co-founders on Illuminate, to give you the real update on what's coming this October. Lisa built Smile Lounge Photo Booth to seven figures before selling and stepping into logistics work with LA Photo Party and now NUNA Marketing. Meir has run South Beach Photobooth Company since 2008, expanding from event photography into full activation and gaming experiences. Between the three of us, we've built, sold, scaled, and rebuilt more times than we can count, and that's exactly why we built this retreat the way we did. Illuminate is application only. Six and seven figure photo booth founders only. A hundred seats, full stop, because that's all the room can hold. What You'll Learn: Why our keynote speaker had to be pulled away from a competing industry event just to be here The one topic almost nobody talks about at photo booth conferences, and why we made sure someone would What happens when you finally get real legal guidance instead of Googling your way through a contract dispute Why an AI expert most of you have never heard of might change how you run your entire team The exit strategy conversation most founders don't have until it's too late Who our title sponsor is and why the person running that software company matters more than you'd think  Resources Mentioned: Apply for Illuminate: https://www.illuminatecreative.live Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/illuminatecreative.live  Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  6. Jul 9

    Scaling Yourself Alongside Your Business: What six and seven-Figure Founders Miss

    You've hit six figures. You've built the team. You've got the systems in place. By every metric, you're winning. So why does success feel hollow? This is the conversation that had an entire room of six and seven-figure founders coming to tears at Jasmine Star's mastermind. I sat down with Dr. Natasha, an industrial organizational psychologist and my personal mentor, to talk about the invisible side of scaling. The gap between the business you've built and the person you've become. The way you've tucked away parts of yourself to scale. And the physical and mental cost of ignoring what's really going on underneath all this success. Dr. Natasha has spent over 13 years working with seven-figure founders and C-suite executives. She's the kind of person who looks at your "team problem" and tells you the real problem is sitting in your chair. What You'll Learn Why your team's performance issues are actually a reflection of how you're operating The question that made an entire room of founders break down What happens to your body when your mind won't slow down Why success can feel completely empty on the inside How to stop abandoning yourself in order to scale The one thing most seven-figure founders don't know about themselves About Dr. Natasha Dr. Natasha is an industrial organizational psychologist and executive coach who works with seven-figure founders and C-suite executives. With over 13 years of experience, she approaches business like a brain: studying the synapses and neurons firing in your organization and how they reflect the mental and emotional state of the leader. She's held roles as VP of Consulting at VaynerX and the Sasha Group, and now runs her own executive coaching practice. She's speaking at the Illuminate Conference later this year. Resources Mentioned  Jasmine Star's Mastermind (where Cat met Dr. Natasha) Illuminate Conference (where Dr. Natasha is speaking later this year) Dr. Natasha's work in industrial organizational psychology and executive coaching Your Next Steps  Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  7. Jul 2

    Build a Business You Could Actually Leave

    What happens to your photo booth business the day you decide you're done running it? Not the day you sell it. The day you actually try to walk away, even for a few weeks. For most owners, the honest answer is: nothing good. This week I sat down with my cousin Adrian Salomunovic, mid-rainstorm, on a sidewalk in Ottawa, because that's apparently how we do interviews now. Adrian built an eight figure business completely from scratch, no outside investment, no funding rounds, and sold it for eight figures. Since then he's mentored and coached over 400 founders, many of whom went on to exit their own businesses successfully. Most of us started this business messy. Maybe it was a side hustle to pay off some bills, and you built it as you went, figuring it out one event at a time. That's exactly what real entrepreneurs do. But somewhere along the way, the goal has to shift from "keep the business running" to "build something someone else could actually run, or buy." Adrian came on to break down exactly what separates the two, and why most photo booth businesses, even six and seven figure ones, would fail the test if you tried to sell them tomorrow.  In this episode, we covered: The "bus test" Adrian uses to figure out, almost instantly, whether a business is sellable Why documentation and SOPs matter way more to a buyer than how busy you are The accounting habits that quietly kill a sale before it even starts Why naming your company after yourself might be costing you more than you think What it actually means to hit a ceiling in your business, and what to do about it The concept of "optionality" and why it changes how you should think about exiting What You'll Learn:  The exact test buyers use to know if a business can survive without its owner Why "shoebox accounting" is one of the fastest ways to scare off a buyer The branding decision most booth owners make in year one that can tank their exit later How to find an advisor who can actually help you avoid the landmines, instead of learning them the hard way What it means to have "optionality" when it comes to exiting your business, and why it's bigger than just selling or not Adrian's own story of building and exiting an eight figure business with zero outside investment  Mentioned Resources: Illuminate, taking place in Miami, October 11 to 14. Adrian will be speaking in detail about exit strategies and optionality to a room of six figure photo booth owners, with live Q&A and real case studies.  Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

  8. Jun 25

    Who You Actually Hire First

    It's 2 a.m. and a stranger is backing a car into my driveway. He just dropped off a photo booth, fresh from a wedding. The next morning, I grabbed it from the garage in my pajamas and loaded the galleries. My neighbors probably thought we were running something out of that house. And honestly? We kind of were.  For a long time, that was just our life. Booths in the garage, the basement, the living room. Two full-time jobs between me and my husband, and a photo booth business crammed into every crack of time we had left over. We built the first $100K–$150K on our own, no staff, no team, no help. And it worked, right up until it didn't. In this episode, I'm breaking down the two hires that finally got us out of that chaos, who you should hire first (not who you think), and what the order actually looks like when you're the bottleneck and there aren't enough hours in the day. Your first hire and your second hire are doing different jobs. Mix up the order and you'll be frustrated when the first one doesn't fix the problem you thought it would. What you'll learn:  Why hiring event staff first frees your weekends but doesn't actually free you The three non-negotiables Catalina looks for when hiring attendants (hint: a photography degree isn't one of them) The exact three-event shadowing system she used to get attendants event-ready without standing over their shoulders forever Why the second hire is the one that actually changes your life, and what that person actually does The "dual role" hire strategy that tells you exactly who to bring on next without having to guess Why the first six months of a full-time hire feel expensive on purpose, and how to stop panicking in month two The simple question Catalina asked every single time the business hit a wall: automate first, then hire The homework exercise that will write your next job description for you Resources Mentioned:  Photo Booth Supply Co. (Legacy Booth): https://www.photoboothsupply.com Photo Booth Mastery training videos (used for attendant onboarding): https://www.photoboothmastery.com Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Scaling Out Loud The Photo Booth Business Podcast for 6-Figure Founders Ready to Break the 7-Figure Ceiling If you’re a 6-figure photo booth business owner stuck in the "Chief Everything Officer" role, juggling bookings, managing tech headaches, and feeling crushed under your own success, this podcast is for you. Hosted by Catalina Bloch, founder of MDRN Activations, MDRN Photobooth Co., and creator of Photo Booth Mastery, Scaling Out Loud pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to grow from six to seven figures without burning out in the process. Catalina’s not just talking theory. She’s actively running a 7-figure booth brand while helping hundreds of founders do the same. Each episode is packed with strategy, real-world insights, and unfiltered lessons that speak directly to photo booth entrepreneurs. Inside, you’ll learn how to: • Systemize your business and step out of the weeds • Attract and close high-ticket corporate and wedding clients • Raise your prices confidently and profitably • Build a team you can actually trust • Turn hustle into strategy without losing your edge No recycled advice from other industries. No vague "just work harder" mindset. Just real talk from someone who's built what you’re building and isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said. If you're ready to trade chaos for clarity and bookings for bigger opportunities, hit subscribe and follow Catalina on Instagram @photoboothmastery. Your next level doesn’t start with more work. It starts with listening.

Information

  • Creator
    Catalina Bloch
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 MDRN Creative Group Inc.
  • Show Website
    Scaling Out Loud