$400K With Zero Marketing: Ryan Murphy on Answering the Phone, the Kentucky Derby, and Going Full-Ti Photobooth Supply Co He does zero marketing, advertises nowhere, and still can't cover all his bookings. In just over four years Ryan Murphy has pulled more than $400,000 out of a photo booth business built on one habit almost nobody sticks to. What is he actually doing differently? In this Six-Figure Club episode of the Photobooth Podcast, Amber talks with Ryan Murphy of Next Event Photobooth in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby. A drummer who spent years working corporate events and galas, Ryan bought his first booth in 2021 and has since made over $400,000 in cumulative revenue, averaging six figures a year and running his business as a full-time gig since January. Ryan breaks down the turning point: watching a competitor's Windows-based booth crash at the Derby, choosing an iPad-based system that has never let him down across 24 activations in four days, and building a family-run operation with his wife and 17-year-old son. He is now Ford Motor Company's video and photo activation team at the Derby, three years running. He also shares the anti-marketing playbook that keeps his numbers climbing 20 to 40% a year: no ads, no Wedding Pro, no chasing leads. Just an on-point website, a Google Business listing, and the discipline to answer the phone and call people right back. Plus his phone-first sales process, the gala gift-card strategy that turns free work into paid bookings, and why the road to $1 million might be closer than he thinks. If you want to scale a photo booth business, break into corporate events, or leave your day job for a photo booth side hustle, this one's for you. We Break Down: Working the Kentucky Derby as Ford's photo and video activation team: 24 activations in four days Why Ryan bet on the photo booth business in 2021 after a record band year vanished in 48 hours How SBA relief money funded the first booth, and the supply company call that sold him on a hands-off model Why he chose an iPad-based booth: watching a Windows-based competitor's 360 crash at the Derby Building a family-run business: how his wife and 17-year-old son run the glam bot for Ford execs The zero-marketing formula: no ads, no Wedding Pro, an on-point website, and a Google Business listing The one habit that beats every marketing spend: answer the phone and call people right back The Friday-Monday cold outreach routine that lands Ryan in a client's inbox twice The BMW call that changed everything, and how corporate content on your website compounds into more bookings Becoming a vendor in your local public school system so you get the first phone call, price no longer an issue Ryan's phone-first sales process: tell me about your event, don't talk price, and close 99.9% of the time Why 'checking in' reeks of desperation, and the automated follow-up that replaces it The gala gift-card strategy: donate a digital booth, write it off, and turn free events into paid upsells Expanding to four Guac and Chips booths in 2026, white labeling, and the confidence behind the bet The road to $1 million and why it might be closer than Ryan wants to jinx Chapters: 00:00 - Episode Begins 00:38 - Meet Ryan Murphy & the Kentucky Derby 02:10 - The Six-Figure Club: Over $400K in Cumulative Revenue 03:00 - Take Me Back: Betting on the Photo Booth Business in 2021 05:41 - Full-Time or Side Hustle? 05:58 - Why He Chose Photo Booth Supply Co. 09:15 - What He Does Differently: The Zero-Marketing Formula 14:50 - The One Event That Shifted Everything: The BMW Call 19:52 - The Sales Process: How Ryan Secures Bookings 23:35 - Following Up Without Chasing: Automated Outreach 26:13 - Expanding to Four Booths in 2026 28:11 - Doing Well in Louisville & Advice for Smaller Markets 33:17 - The Road to the Millionaires Club Resources: Next Event Photobooth: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nexteventphotobooth/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nexteventphotobooth/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nexteventphoto Photo Booth Supply Co. https://photoboothsupplyco.com/
