Photobooth Podcast

Photobooth Supply Co
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Uncover what makes a photo booth business successful in the photobooth world! Every episode will feature a different photobooth owner and Industry professionals sharing tips and tricks that propelled them to success.

  1. 3d ago

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $1 Million: Ryan Veil's Full-Service Playbook

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $1 Million: Ryan Veil's Full-Service Playbook Photobooth Supply Co Photo booth was the last service Ryan Veil added to his business, almost an afterthought behind photo, video, and DJ. Two decades later it helped carry Studio Veil past $1 million in cumulative revenue, and he got there without ever racing anyone to the bottom on price. So what does a million-dollar, full-service operator actually do differently? In this Millionaires Club episode of the Photobooth Podcast, Amber talks with Ryan Veil of Studio Veil in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area of Minnesota. A serial entrepreneur and musician who started out in video, Ryan has been in business for over 20 years and full-time for about 15, building a multi-service operation that covers photography, videography, DJ, and photo booth across roughly 300 weddings and events a year. He added photo booth in 2011, and it recently helped push Studio Veil across the $1 million cumulative revenue mark. Ryan breaks down the turning point: buying an enclosed CapturePod booth that introduced him to PBSCO founder Brandon years before the company existed, then jumping on board early for the image quality. He explains why photo booth became the catalyst that let him leave his day job, how he treats every one of his four services as full service instead of a cheap add-on, and why he has never been a fan of the drop-off booth. He also shares the philosophy behind the numbers: never discount and never make price your competitive advantage, lead with transparent pricing and strong design, and remember that you are not in the photo booth industry, you are in the relationship industry. If you want to scale a photo booth business, add it to a full-service operation, or finally leave your day job, this one's for you. We Break Down: How photo booth went from a cost-prohibitive dream in 2005 to a natural addition in 2011, and why Ryan jumped on PBSCO's booth early for the image quality The CapturePod connection: owning the same enclosed booth as Brandon before Photo Booth Supply Co. existed Why adding photo booth was the catalyst that let Ryan go full-time and leave his day job The "more than one event per week" benchmark that told him it was time to quit the nine to five Going from 15 events in 2010 to 73 the year after adding photo booth Why Ryan has never been a fan of the drop-off booth, and the white-glove service he runs instead The secret formula: consistency, systems, good people, and treating no service as a throwaway Volume versus boutique: how Studio Veil fills the middle ground between a solo operator and a giant franchise The biggest turning points on the road to $1 million, from Brandon’s vision to being an early advertiser on The Knot "Do not discount": why racing to the bottom on price is a losing game for everyone Leading with design: transparent pricing on the website since day one, and the COVID-era rebrand that reset the brand The one thing he’d do sooner: raise prices faster and invest in social media earlier What holds photo booth operators back: ego, and forgetting they are in the relationship industry Why referrals, venues, and preferred vendors now drive a growing share of bookings, including 21 weddings a year from a single venue Chapters: 00:00 - Episode Begins 00:37 - Meet Ryan Veil & the Millionaires Club 01:52 - Crossing the $1 Million Threshold 02:52 - Take Me Back to 2011: The Origin of Studio Veil 06:09 - The Catalyst to Go Full-Time & Leave the Day Job 08:26 - Full Service, Not a Cheap Add-On: Skipping the Drop-Off Booth 11:14 - The Secret Formula: Systems, Good People & Good Service 15:32 - Volume vs. Boutique: The Full-Service Positioning 19:43 - The Biggest Turning Points & "Do Not Discount" 23:10 - Leading With Design: Pricing Transparency & the Rebrand 27:08 - One Thing He’d Do Sooner: Prices & Social Media 29:51 - What Holds Operators Back: Ego & the Relationship Industry 32:39 - Referrals, Venues & Preferred Vendors 35:17 - Where to Follow Studio Veil Resources: Studio Veil Website: https://studioveil.com/photo-booth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioVeil Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studioveil/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@studioveil Photo Booth Supply Co. Profit Calculator: https://pbsco.co/profitcalc Quickstart Program: https://pbsco.co/QSprogram Want To Buy A Booth? Book A Call: https://pbsco.co/podcall Website: https://pbsco.co/website

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $1 Million: Ryan Veil's Full-Service Playbook

  2. Sep 30

    $400K With Zero Marketing: Ryan Murphy on Answering the Phone, the Kentucky Derby, and Going Full-Time

    $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/

    $400K With Zero Marketing: Ryan Murphy on Answering the Phone, the Kentucky Derby, and Going Full-Time

  3. Sep 24

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

  4. Sep 24

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

    How to Scale a Photo Booth Business to $590K: Kenny McSpadden

  5. Jul 22

    Live From PBX: Networking With Planners To Stay Booked

    Live From PBX: Networking With Planners To Stay Booked Photobooth Supply Co In January alone, Marco booked 30 events. About 20 of them came from referrals. And most of those referrals trace back to just six to eight people. Marco Buenrostro of MBP Photo Booth (San Antonio, TX) has been in the photo booth business since June 1, 2015 — and over that decade, he's built a referral machine so powerful that most of his events simply come to him. A Millionaires Club member with $1.7 million in tracked cumulative revenue (and likely closer to $2.3 million when accounting for the years before his CRM), Marco's secret isn't ads or SEO. It's genuine human connection, strategic community involvement, and knowing exactly how to make planners and corporate clients feel like friends — not transactions. In this interview, Marco breaks down his entire relationship-based growth strategy, from how to find the right industry organizations to join, to how he maximizes sponsored event tables by filling the seats with VIPs, to the exact LinkedIn vs. Instagram content approach he uses to reach both corporate and social planners. What you'll learn in this episode: • Why Marco only actively nurtures 6–8 planners — and how that drives the majority of his 350–500 annual events • The difference between a free "collaboration" and a real sponsored event — and how to negotiate one that actually benefits your business • How he uses sponsored event tables, hotel gift cards, and giveaways to stay top of mind without ever feeling transactional • The biggest mistake photo booth owners make when reaching out to planners (and what to do instead) • His LinkedIn vs. Instagram content strategy — same event, two completely different captions, two different audiences • How to network as an introvert: starting online, then making the in-person transition feel natural • Why offering kickbacks or percentages to planners is a red flag — and what to do instead • The referral compounding effect: how one contact inside a corporate organization can eventually put your name in the entire company's rotation • His 2026 goal: moving the business toward an all-corporate model Follow Marco & MBP Photo Booth: 📸 @mbpphotobooth START YOUR BIZ ☞ How To Start Guide: https://pbsco.co/HowToStart TAKE THE QUIZ ☞ See which photo booth is best for you: https://pbsco.co/PhotoBoothQuiz SHOP ALL PHOTO BOOTHS ☞ Get your booth here: https://pbsco.co/ShopAllBooths ACCESS FIESTA SOFTWARE ☞ Try free for 30 days: https://pbsco.co/FiestaTrial HAVE QUESTIONS? ☞ Book a call with a Photobooth Strategist here: https://pbsco.co/ContactPBSCO CONNECT WITH US ☞ Website: https://pbsco.co/Website ☞ Instagram: https://pbsco.co/Instagram ☞ Facebook: https://pbsco.co/Facebook ☞ Tiktok: https://pbsco.co/TikTok

    Live From PBX: Networking With Planners To Stay Booked

  6. Jul 17

    Live From PBX: Standing Out In A Saturated Market

    Live From PBX: Standing Out In A Saturated Market Photobooth Supply Co $2.2 million in revenue. 190 five-star reviews. A waitlist of clients who don't even ask about price. And it all started with a cold call to a wedding planner 11 years ago. Laura Vance of Flash And Frame Photo Booth (Kelowna, Canada) built one of the most recognizable photo booth brands in her market by doing things most operators overlook — showing up early, training a team that guests remember by name, keeping a shot list at every wedding, and refusing to compete on price even when the market got saturated. In this interview, Laura breaks down exactly how she built a premium brand from the ground up, how she hires and trains her "booth babes and booth bros," why one relationship with a single wedding planner contributed an estimated $100,000 to her revenue, and what she says on sales calls that has clients paying invoices within five minutes of hanging up. What you'll learn in this episode: • Why Laura stopped trying to explain her pricing and started selling peace of mind instead • The live event interview process that tells her everything she needs to know about a potential hire • How her "shot list" approach sets Flash Frame apart from every other photo booth at a wedding • The "if we can, we will" philosophy that has made her irreplaceable to repeat corporate clients • How one cold call to a wedding planner 11 years ago turned into an estimated $100K in revenue • The complimentary audio guest book add-on she gives to planner referrals — and why it works • Why she never quotes price on the phone and sends visual proposals instead • The 80/20 rule for sales calls: ask questions 80% of the time, pitch 20% • Her advice for anyone afraid to get on the phone with clients Follow Laura & Flash And Frame Photo Booth: 📸 @flashframebooth START YOUR BIZ ☞ How To Start Guide: https://pbsco.co/HowToStart TAKE THE QUIZ ☞ See which photo booth is best for you: https://pbsco.co/PhotoBoothQuiz SHOP ALL PHOTO BOOTHS ☞ Get your booth here: https://pbsco.co/ShopAllBooths ACCESS FIESTA SOFTWARE ☞ Try free for 30 days: https://pbsco.co/FiestaTrial HAVE QUESTIONS? ☞ Book a call with a Photobooth Strategist here: https://pbsco.co/ContactPBSCO CONNECT WITH US ☞ Website: https://pbsco.co/Website ☞ Instagram: https://pbsco.co/Instagram ☞ Facebook: https://pbsco.co/Facebook ☞ Tiktok: https://pbsco.co/TikTok

    Live From PBX: Standing Out In A Saturated Market

  7. Jul 1

    Live From PBX: Think Outside The Booth

    Live From PBX: Think Outside The Booth Photobooth Supply Co $339,000 in cumulative revenue. A $35K month. And she did it without necessarily booking more events. Sandra Jimenez of Unik Collective has spent the last five years mastering something most photo booth owners overlook entirely: how to make significantly more money from the clients you already have. Through intentional add-ons, deep client listening, and a refusal to compete on price, Sandra has built a business that works for her life — not the other way around. In this interview, Sandra walks through the exact add-ons that have moved her revenue needle the most, the mindset shift that makes upselling feel natural instead of icky, and why paying close attention to your clients is the most underrated growth strategy in the photo booth industry. What you'll learn in this episode: • How the mini booth add-on was born from simply listening to parents at luxury kids' parties • The albums pitch that almost always converts — and exactly how Sandra sells it • How a $30 piece of paper and some creative thinking turned into a $250 upsell at a Taylor Swift birthday party • Why a $5 Party City spiderweb decoration became a $150 add-on • The mindset shift from selling a booth to selling an experience • Why competing on price is a trap — and what to do instead • How deep client relationships have kept Sandra booked by repeat clients year after year • The powerful story of why keeping your client galleries matters more than you think • Her 2026 goal: stepping back and hiring people outside of her family Follow Sandra & Unik Collective: 📸 @unik.collective_ START YOUR BIZ ☞ How To Start Guide: https://pbsco.co/HowToStart TAKE THE QUIZ ☞ See which photo booth is best for you: https://pbsco.co/PhotoBoothQuiz SHOP ALL PHOTO BOOTHS ☞ Get your booth here: https://pbsco.co/ShopAllBooths ACCESS FIESTA SOFTWARE ☞ Try free for 30 days: https://pbsco.co/FiestaTrial HAVE QUESTIONS? ☞ Book a call with a Photobooth Strategist here: https://pbsco.co/ContactPBSCO CONNECT WITH US ☞ Website: https://pbsco.co/Website ☞ Instagram: https://pbsco.co/Instagram ☞ Facebook: https://pbsco.co/Facebook ☞ Tiktok: https://pbsco.co/TikTok

    Live From PBX: Think Outside The Booth

  8. Jun 24

    Live From PBX: The Multi-Event Weekend Formula

    Live From PBX: The Multi-Event Weekend Formula Photobooth Supply Co $235,000 in revenue. 7 booths. 6 attendants. Multiple events running simultaneously every single weekend. And they've only been in business since September 2023. Colton Cerday of Southern Revelry (Austin, TX) joined his business partner Justin Goss just months after the company launched — and together they've built one of the fastest-growing multi-booth photo booth operations in central Texas. In this interview, Colton breaks down exactly how they manage high-volume weekends, how they hire and train attendants they can trust, and what it really takes to keep three booths running smoothly across Austin and San Antonio on the same Saturday night. If you've ever wondered how to scale beyond what you can do yourself, this one is for you. What you'll learn in this episode: • How Southern Revelry scaled from one legacy booth out of a garage to a 7-booth fleet in two years • Why they hired and trained attendants before they even needed them — and why that was the right call • What they look for when hiring (hint: attitude over technical skill, every time) • How they prep their warehouse during the week so weekend events run on autopilot • The pre-event questionnaire that saves them from showing up to chaos • How they handle the on-call system so a no-show attendant never derails an event • When to know it's time to add another booth to your fleet • Why Colton delegates graphic design to his sister — and what that taught him about letting go of control • Their 2026 goal: 1.5 to 2x revenue, new markets, and roaming photography Follow Southern Revelry: 📸 @SouthernRevelryTX START YOUR BIZ ☞ How To Start Guide: https://pbsco.co/HowToStart TAKE THE QUIZ ☞ See which photo booth is best for you: https://pbsco.co/PhotoBoothQuiz SHOP ALL PHOTO BOOTHS ☞ Get your booth here: https://pbsco.co/ShopAllBooths ACCESS FIESTA SOFTWARE ☞ Try free for 30 days: https://pbsco.co/FiestaTrial HAVE QUESTIONS? ☞ Book a call with a Photobooth Strategist here: https://pbsco.co/ContactPBSCO CONNECT WITH US ☞ Website: https://pbsco.co/Website ☞ Instagram: https://pbsco.co/Instagram ☞ Facebook: https://pbsco.co/Facebook ☞ Tiktok: https://pbsco.co/TikTok

    Live From PBX: The Multi-Event Weekend Formula
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5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Uncover what makes a photo booth business successful in the photobooth world! Every episode will feature a different photobooth owner and Industry professionals sharing tips and tricks that propelled them to success.

Information

  • Creator
    Photobooth Supply Co
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Photobooth Podcast

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