Scaling Out Loud

Catalina Bloch
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • 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. 7h ago

    You Delegated the Task. You Kept the Decisions

    You hired the attendant, you handed off the event, and you still spent the night answering texts from the venue. So did you actually delegate anything? I recorded this one at Illuminate, right after Adrienne Dorison finished speaking to a room full of six and seven figure photo booth founders. Adrienne comes from the corporate world with a background in operational efficiency, and for the past 12 years she's built a business around helping small business owners remove themselves from the day-to-day so the business becomes more valuable, whether they want to scale it, sell it, or step back. She ran Run Like Clockwork (there was a book too, Clockwork, all about designing a business that runs itself), exited that company last year, and started Level 11 Leaders, where she helps founders remove owner dependency and build a business that gives them real options. I've been through Adrienne's IPO process myself and I use it every single time I create a project for my team. My employees use it now too. So when I realized how many people in that room were still doing everything themselves, I wanted to get her on the mic and ask the questions I knew they were too scared to ask during the session. This one is for you if you've hired help and somehow you're still the person everyone comes to. Adrienne walks through her framework, we talk about handing off events when you're the one bringing the energy, and we get into the hiring question so many seasonal booth businesses keep putting off.  What You'll Learn: The trap most founders fall into after they hire, and why it's so exhausting The three reasons your team keeps coming to you with questions Why Adrienne's answer to "they still keep asking" made me laugh, and why she's right What a three-hour block of deep work has to do with your team figuring things out The question to ask your team that gets them unstuck without you answering for them Why your weekly team meeting might be a waste of an hour, and what to use it for instead How to hand off working events when you're the one who brings the energy What you can train into someone, and what you have to hire for The Disney example that changes how you think about your front of house How to figure out whether you can actually afford a full-time hire The part-time move Adrienne has seen work over and over again  Resources Mentioned:  Level 11 Leaders: https://level11leaders.com Owner Dependency Assessment (free): https://level11leaders.com/score  Adrienne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriennedorison/?hl=en Illuminate: https://illuminatecreative.live Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Know a booth owner who still works every event and answers every question? Send them this episode. 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. Oct 22

    What a Corporate Events Insider Sees at Every Activation

    Somewhere right now there’s a photo booth sitting in the corner of a trade show with a logo on the print and nobody in line, and the brand that paid for it is wondering where the money went. I recorded this one live at Illuminate in Miami, the day before Julius Solaris took the stage as our keynote. Julius consults for Fortune 500 companies on their event strategy, everything from sponsorship and registration to overall event design. He’s the founder of Boldpush, he writes a newsletter that goes out to 40,000 event planners, and he’s covered the events industry from a media seat for 20 years (his previous business was acquired by Skift). He’s at CES, Cannes Lions, Dreamforce and South by Southwest, and he walks all of them as what he calls an event Karen, so trust me, he notices the booth. Our industry has a habit of listening to the same speakers over and over again, and I wanted someone who sees photo booths from the planner’s side of the table and has zero reason to tell us what we want to hear. So we get into why marketing money is moving into in-person events right now, what separates the activation people line up for from the one they walk past to get the free coffee, and a setup at one of the biggest tech conferences in the world that started with some very basic iPads. Then Julius gives his one piece of advice for photo booth founders, and if your corporate pitch leans on the logo, it’s going to sting a little. What You’ll Learn: Why Julius says this moment is unlike anything he’s seen in 20 years of covering events The research on B2B buying decisions that explains why brands keep spending on events What a gladiator costume at South by Southwest has to do with your next activation Why “we don’t have the budget” usually isn’t the real problem How photo booths ended up as the last line item, and the cost pressure planners are under The simple Dreamforce activation that turned a not-so-great photo into two moments of connection Why the analog side of your booth is pulling more weight with Gen Z right now The three things Julius says your offer should be built around What not to say when you pitch a marketing team, and what to bring them instead Resources Mentioned: Boldpush: https://boldpush.com/ Illuminate: https://illuminatecreative.live Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Know a photo booth owner who’s been trying to crack corporate? Send them this episode. 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

  3. Oct 8

    Your Team Keeps Making the Same Mistake. Here's What's Actually Wrong.

    It's Saturday night, you finally sit down to dinner, and your phone goes off. It's your attendant, and the printer is doing the same thing it did two weeks ago, the same thing you already walked them through standing right next to the booth. If you've ever typed "how many times do I have to explain this?" into a text and deleted it before you hit send, I recorded this one for you. When the same mistake keeps coming back from your attendant, your VA, or anyone on your team, it's pointing at one of three places in your business. Sometimes it's pointing at the person, and I don't soften that part when I get there, but it's the last place I look. I walk through each of those places with real stories from my own team, including one where the unclear instruction was mine. Then I get into what I count as a real red flag, the kind that's a lot harder to spot, and the homework I want you to do before you say a single word to anyone about the mistake that keeps happening. What You'll Learn: The first question to ask yourself when a mistake repeats The one-line instruction I gave years ago that someone followed to the letter for a couple of years Why answering your team's questions "because it's faster" keeps the texts coming The simple rule I give a VA before they bring me a problem What your attendants will never text you about, and how you find out anyway The red flag that's harder to spot, and why clear instructions can't fix it How I decide when it really is the person, and why I don't drag it out anymore This week's homework: figuring out where your most repeated mistake actually lands Resources Mentioned: Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Tell me where your mistake landed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Know a photo booth owner who's one repeated mistake away from losing it with their team? Send them this episode. 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

  4. Oct 1

    You Don't Have to Learn AI

    I basically live inside AI now. Most of my day is spent building apps, building schedules, and working with AI employees that handle work that used to eat hours of somebody's week. I'm getting about 10 times more done in a day than I was before. Being that deep in it for this long has me thinking about AI very differently than most of the people you hear talking about it online. This one is short. I'm telling you where my head is at, and if you've been feeling like everyone else figured AI out while you fell behind, I recorded it for you. I talk about the two kinds of business owners I'm seeing right now, what happened the first time I built an app for my own business, and the cost that creeps up on you one upgrade at a time. Then I get into what I've decided my job is as an educator in this space, and what we're building inside the new Thrive because of it. What You'll Learn: The two types of business owners I'm seeing with AI right now, and which one most photo booth owners fall into What went wrong the first time I built an app for my business, and why it's the reason I can spot other people's mistakes from a mile away How a free AI account turns into hundreds of dollars a month before you notice Why that thing you spent all weekend building might not be touching your bookings at all What I think my job is now as an educator, and how that's changing what we build inside Thrive The one thing to look for on your calendar this week that AI should be doing for you  Resources Mentioned: The new Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/thrive DM me on Instagram with the task you'd hand over first: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Know a photo booth owner who's been beating themselves up for not getting AI yet? Send them this episode.   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

  5. Sep 24

    If I Wanted to Grow a $100K Photo Booth Business to $250K, Here's What I'd Do

    Somewhere around $100,000, something strange happens to a photo booth business. You finally hit the number you chased for years. Then you look around and you're more tired than you were at $40,000. More events, more emails, a helper or two who kind of work out, and a take-home that looks almost exactly like it did two years ago. I know that stage well. When my business was around $100K, I was still working a full-time job, running the booth company on nights and weekends, and I was every single role in it. So when someone asks me how to get from $100K to $250K, I start with the math, because the math is what makes the ceiling feel real, and it's also what gets you through it. In this episode I walk through the five moves I'd make if I were sitting at $100K right now and wanted to be at $250K, in the order I'd make them. The order matters more than the moves. I also tell you what I actually did when I made this jump myself, including the part where I took a pay cut on purpose. What You'll Learn: Why getting to $250K takes far fewer extra events than you think (and the exact number it does take) What your business really keeps from an $800 booking once you stop doing every job for free • The first move I'd make, and why everything else on the list breaks without it How fast to raise your prices, and the jump that sends people running back to their old rates within months • The contact form change that now does the job of a 40-minute phone call What your close rate says about whether clients see you as a commodity Why I'd add corporate before a second booth, a second city, or a second anything The decision that let me leave my full-time job in 2017, and the three places I had to get free first • A $900 event that can out-earn a $4,000 one Two numbers I'd track every month for the next year if I were in your seat Mentioned in this episode:  Thrive (The Founder Path, the Photo Booth Pricing Blueprint and Pricing App, The C.A.T. Wedding Method, The Corporate Hustle, templates, and coaching calls): https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com Episode 36, Weddings Fund It. Corporate Grows It.: https://youtu.be/T3whdBp7aW0 Tell me your real average booking value on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery 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

  6. Sep 10

    The Five Stages of Business

    There was a decade of my life where I didn't trust a single person to run one of my weddings. Now I try to avoid going to them. Same equipment. Same clients. Same standard I've always held myself to. Completely different relationship to the work. That shift didn't happen by accident, and it didn't happen fast. If you've ever caught yourself thinking "nobody can do this as well as I can" about your events, your sales calls, your marketing, or your team, this episode is for you. It's the same thought wearing a different outfit every time you climb a level in your business, and it's wrong every single time. It just takes proof to believe it. In this episode, I walk through the five stages of getting yourself out of the day-to-day of your own business, where most people get stuck inside each one, and the mindset wall I'm currently hitting on the other side of all of it. What You'll Learn: Why most founders think they've delegated their events when they've actually just built themselves a helper The real timeline behind offloading a corporate program you used to think only you could run Why sales is usually the highest-leverage hire you'll ever make, and what it actually takes off your plate What changes in your job description the moment you have three people on payroll instead of one Why marketing is almost always the last thing founders let go of, and what happens the day you finally hand it over The leadership skill nobody warns you about once your team grows past a few people What I'm personally struggling with now that I've reached the stage I spent over a decade building toward Mentioned in this episode: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery 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

  7. Sep 3

    Five Ways I Use AI In My Business

    I spent two months boycotting AI in my business because it kept handing me copy that used the word "elevate" like a life insurance commercial. I decided it was overhyped. I decided my business was too weird for it to actually help. I decided I was right. I was completely wrong, and it was an expensive two months. This episode is not about AI photo booths. We already covered that and it's a totally different conversation. This is about the back office work, the stuff that eats your Sunday and never once shows up as revenue on a P&L. I walk through the five things AI actually does in my business every week right now, why it failed me the first ten times I tried it, and what actually changed that took me from garbage output to work that's ready to send with barely an edit. What You'll Learn: Why the AI output you're getting back is generic, and what that tells you about how you're using it How I turned email, the most neglected part of most photo booth businesses, into something I can hand straight to my team What AEO is, how it's different from SEO, and why almost nobody in this industry is positioned for it yet The zero-click search stat that should change how you think about where your buyers are finding vendors Why I stopped sending every contract redline straight to my lawyer, and what I do instead The one way to actually get useful feedback on your own proposals and pricing pages What actually changed for me, and why it wasn't a better prompt Mentioned in this episode: Illuminate applications: https://illuminatecreative.live 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

  8. Aug 27

    Corporate Wants Something New. Do You Have It?

    Three years ago I'd sit down with a corporate client and spend half the meeting explaining what a photo booth even was. What happens at the event. What the guest walks away with. Why it belongs at their conference at all. That meeting doesn't happen anymore. Now I sit down with a marketing manager who's already been to four events this year with something in the corner. They've seen the mirror booth. They've seen the 360. They've seen the AI booth. What they say to me now is some version of "what else do you have." They're not bored. They're being measured on whether this year's event felt different from last year's, and they're hoping I'm the one who solves that for them. So this episode is about what that shift means if you're trying to break into corporate, or grow the corporate side you already have, because it changes what you're actually selling. I walk through the data behind the shift (the exact searches spiking in our own numbers), why AI is now doing part of the buyer's research for them before they ever talk to a vendor, and the mindset trap that gets founders spending money on new gear when the real answer might already be sitting in their warehouse. I also talk about Illuminate, our October creative retreat in Miami, and the working activations we're building there specifically so founders can get hands-on with what's coming before it shows up anywhere else in the industry. What You'll Learn: Why corporate buyers no longer need you to explain what a photo booth is, and what that means for your pitch The real story behind why enclosed booths and scribble booths spiked in our own search and quote data How AI search results are already quoting photo booth companies, and why that raises the bar on what you show up with The two different (and both valid) ways to build your next offering without assuming you need to buy new gear Why most new product launches in this industry fail to get sold, and it's not the product's fault What's actually happening at Illuminate this October, and why the room is capped on purpose Mentioned in this episode: Illuminate Creative Retreat, Miami, October 11-14, 2026 - https://illuminatecreative.live Keynote speaker: Julius Solaris 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

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5
out of 5
7 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
    44
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 MDRN Creative Group Inc.
  • Show Website
    Scaling Out Loud

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