This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Welcome to a brand new month. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. I'm excited to bring you a daily podcast, all about making extra money without quitting your job, how to create more freedom, more opportunity for yourself, so you can do more of what's important to you. That is our single-minded mission.
We've been doing it for 2,251 days, approximately, but who's counting? Well, I count, actually, now that I think about it. And so does Chuck, our producer. So does the rest of the team, kind of keeping things rolling. We have to know what episode it is because otherwise we wouldn't keep track of all the different ideas people have.
The ideas, the questions, all the different stuff that we work on. But hey, let's not get lost in those logistics. Let's talk about the actual ideas. On the line today is Janet from Portland who is exploring new ways to turn her photography skills into a business. Now specifically, she's interested in starting a mobile photo booth business, but wants to make sure she has a solid plan in place.
So that sounds good to me, both the business idea and having a solid plan in place. So let's help Janet turn her dream into a thriving side hustle. That's what it's all about, her question coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hello, this is Janet calling from Portland. I found your podcast while researching for small business resources.
And it came to me at just the right time. I have a background in photography and I think there could be enough interest in mobile photo booths to make it a lasting thing or at least a side hustle that could help me pay off some debt. But I'm not sure how to get started and what I should look out for. What would you do if you were me? Thanks so much.
- Hey Janet, thanks for calling in. It sounds like you are interested in starting a mobile photo booth business. And I think that's definitely a feasible idea. It just depends on your specific market, how many other businesses out there are doing the same thing and such. But I do think there is an interest, a longstanding interest in photo booths, especially with so many events and parties, other happenings happening in the post COVID era.
So what do you wanna do here? Janet says, what would you do if you were me? Well, I would first of all research, research and research. Those are just kind of one thing, but I said that three times for emphasis. Okay, so before you invest any money, take some time to research the market as mentioned, check out that competition as mentioned, who else is doing this in your area?
Then make a list of all the equipment and supplies you'll need. Get an idea of how much everything will cost. Put together a pretty simple business plan. Doesn't have to be a lot of detail, just a one pager. We have a one page business plan template, freely available on the side hustle school website.
So do some research. Then the next thing is gonna be branding because your brand is your identity here, especially for something like this. It really helps to set you apart from whatever competitors are out there. So you want a memorable name. You want a logo that reflects your brand's personality.
And here, there's some great resources out there that can be not free, but pretty low cost. So 99designs.com, Fiverr, they can be great for this. It can cost sometimes $100 or less. It can actually be a lot less in some cases and might be okay. So it can be done on the cheap.
Of course, you'll also want a website that showcases your services, kind of gives people a place to book appointments. So branding, basically we've got research, we've got branding, and then we've got networking. And this is really where it's at. This is how you're gonna grow this business. Reach out to event planners, wedding planners, anybody else who might want to have a photo booth onsite.
Offer to do a few events for free to get some testimonials, get some good photos of the photo booth in action. Go to events, trade shows, offer discounts perhaps to new customers, not for too long, but for a little while. And then ask for referrals after the gig. So that's essentially the way that you would build this business. And like I said, I think it is feasible.
Of course, it just depends on is it the right thing for you now of all the different things you could be doing, why this one? I think that's always a good question to ask. But if your answer is sounds fun, sounds like it could work, then why not give it a try? Janet, I am wishing you every success. Hopefully I'll run into your mobile photo booth in Portland or maybe elsewhere since it's mobile, right?
You could take it somewhere else. There's a concluding thought for you. All right, listeners, if you've got a question of your own or an idea, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Let me know what's going on. We'll continue to feature them throughout the year, every week in fact, along with updates from other listeners as they launch and grow their projects.
That's all for today. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
