Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Port Saint Lucie. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Garfield Bowen helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Port St Lucie, Florida.
Is your business serving the residents of Port Saint Lucie? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpPSL.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie
E317: How a Photo Booth Can Transform Any Event into a Memorable Experience
Are you curious about how to elevate your next event and create unforgettable memories? In this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, we chat with Tony Phillips, the owner of Photo Up Booth, about the magic behind photo booths and why they are becoming a must-have for all sorts of celebrations. Tony shares his journey from discovering the joy of photo booths to turning his passion into a thriving business.
We dive deep into the various options available, including traditional printing booths, fun selfie stations, and even cutting-edge 360 booths, all designed to enhance the experience at events of any size. Discover how affordable and flexible these services can be, dispelling the common myths that they are out of reach for budget-conscious hosts.
You'll also hear about the challenges Tony faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, how he adjusted his business model, and learned to innovate in tough times. Through warm and engaging storytelling, this episode showcases the power of photo booths in not only capturing moments but creating shared experiences that people cherish for a lifetime.
Join us on this insightful journey and learn why you should consider a photo booth for your next event! Don’t forget to check out Photo Up Booth on social media and visit their website to find out more about how they can make your event memorable. Subscribe to our podcast for more inspiring stories and local business insights!
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Benjamin John.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the Good Neighbor Podcast once again, and if you're in need of a photo booth rental, someone who's professional and reliable, there might be a company that's closer than you think. Today I got the pleasure of introducing Tony Phillips with PhotoUp Booth. Tony, how you doing.
Speaker 3:All right, benjamin, doing good, doing good.
Speaker 2:Good, good. Well, I'm good to hear that and I'm interested to hear a little bit more about the company and also kind of let the community know what you're all about. So let's just start with that question right there. Can you tell me a little bit more about PhotoUp Booth?
Speaker 3:So let's just start with that question right there. Can you tell me a little bit more about PhotoUp Booth? Yeah, definitely so. Photoup Booth is a top three award winning photo booth company. We have over 75 plus five star rated reviews. We have over 40, 100 percent recommended reviews on Facebook and we've been running for about eight years now. So we have a different type of photo booths from regular DSLR photo booths that when you take a photo we print them out photo strips in the four by six. We have the selfie booth rentals that you take the photos and then we send them to you digitally. And then we have the 360 photo booths where you take these really cool videos. You can send them on your phone as well.
Speaker 2:Very nice. Yeah, I've seen the 360 photo booth thing. That it's kind of trendy and so very cool. It sounds like you guys offer a lot of different options. I like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:So why don't you tell me how you got into this business?
Speaker 3:I like that? Yeah, definitely. So why don't you tell me how you got into this business? Ah, yeah, so back in 2017, I started off in Columbus, ohio. I went to a New Year's party and you know we're having a good time and they had a photo booth there and I see everybody having a good time. I tried it out myself. I really enjoyed it, and a few months later, I ended up investing in my own photo booth myself and it was slow at first, but then it started to pick up and then eventually I started doing big events for like Channel 10, tv news, home Depot, chase Bank, a whole bunch of Comcast a whole bunch of different events.
Speaker 2:Nice, that sounds like you got some momentum, even though it sounds like you had a slow start. But once you got the momentum it just kept going steamrolling. Yeah, definitely, yep, so what are? I'm curious to know. I don't know much about photography, so maybe you can enlighten me. What are some myths or misconceptions within the photography industry?
Speaker 3:I would say one like as far as the customers looking for a photo booth, I think a lot of times they think that is really expensive to get a photo booth expensive to get a photo booth. Photo booths are good for any event, from bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, kente's baby showers, weddings and all of that and photo booths. We offer affordable pricing Depending on your budget. We have different photo booths, like I mentioned earlier, to match your needs. So we work with our customers depending on, uh, your budget and we have different uh booths, kind of like Isle of cart to where, um, yeah, we could work with our customers with that.
Speaker 2:Okay, nice, all right. So who are your target customers and how do you attract them?
Speaker 3:Gotcha, so usually our customers, anyone that has an event, that's looking to make their event memorable. You know, you always have, you know, a DJ where you rent them out and they're supposed to be, you know, the main thing that you have at a party. But I would definitely say the new thing is having photo booths, just because you make your event memorable, right? That's what I think of. When you're taking photos and videos on all of these things, you can always go back to look at those moments to remember, hey, that was such a good time. Look at these pictures, look at these videos.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I see the value in that, absolutely, being able to capture a moment with a photograph and one as professional as your guys' service, it's a great way to kind of reflect on that moment. I see the value in that. That's really cool. Yeah, definitely All right. Well, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun? Outside of work, I like to travel. I love to take cruises especially. I like to do active things Like I like to do top golf. I like to bowl, go bowling, spend time with family, especially with my son. So, yeah, usually Nice. Well, I've never taken a cruise myself, so if I ever take the opportunity to go, I'll reach out to you and get some tips. Definitely All right. I'm going to switch gears on you here a little bit. Can you describe a hardship or a life lesson that you've gone through and how it made you stronger?
Speaker 3:I would say definitely me moving down here, because I did start this business in Ohio. When I came down it was right before COVID, and when COVID hit it kind of changed everything in our industry. All of the events that I had were being canceled and the venues were canceled. So I took a pretty big hit. But over time, you know, now it's starting to pick up again, thank goodness. And then I had to expand to add different things to the business, just in case something like that happens again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'm glad to hear that you are one of the businesses that made it through that. You know that adversity Because, yeah, you're right, business owners took quite a bit of a hit and there was a lot of uncertainty and doubt going on and not a lot of them made it. So I'm glad that you're one of the ones that powered through it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:Thank you, all right, um, all right. So, uh, yeah, tony, tell our listeners one thing they should remember about photo up booth.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So one thing, uh, with photo boost is that we are here to make the best of your event. So any event that you may have, we will come out and show out. We will make your event memorable. So we have a wide variety of different things that we have like add-ons, scrapbooks and different things. Different things that we have like add-ons, scrapbooks and different things. So if you are in South Florida, in Port St Lucie area, and if you have an event, definitely check out PhotoUp Booths.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, that was going to be my last question too. I think you touched base on that, but how can they learn more about PhotoUp Booth as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, so we have different uh social media platforms. Uh, feel free to follow us on uh, twitter, facebook, instagram. Tick tock at photo up booths. Uh, you can give us a call at 561-906-7452 and our website is wwwphotoupboothcom very good.
Speaker 2:Well, look, tony. It's been a great time chatting with you and thanks for making the time and spreading awareness and letting the community of Port St Lucie know how to get a hold of you if they want to utilize your services. I wish you and PhotoUp booth the best going forward.
Speaker 3:All right, it definitely, and thank you for having me, benjamin. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you.