Today we’d like to introduce you to Octavia Deener.
Hi Octavia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We are a photo booth company serving the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area that is fast, efficient, and honest. Woman-owned yet family ran. Me and my husband come as a duo providing entertainment, excitement, and life to the party scene. Pic-N-Smiles was created as an opportunity to help capture those timeless fun moments. Pic-N-Smiles was started mid-2020 due to us planning our wedding. We were looking for reasonable entertainment for our guest and came across the photo booth as an option. We added in our wedding budget and didn’t like the numbers so my husband came up with the idea to invest in one and let it pay for the wedding. lol sound like a great plan, right? No, it put us in even more debt as we did not have many clients. My husband is from Memphis, TN. I’m from Grand Prairie, TX, so it’s heavy on me to promote the business, but I’m an introvert. It’s crazy how things are working out as we were able to network with some event planners, business owners, and slowly moving to local celebrities’ markets. As we continue to get closer to our dream goal of being financially free, we have no plans on ever stopping. We are truly driven off the smiles of our customers and the looking forward to capturing those historic occasions.
Our Motto: Every Pic has a Smile, so let us show you
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We definitely had our bumps. From learning the photo booth technology to determining pricing. On my first event, I have tech issue and we had to watch YouTube for a work around, luckily it all worked out. We have had several transportation breakdown but only leaving an event. Customers taking props, breaking props, and even kids stealing own prop money thinking it’s real. Being an entrepreneur is a true test of resilience and a fun roll coaster if you don’t give up.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Pic-N-Smiles pride itself on being a part of the turn-up. You hire us we can guarantee your event will be awesome yet professional. You don’t just rent our equipment, but you get a good, trained photo booth photographer. So, no more dried-up poses, no more smile-and-go, no more awkward and lost looks. We bring the fun and will even photo-bomb your pic if needed. Some people need a little direction to open that door for excitement and smiles, that’s what Pic-N-Smiles is bring.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
In any business, start off with setting and completing small goals, and before you know it your big goal will be near completion. Learn avenues to obtain money and not stress with the financial issues in the beginning. A few things to look into for leveraging financial support would be your 401k or your life insurance policy. Some policy allow you to take a loan from them. By doing this you become your own BANK!!! Super DOPE, right!
Things I wish I knew:
– Would be not to overthink.
– Do not underbid or doubt your worth.
– Promote, Promote, Promote!!!
Pricing:
- Our current promo is $165 an hr for the 360 booth. 1/1/2023
- Our current promo is $125 an hr for the Mirror Booth. Ends 1/1/2023
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.picnsmiles.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picnsmiles/
