Meet the pro
Josh Pather
Name: Josh Pather
Business Name: Photo Booth International
How long have you been in business: 10 years
Ask any entrepreneur what they wished they’d had access to when they started out, and probably 100% would say a crystal ball that would help stop them making mistakes along the way.
Of course, part of the journey of starting your own business is experiencing some of the setbacks and challenges.
However, for photo booth entrepreneurs starting out today, they may not have to make all the mistakes newbies to the industry often do.
Why?
Because Josh Pather has been there, done that, made the mistakes and most importantly overcome them to carve out an incredibly successful photo booth business.
I had to make this work…
“Starting out I made a tonne of mistakes,” says Josh. “No one was around to show me how to turn my side hustle into a real business. But I had to do it and I knew I had to make it a success. Failure wasn’t an option.”
Josh’s first side gig was as a wedding DJ, but photo booth soon caught his eye and he realised that this could be a route to financial success, and one that he could do better than the rest.
He built his first photo booth in November 2012, booked his first event in December and in his first year did six figures in sales.
Sounds like a fairytale right?
Wrong.
Josh was actually let go from his corporate job in July 2013.
He literally had no option but to make this work.
And make it work he did.
Beginning of Photo Booth International
Between 2013 and 2015 the business doubled, 800 events a year and Josh working 5 days a week and weekends crazy with events.
“It was an amazing time, with tonnes of successes but also tons of mistakes,” says Josh. “The photo booth industry was in its infancy at the time and there wasn’t the software, the tech or to be honest for me the experience in how to run a business. From payroll to hiring and firing, there was no one around to teach us how to run a business.”
That’s why he set up Photo Booth International, to help newbies to the industry not make the same mistakes and replicate his success.
“We’ve made it super easy with our turnkey package. It is literally how to start a business in a box, taking all my experience, mistakes included, and setting up entrepreneurs for success.”
Photo Booth International manufacture a range of incredible photo booths from their base in Dallas Texas. They took their experience delivering incredible corporate events, trade shows, expos and weddings across the country and developed a range of photo booths that don’t just meet but exceed the needs of booth owners.
Fleet of new photo booths
To date, Photo Booth International have helped over 5000 customers and Josh still gets the same joy from helping as he did when he launched PBI.
“I love seeing people’s success. It brings be so much joy to see people achieve more than they ever thought. To be able to see them reach financial freedom through photo booths is amazing. And if learning from my mistakes helps, then why wouldn’t I share them!”
Photo Booth International prides itself of offering a wide variety of photo booth models so customers can select the best option for their business.
Photo Booth International – Full Photo Booth Range
“Each of our models offers something different, and we’ve adapted our range even more now with the addition of the Cloee Ring Light Photo Booth. It is our most portable photo booth design yet and is a perfect entry level booth for those starting out in the industry.
“During Covid we spent hours working on developing the booth. We went back and forth with our engineers, working to develop an easily transportable booth that could fit into a 4-door car and didn’t need any tools to set up.”
The Cloee Ring Light Photo Booth has built-in speakers, a high-definition webcam, touch screen, computer, and installed software.
“Every one of our booths goes through a 160-point inspection before it is shipped to our customers, so you know you are getting the best. The same customer service we offered through our rental business is delivered to every one of our customers today.”
Josh Pather is living testament to the saying, ‘a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.’ And thank goodness he’s turned mistakes into success and is so willing to share how he got here.
