Do-it-Yourselfie Photo Studio

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in photography but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Venisha Monger, co-founder of SelfieLife MIA, located in Culter Bay, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

SelifeLife MIA is a local family-owned interactive selfie studio and event space. We specialize in non-traditional DIY photoshoots and small private events. Whether it is a quick activity to do during the week with family and friends or throwing memorable birthday parties
we can do it all.

We have 18 social media-worthy backdrops for the perfect photo op or TikTok. Customers could get creative in our space, film the latest trends and even switch out their outfits in our dressing rooms if they wanted to. Social media is a part of daily life for our customers. Our most engaged guests are pre-teens and teens, which regularly book birthday photoshoots. However, families also love to come in when our seasonal backdrops change for holiday photos. Content creators also come in to film and shoot in bulk for their own audience. Not only that, but we have a 360 photo booth which can be rented in and outside of our space. We try to make it as convenient as possible for our customers to utilize our services.

Tell us about yourself

We originally started out as a mobile party rental business right before the pandemic started, specializing in décor for small events, mostly at clients' homes. We weren't able to start right away, but as county rules were updated, customers started inquiring about our services. After a year, we decided we wanted a more permanent location in the Cutler Bay area. We were still working moms and sisters balancing life and two jobs, which is not easy to do.

Our first thought was to open a small event space for parties, but we stumbled across the selfie studio concept through our business attorney. We then realized we could go crazy with creativity while still doing our party business. That is when we started doing our research and decided on Southland Mall as our final destination. It was in our community, and we could still pick up our kids from school!

There isn't that much entertainment down south. Most people have to travel north to the city and pay extra tolls, gas, and parking fees just to be entertained. We wanted to bring fun to our neighbors, so here we are! Taking a chance and trying to build for the community and our children. That is what keeps us motivated.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment is as simple as just starting our business. As a regular family off the block, it takes a lot of guts to put everything you have into something that is 1) a new concept and 2) could fail quickly, and once it does, it all falls back on you to pick up the pieces and keep going. Most people cannot deal with a risk like that. We almost didn't start, but we were each other's cheerleaders, and we took the leap. Not only that, but we are showing our children that they don't need to work for someone for the rest of their lives if they put their minds to it. That in itself is an accomplishment in our eyes.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is separating your personal life from your business. Being a family business that is extremely difficult. We have not perfected it yet, but we try hard to make time for family without talking business. It is a work in progress.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The tops tips to start, run, and grow a business today would be to make a budget for marketing. Especially ads. With our company being located in a mall, we have foot traffic, but that is not nearly enough traffic to be successful in our business. This is regularly put on the back burner for most companies but is the most important. Building relationships with other local companies or businesses that compliment your niche is a must.

Another tip would be to not sound so salesy to your customers. That is something we did not think we were doing up until recently. It's more important to provide value that is so good you won't need to ask anyone to "book now" or "buy now." Instead, you want potential clients to see how good your service or product is and want to find out themselves how they can get the same result. We are currently working on perfecting this for our own business. Our motto is when you know you grow.

For those who are looking to save even more, we have a few promos for our space:
1. Tuesdays are two for one session.

2. One spin per person on our 360 photo booth is only $5.

3. You can also choose up to two backdrops for $5 each per person for 5 minutes of use.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.selfielifemiami.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfielifemia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfielifemia/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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