Photo Booth Rental Business Startup Tip: Cash Is King

Starting a new photo booth rental business is a great primary business or side gig! 

Like any new business, there are expenses beyond buying the photo booth, backdrop and props such as insurance, advertising, employees, etc.

Financing your photo booth can be a smart business decision so that you can reserve your cash on hand to launch your business while you are building your bookings! Here is a great infographic on the benefits of financing your photo booth and other businesses assets. 

While you can apply for a loan at your bank, we've found that the easiest, quickest financing is through Klarna, which is available as a payment option at checkout.! Klarna offers up to 36 months of financing for orders up to $10,000. You can get an instant 2-step credit decision when you choose the 'Pay With Klarna' payment option at checkout. Once you've been approved, you can manage your credit directly in the Klarna app,

And there are other ways to improve the cashflow of your business:

• Client Payment Structure:  For the event rental business, it is important to collect at least deposit of at least 1/2 of the package amount in order to reserve the booking/gig on your calendar with the balance due at least 30 days prior to the event date. This provides you with good cash flow prior to the event and ensures your customer is serious about having you at their event.
• Tracking Payments Due:  We can't say enough how important it is to automate your client payments.  There are many great integrated contact management, online contracts and online payment services out there to help you keep track of deposits and other payments due.  Some of our favorites for the events industry include 17Hats, ShootQ and HoneyBook.
• Pay Yourself First:  Once your pipeline of events begins to build, you should be able to pay yourself first. Many business owners put this off until the end of the month but you are working hard on your business.  So be sure to include your pay as part of your monthly overhead budget!  Having a photo booth rental business is fun - but you also deserve to get paid for your hard work!
• Avoid Unnecessary Costs During The Startup Phase:  Many of us in the photo booth world are gadget gurus - and we LOVE to buy the latest and greatest camera, PC, drone, etc. But put off these purchases until you are are more established in order to preserve your cashflow so that you can invest in things like advertising - key in this business - and liability insurance which is also very important as most venues and corporate gigs require that you have this as a prerequisite to booking your services.
• Cut Overhead Costs:  While you are building up your business, resist the urge to sign up for that expensive retail lease.  It may make you 'feel' more established but that perception comes at a high price.  Try to work from home or a co-working space until you establish your business. Rent will eat up more of your available cash flow per month than almost any other overhead category.