Today we’d like to introduce you to Destanae Smillie-Bautista.
Hi Destanae, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I own two businesses, a microblading Buisness and a photo booth Business and both stories on how I got started are very sentimental to me. I believe both my grandparents led me in the direction that I’m on today.
Each year my dad‘s side of the family puts on a golf outing in honor of my late grandpa to raise money for different organizations. The first year I participated in golfing was 2022. My cousins had rented a 360 Photo Booth for our event. The minute I seen the Photo Booth and stepped onto the platform, I said I’m going to buy one and start a business. Well that night I did some research and purchased a 360 Photo Booth with not a clue on how to run it. I immediately started advertising and booked a few events right away. I then took that money that I got back and purchased a ran down 1950s vintage camper. I spent months renovating it and had it ready for 2023 wedding season. I have been a one-man show, doing the marketing, communication, all the back work by myself while raising my three children. Since then, I have added an open air photo boot as well and have hired a few amazing attendants that help me with running our booths and organization.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road for the most part. When I first started my business, my second child was only 8 weeks old. There was a lot of sleepless nights with my newborn and I had to power through and keep advertising my business. A year and a half later, I got pregnant again with my third child. I had already scheduled events for the upcoming wedding season prior to getting pregnant. This put a stressor on me since I was the only one that did the back work and communication. I was due at the end of September and from end of August to October, I had events booked every weekend. I had a wonderful family friend that was going to be running these events, but only I knew how to set up the events on our system. My biggest fear came true and I unexpectedly delivered my son five weeks early. Hours after I delivered him, I was on FaceTime with my attendant trying to show her how to create an event. I had no choice but to put these events in the hands of my assistant. It turns out that was exactly what I needed to happen because I was getting burnt out. She had taken so much stress off of my plate and has allowed me to spend more time with my kids as she helps keep our equipment inventory organized.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a Photo Booth company located in northern Michigan. We offer three different Photo Booth options, which include an open air, Photo Booth a vintage camper Photo Booth and a 360 Photo Booth. What set us apart from other companies around us is our friendly staff, updated equipment and technology, our unbeatable prices and offerings in our packages. I am proud of how much physical and mental growth our company has had over the past three years.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to us is our customer satisfaction. We take pride and making sure our events run smoothly. Our priority is having a good reputation.
Pricing:
- 3 hour package/ $799
- 4 hour package/ $899
- 5 hour package/ $999
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.smilliephotobooth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smilliephotoboothco?igsh=MXJreXE1NjA2MDVzbQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17aXcLVdKq/?mibextid=wwXIfr
