Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Sedan.
Hi Angela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After high school, I went to college. I originally wanted to be in the medical field however after taking a few classes I ventured into business Management while actively working in the automotive industry. As I continued to strive for excellence, I did obtain a college degree in business, and about 3 years after that I officially opened my first brick and mortar. Within those three years prior to opening, I did try various forms of businesses from online retail boutiques to real estate (fixing & flipping), and rental arbitrage (Airbnb/corporate housing). At this point, I was still trying things that I considered fun and interesting to do until the day I vacationed in Florida. where I visited a Selfie Museum. It was my first time hearing of such a thing. When I visited this place, it was indeed an escape from reality. I was intrigued and drawn in by the creativity behind the designs and the way I felt when taking pictures, I just knew I had to bring this concept to Michigan. As I began my research on how to open a selfie museum, I then noticed at that time we had 3 independently owned Selfie museums in Michigan that were searchable via the internet. However, that did not bother me because the reality is how many coffee shops or burger joints do we have.? As long as I can make my business different in some form of way, I’d have something amazing to offer the people. Being able to provide such an amazing experience to people was indeed my true focus. I wanted people to feel how I felt that day in Florida. I wanted smiles of all ages to be able to escape their very own reality and have tons of fun behind the lens of their camera. I believe I did just that after opening my selfie museum in January 2022 with such a huge help from my mother, brothers, my 2 daughters, their father, and my best friends. My vision came to fruition. We created 32 Selfie backgrounds and an event space for events, birthdays & celebrations across 3500 sqft.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I was trying to accomplish something I had never done before. I had no one around me that has done it before to guide me or mentor me. I’d say my biggest struggle was the buildout which involved hiring contractors, architects, and involving the city. My second biggest struggle was creating a large enough budget for advertising and marketing. I did purchase yard signs, a billboard, and flyers, and I created the website & social media platforms. But it wasn’t enough. This resulted in my last issue of making people aware that my business exists. The industry I involved myself in is an emerging business industry and people don’t know what it is. Literally, a year ago you couldn’t even Google “what’s a selfie museum” and get a real answer. So, if people don’t know my business exists and they don’t know the business concept exists. it makes it harder to bring awareness to. So, in my opinion, my budget for advertising needed to be larger. But it was a lesson learned and I’m grateful for it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The role I play in SnapShots Selfie Studio is CEO and the creative behind designing the sets. What exactly is SnapShots Selfie Studio? Well, it is a self-guided photography studio where you are your very own photographer. We have designed 32 Selfie installations for you to capture unlimited photos behind your own lens within 45 minutes. Each ticket holder is provided a ring light and blue tooth remote which provides a hands-free experience. We offer a 360-photo booth which is also currently included in the ticket price. What makes us different is we welcome smiles of all ages. You can be an infant up to an elderly person. Some of the surrounding Selfie museums only offer their experience to adults or the nightlife traffic. Their hours are from the late afternoons to late evenings. By us being inside a mall we are open from morning to evening. Within my selfie museum, we offer the option to rent our small event space for events to the public and we create and host our own events which are typically complimentary to all ticket holders on that specific day. We also offer senior discounts, photographer discounts, and student discounts and we have various weekly specials. Such as twenty-dollar Tuesdays or furry Friendly Friday and Pose with your Pooch Wednesday. The last thing that I’d say makes us different is each month that has a holiday we design a selfie installation background specific to that holiday. Our focus is to provide an amazing experience to our customers.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is Christmas. My grandma would be cooking and my mother made sure Santa blessed us with so many toys our living room floor would be covered. I enjoyed the bonding of my family during Christmas.
Pricing:
- Adult Ticket (age 13+) $30
- Student Ticket (13+) $24
- Youth Ticket (age 4-12) $15
- Photographer $20
- Furry Friendly Friday $17
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@snapshotsselfiestudio.com
- Website: www.SnapShotsSelfieStudio.com
- Instagram: Snapshotsselfiestudio
- Facebook: SnapsShots Selfie Studio
Image Credits
Angela Sedan
Alivia Stewart
Alaya Stewart
