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Meet Jackie Shope of PhotoFunBooth

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Shope.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jackie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey with PhotoFunBooth began many years ago when I started planning my own wedding in 2011. I had seen PhotoFunBooth at other weddings and knew I had to have one for our wedding! On the night of our wedding, the girls running the photo booth had technical issues, and I jumped behind the photo booth and helped them fix it. After that, I found myself working for PhotoFunBooth part-time as an attendant, running the photo booth at weddings, birthday celebrations and other events. At the time, I was teaching high school math full-time, and this side job allowed my husband and I to save this extra income to buy a home, and later on, unbeknownst to us, purchase PhotoFunBooth.

At that time, photo booths had just started to become popular and PhotoFunBooth was in high demand. The current owner at the time needed more help and promoted me to the administrative assistant. I quickly learned the ins and outs of not only PhotoFunBooth, but how to run a small business. I found myself hungry to learn everything I could about running a company. I would watch TED talks and read articles about starting a business, marketing, employee management, etc. I would soon realize that my hunger and experience with PhotoFunBooth would pay off.

In October of 2016, I found out I was pregnant with our second child, and torn between going back to teaching full-time when the baby was born, or staying home with our children. I was worried that I would be working to simply pay for daycare and that if I stayed home, the burden of providing for a growing family would rest solely on my husband. Two days after, we found out about our pregnancy, the owner of PhotoFunBooth called and told me she was moving out of state and wanted to sell PhotoFunBooth to me. Talk about fate! On January 1, 2017, I became the new owner of PhotoFunBooth!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Let me tell you, it is not easy to start up a small business. With a growing family, we did not feel comfortable exhausting all of our personal savings on what could possibly be a risky investment. And although I was purchasing a company already in existence, I had to get a new tax identification number, which in the business and lending world meant I was starting up a business. Unfortunately, if you don’t have capital or collateral for this “start-up business,” it’s very difficult to qualify for any business lending.

I continued to research and ask friends who owned businesses for guidance and business lending resources, and was told the same thing over and over each time I applied for a business loan. After being denied by the fifth lending institution, I started to question whether or not this would become a reality. But I didn’t give up! I remember sitting on my phone one evening reading through an article when I remembered meeting a woman at a conference several months back. I dug through my messy purse and surprisingly found her business card. I emailed her immediately. After applying for a business loan with the organization she worked for, several days of going back and forth through email. I received the news I had been waiting three long months to hear, “you’re approved!”

So, as you know, we’re impressed with PhotoFunBooth – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
PhotoFunBooth is the new age digital photo booth that allows you to customize and capture your special day. We are a locally owned and operated business that has been helping numerous companies and individuals since 2005 make their events one to remember. We do all kinds of events including but not limited to weddings, birthday celebrations, school events, corporate events. holiday parties and fundraisers, and service all areas of Southern Arizona.

PhotoFunBooth currently has six photo booths, with three different style options to choose from. We also offer several add-ons including scrapbooks, photo strip frames, game rentals and more!

There are several photo booth companies in Southern Arizona, and it seems like a new one pops up daily. However, our booth style options and friendly attendants definitely set us apart from others. When clients leave us reviews, the feedback is typically the same, “they had the best props,” “the attendants were friendly and helpful,” “the picture quality is very good.” Our main focus and goal each and every event is to provide a fun and memorable experience to every single person that steps into one of our photo booths.

What’s your outlook for the industry in our city?
As the wedding market continues to increase, so does the demand for entertainment industries within the wedding market. I can’t remember the last party or wedding I have been invited to personally that did not have a photo booth, whether it was DIY or professional. Although our current physical location is in Tucson, AZ, we do several events throughout the year in Phoenix and Casa Grande.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
PhotoFunBooth, Lilie Photography

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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