Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Liz & Garrett Armijo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Liz & Garrett, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
Taking risks is no secret to the foundation and success of any entrepreneur, but we learned together early, that it also applies to life. From the outside looking in, the story of how we got here may be difficult to see, but we began taking risks from the moment we met. On our first date we started dinner by both trying Escargot for the first time, because why not?! From there, it was a fun journey of doing everything “the wrong way” in our relationship and as luck would have it, our business as well.
Our relationship road map went: Met parents about 3 months into dating, moved in together at 10 months, started the 1st business at 3 years, and got married at 5 years. It wasn’t perfect but it worked for us. We have learned that simply waking up and getting the day started is risky because even at that moment, the day has just begun and unknown. So, now we’re married sun is shining on life and we’re starting to get our stride. Then the pandemic hit, and the words of Ross Geller became our new mantra.. PIVOT!
Being in the event industry, we quickly had to re-strategize our revenue streams and figure out how we were going to move forward. Our business’ survival at this point was paramount, because we knew if we could survive this new unknown, we would hopefully be one of the many success stories in our community. We had to plan fast but effectively. Our plan was to use our existing equipment to create a mobile and self sufficient, multi-camera, live streaming rig for any of the events still happening. During the peak of the lock down we live streamed weddings, corporate trainings, and funerals. It was some of the hardest work we’ve ever endured, but to be able to use our talents to continue to help during that time, was what honestly made the hard days bearable.
Through precise marketing, word of mouth, and support from our friendor network, we were not only able to stay afloat, we actually live streamed events to 6 of the 7 continents, and on our largest stream, we had a wedding with over 700 virtual guests!
We are excited to share that we successfully rebranded this past January as Lumin Booths, and along with innovative booth concepts, we are expanding into new entertainment markets, and more!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
We are Liz & Garrett of Lumin Booths, experts in utilizing tech and design to create magical moments! Our business journey began while Liz was a Junior studying Fine Art Photography at Texas State, and Garrett was beginning his new role with Apple. We began shooting weddings for friends and realized it was an enjoyable way to make extra income.
Not long after starting, the photo booth boom began and we couldn’t help but notice a surplus of photo booths at weddings and events. What was available at the time were booths with great features and best of all utilized iPads as the camera! We began to strategize and plan out the cost of buying one of the booths we’ve seen, and quickly realized… We can do this ourselves!
From there the business plan became simple, create a high quality experience end to end using professional cameras and lighting equipment, a clean design and having tech integration at every step! It was everything we loved because it was the combination of our talents and passions!
Entering an already saturated market in a large metro area, we were not blind to all of the hard work ahead of us. Luckily we’re both headstrong and welcome a challenge! From the start we utilized our community over competition mentality and quickly grew a network of support that we never knew we needed.
After 4 years in business the time finally came to make a decision, do we make the jump and make this craziness our new careers? Well, it took way too many sleepless nights before making the decision, but we both left our full time positions, and began working for ourselves! It’s been a constant cycle of adaptation, open to learning new skills, and most importantly time management. It’s crazy because Liz never wanted to own a business, and Garrett thought success was only found working for a Fortune 500 company. It’s a very proud moment for both of us because we accomplished it together, and we’re excited for what the future brings!
Any advice for managing a team?
Our advise is actually very simple, care about your staff, and keep your head high. Right now everyone reading just answered what that answer means to them, in their head, and assumes we agree, but not necessarily.
Caring about your staff isn’t just their pay rate, that’s the ticket into our door. Caring is also not being their friend, it’s being their mentor, and helping them advance their career goals while they help you do the same. Our best staff have created their own businesses, left to be experts in their fields, and some are still with us helping manage our rebrand and expansion! When you care about your staff they will care about you and your business too.
It has been hard, especially during the pandemic to keep cool and calm, but Winston Churchill said it best: ” Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ” As long as we continue and not let the current situation cloud our judgment we will succeed. We have fought to make it this far, and we are thankful for amazing staff past and present that have been a part of this crazy journey.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Being present. For us that means as much as we can, being at networking events, mixers, and many of our rentals because, no one can sell ourselves like us. Of course as we scale and begin new ventures, that becomes harder and harder, but while you’re a small business, utilize your brand to your advantage! In the event industry we naturally are all over the state setting up our booths. Whenever we can, we make a visit to the sites and check in on the events, but also meet with any management that may be available. Of course this is a lot easier given what we do, but both of us have had that spirit forever.
It’s hard meeting new people and be in new situations.
We always try to remember, everyone else is also feeling that way, so why not say hi.
(It goes without saying, that if you are not also running a reliable business, with positive public reviews somewhere, you need to start there!)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.luminbooth.com
- Instagram: @luminbooths_
- Facebook: @luminbooths
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/garrett-a-96584ab8
Image Credits
Ashley Medrano Photography