We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matthew Bernier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matthew below.

Matthew, appreciate you joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

Starting a business is easy. Total piece of cake. Running the business on the other hand and turning it into a successful endeavor is a whole different ball game. At the start of my business, I spent ample amount of time figuring out the products I would offer, how they would work, learning about new systems, tactics, and technology. All this work, so I thought, would result in us getting loads of customers and lots of revenue. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out the way I thought they would. It was until around the 3-year mark that I realized for us to grow and hit the goals I had set out to achieve, I would need to better understand my customers. I set out to figure out who my true customers were, what their interests were (related to my business/products), and how I could convince them to hire my business over anyone else. Once I began to really focus on this, it became clear what I needed to do to convert more customers to clients, and which customers I should be focusing on. From here, I honed in my craft, perfecting every little detail so that we could appeal to our best clients and earn their praise, along with their recommendation. As we were just hitting our stride, my business also started to make a name for itself. I realized the importance of branding and focused the next couple of years on solidifying who we were, what we looked/sounded/felt like, and how that was communicated to our clients. Now, in our 6th+ year of business, we have a brand that clients know, value, and seek out (at a premium)! We have established ourselves in the market for what we do better than anyone else, and our brand, experiences, and work all reflect this. Today, we serve clients all across our state and even Nationwide, where we are seen as an industry leader in our field.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey, Matthew Bernier here! I’m the owner of Flashbulb Memories Photo Booth. We provide live photo experiences for high-end weddings & events where perfection is demanded. I got into this business on a bit of a whim, as I was exploring different potential businesses to start, to make an exit from the corporate world. I couldn’t tell you how I stumbled across the photo booth business, but I just knew it was the right fit, given my experience working with technology, photography, and some of the in-betweens that made it easier to get started. My background is in business, both professionally and in my educational pursuits – though my experience is pretty much all from the school of hard knocks and YouTube.

With my company, Flashbulb Memories, we provide unrivaled service and quality with a modern twist on the conventional photo booth. Our exclusive Glam Photo Booth is what we have become known for nationwide. Super sleek, high-end photos with a magic filter that makes guests look magazine ready. All printed in classic B/W. Obviously making a name for ourselves that clients know Nationwide is an achievement that I am proud of, but even more so are the remarks I hear from clients who have used our services in the past. When I hear a bride tell us we were more prepared than her (world-renown) wedding planner, and countless others tell us we were the best vendor at their wedding, it really hits home.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

100% our dedication to our clients. Specifically, what we did (and didn’t do) along with how we did it. When someone reaches out to us, we reply lightning fast, usually in minutes. This is true whether you are a new customer inquiring about general info, or an existing client wanting to make changes to your next-day wedding details. Aside from a fast response, we are thorough and value our superior customer service above all else. Even if it means giving a recommendation to another business, because they might better serve our customer’s needs.

Of course, customer service doesn’t mean much if you don’t have customers :) So another huge aspect of building our reputation was getting our first client, giving them everything they dreamed of (and more), and having them capture their experience in a review. This review, along with the recommendation that came from them to friends/family helped our name get spread among top planners, companies, and friend’s groups so that any time someone is need of our services, we are usually the first company they call.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Ah COVID-19. The big 2021 business pivot. I’m sure there are many entrepreneurs and business owners that were forced to pivot in some way due to the effects of COVID. In my case, instead of pivoting the business, I pivoted personally.

Being in the entertainment/live events space, it was exceptionally hard to find any other way to serve our clients or target market given that public gatherings and live events were off limit. So, instead of trying to forcefully find a way around this or build a new audience/target/product, I decided to just start a different business. I focused my efforts on another skillset I had built up over the years, and started offering consulting, website development, and SEO to other business owners. While it wasn’t as profitable as my photo booth company had come to be, it was a way for me to continue paying bills and making money while keeping my company alive.

It was definitely a valuable lesson I learned and would encourage others to do the same. While it is great to specialize, you always have to allow yourself the freedom to innovate and take a risk. If you don’t innovate, you die. Whether it is pivoting an existing business, or just your personal decisions/choices to do or try something else, it is important to stay flexible and be ready to make a change when necessary.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flashbulbphotobooth.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fbmphotobooth
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlashBulbMemoriesPhotobooth/