We recently connected with Mike Clevenger and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

We started by visiting other facilities and scouring the internet or inspiration. We began to create drawings and vision boards. After compiling hundreds and hundreds of photos we began to hone in on what our facility and our services would look like. This process in it’s entirety lasted nearly a year. Truth be told, this process is still largely in play even as we enter year 3. As we develop new rooms and themes for our studio and mobile experiences we are still pulling inspiration from social media ,magazines and television and just about anything we see or hear to help create the new vision boards before we move into ordering materials and setting a timeline for changeover. Sometimes ordering materials is just as easy as pulling open your Amazon account and doing a search for the product, other times, it could be something completely custom and you have to build it your own way and source the materials and this can take time especially given some trial and error needs to factored in as you create the final product you see in your head.

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

I’ve spent the last decade working in the recreation and tourism industry creating and delivering experiences and activities here in the Scottsdale area. Now, that activity is based on photography and videography. Scottsdale Selfie is a one of a kind photography experience. We offer both an in-studio and a mobile experience. Guests have the option to DIY their way through our studio creating all the fun photos and videos they like to pump up their Instagram or to help brand their new apparel line or celebrate a bachelorette party/birthday. We build and custom design the backdrops and provide all the photo props and photography equipment necessary for a complete guest experience.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

There’s a number of strategies that go together to make an effective marketing plan, but ultimately, in this day and age it’s social media and word of mouth that will impact your business the most. You will hear people talk about the algorithm, this mythical unicorn of how social media works and provides for you and those scrolling through to connect. We try not to focus on trying to find the perfect post with the perfect song or the perfect time of day instead, we post the content we find relevant and believe our guests will too when we want and how we want. We believe the guess will organically connect with our product and look to emulated in their own way by making a reservation and joining us.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Her brand is all about content creation. We understand that everyone creates content these days both personally and professionally. While our guests create and produce fun and engaging photos and videos we find our best source of clients come from those posts and videos on social media so for us, our best sources would be platforms like Instagram, tiktok, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Additionally, in the community strategic Partnerships and memberships with local affiliates with an emphasis on driving community awareness and engagement with those who live in our city and visit our city also have a major impact on our clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: Scottsdale-selfie.com
• Instagram: Scottsdale_selfie