We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Hidalgo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I never thought I would be a business owner. Even the thought of starting my own business was not only laughable but brought along paralyzing fear. The fear of failure, of letting others down, of letting my family down, and of letting myself down was enough to banish any urge I ever had to start my own business. It wasn’t until I encountered the lowest of lows in my life that I gathered up the courage to entertain the thought. I came to the conclusion that it was time for me to take a risk and do it. I’m not a stranger to risk. As a young child my family and I moved to America from South Africa with very little money and a couple of suitcases. My dad was a traveling minister which meant we went from church to church all across the US in our black and white GMC van sleeping on couches and guest bedrooms of the church members we met along the way. Risk was what I knew. The beauty of experiencing risk like that at a young age is I was able to learn the invaluable skill of “figure it out.” From job loss to health scares, no matter what issue and problem my parents encountered, I watched and learned as they figured it out each and every time. You would think that by being exposed to risk like that I wouldn’t blink at the opportunity to take on a risk myself. There was just something about taking a risk of my own that felt so very different and terrifying. So when faced with the decision to launch a business, I knew that taking a risk meant I could fail, and fail hard. But I also knew very well that I could and would figure it out no matter what happened. I came across the idea of a photo booth business when I was assisting my sister at a wedding she was a videographer for. It looked so fun and something I knew I could do, so I began the research process. I found a company that was affordable and provided all the tools necessary to jump right in. So I did just that. I jumped right in and I haven’t looked back since.

I started my photo booth company in the beginning of 2022 and have far exceeded every goal I set for myself. I found a business that I love and that I can grow with. There have been many, MANY opportunities for me to practice my “figure it out” skills along the way. But the greatest joy I have experienced has been to share my story and journey with others and inspire them to take the risk too.

Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Nicole and I started my photo booth business in March of 2022. I decided to name my photo booth business Own the Moment Booth. The name comes from my mission statement which is to help each and every client make, capture, and keep their memories. I want to help them own their moment! Making and keeping memories has always been a huge part of my life. I have dozens of photo booth strips from all over the country. My son and I hop into every photo booth we see and I love to look back on them and see how he’s grown. Offering the same experience to my clients is what brings me the most joy and I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Photo booths are often utilized at weddings, graduations, parties, and events where making memories is an essential part of the experience. Our services provide multiple ways to do just that. We offer so many unique ways to make memories from photos, GIFS, boomerangs, videos, memory books, audio guestbooks, unique backdrops, you name it! We are always looking for new ways to make and keep memories. My passion for the business and experience in the events industry is what sets us apart. We provide a professional and enjoyable experience, start to finish, with the highest quality products. Our clients deserve the best, and we want to provide that to them!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I knew from the beginning of starting my business that my social media presence was going to be very important. When you have a business that is focused on making memories, it only makes sense to utilize the platforms that were designed to create and share them! I started with Instagram as that was the platform that I enjoyed working with the most. I began posting content daily and began studying how to utilize marketing on social media on youtube. I also decided that I wanted my Instagram account to serve as a portfolio. I wanted to be able to get clients to my page and for them to visually see for themselves what their experience could be like if they booked with my company. Instagram very quickly became my number one source for clients. I found two reasons for this. 1) Because I frequently incorporated reels, clients were able to see how much fun it was to use the photo booth and the level of quality Own the Moment Booth provides.

2) Through DM’s, I was able to chat one on one with my clients and get to know them and walk them through the process. This brought a new level of customer service that can be difficult to emulate over email or through a website.

With social media, there is always room for improvement and growth and a chance to try new things. With Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and Pinterest, there are so many ways to utilize social media to grow your company! If you’re just starting your business, I recommend starting on the platform that you are most familiar with. Start posting consistently (every day) and begin stretching your creativity. Share the ins and outs of your business. Share the features of your product. Share testimonials, your packages, upgrades, how your client can use it… there are endless ways to share! Start by following accounts that you admire and then use that as a guide to put your own unique brand and company out there. Most of all, challenge yourself to try new things. If you’ve never made a reel before, make one! If you’ve never put your face on your stories, do it! Just start, and the confidence and creative ideas will follow.

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

Excellent customer service skills are a crucial part of my business and success. I respond very quickly to emails and inquiries and try to never leave a customer waiting on me. I go above and beyond for my clients throughout the entire process. This means that every part of my onboarding process is carefully evaluated for professionalism and ease of use. Providing excellent customer service also involves being flexible, patient, and kind. I truly value each and every client and want them to have the absolute best experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ownthemomentbooth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ownthemomentbooth
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQU_CgdjdEBROVbCtmIqd-Q
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ownthemomentphotobooth