We caught up with the brilliant and insightful  Octavia “Blu” Monsanto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Blu. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

My first client came sooner than I expected. I got the booth on a Thursday and I booked my first gig that Saturday. I was so nervous because I didn’t think my first gig would be so soon. I thought for sure I would have time to study my product more before I started doing events. But there is no time like the present and I had to jump out of the nest. I am glad I did that because my first gig created a domino effect and bookings starting rolling in. My first client was a colleague of mine who was having an event for his social media app called GoSayHello. Being familiar with my first client helped because he was very encouraging. He knew that I had just got the booth and was still willing to take a chance because he knew my work ethic. Despite my inexperience, I studied and practiced on the booth before the day of the gig. I felt unprepared because I didn’t receive my iPad yet so I used my iPhone. To my relief, the client was pleased and I gained my next client that day.

Blu, 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 entrepreneurial journey started back in 2017. I used to teach guitar and drum lessons at a local Montessori just outside the city of Atlanta. I realized then that I could use my creative talents to fund my music career and make extra money on the side. My stint as a music teacher taught me some fundamentals of side hustling. Over the years I’ve added more side hustles to my rapporteur including, background singing, stage and music production, Emceeing, and various gig work. When the Pandemic hit in 2020, most of my side gigs came to a halt right along with the rest of the world. Gigs were scarce so I focused on my 9-5. While the world was figuring it’s self out, so was I. But you know like they say “Once a Hustler always a Hustler” so I knew it was only a matter of time until an opportunity presented itself. I started researching ways to make money during the pandemic. I found a few side hustles that sparked my interest including sneaker reselling and mobile notary. But I was always looking for ways to make money. March of 2022, I started Mobile Me 360, a fully serviced 360 video booth here in Atlanta. Although a fairly new venture, it has been growing so fast in front of my eyes. I stumbled upon 360 video booths one night at a party. I saw how excited people got while getting on the platform and seeing their videos at the end. It was an amazing experience. After my first spin on a 360, I wanted to hop on again. Although I enjoyed it, the idea for the business didn’t come until months later, when I saw a clip on YouTube. It was then that I realized that a 360 business can be very profitable. I started researching how to start up the business and I began shopping around. I had a budget in mind, but reality hit. I had to considered all the other factors that came into funding the booth. Lighting, cameras, props and etc. After months of watching YouTube videos and reading articles about the photo booth industry, I took a chance and bought my video booth. It’s a learning process but I am having a lot of fun while doing it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

It didn’t take too long for me to realize that I had a lot of unlearning to do. My first lesson to unlearn was the illusion of work being only 8 hours of a day. In business, there is no such thing. I thought that I would have more time for myself if I set my own schedule. Keeping up with the brand and orders alone, takes a chunk of time. However, in that moment of unlearning, I relearned a valuable lesson. “When you do what you love, it’s never work”. I enjoy seeing people smiling and excited to see themselves on the booth. I realized that even though I spend more time on Mobile Me 360 than my 9-5, I don’t feel as drained because I am enjoying myself.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This whole process takes resilience. Bookings do not come easy and that takes drive. Just to put yourself out there to gain clientele can be challenging. The “no’s” and “maybe’s” can weigh on one’s confidence. When I got into the 360 business I didn’t really know what to expect. Honestly, I thought since my first few bookings came quick, I wouldn’t have a hard time getting bookings every week. I learned very soon that, that wasn’t true. A ton of ground work is required and sometimes it can be overwhelming. And the challenge is not just getting clientele but also keeping the party going. My 3rd event almost ended early due to a partygoer stumbling on the arm of the 360 booth. The impact bent the arm and broke a the tablet holder on the booth. The partygoer was fine but the piece for my camera was ruined. There was no way I could continue the event without it. Luckily I remembered I had an extra piece in my car that I was going to return back to the store. Instead of pouting with defeat, I rushed to get the extra piece from car and resumed the spins from there. The event turned out amazing and the client was happy, they even booked me for an additional hour. I enjoy what I do and that pushes my resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mobileme360.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mobileme360/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/mobileme360

Image Credits
@shegottaim