Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Victoria Genin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Victoria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Hi, thanks for having me. So what does it take to be successful? Funny, I actually provide the definition of success on my website: 1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one’s goals. Such a subjective concept…

You have to ask yourself: are you happy doing what you’re doing? Do you feel you’re getting compensated fairly for work you put in? Have you made enough money? Are you satisfied with the life you’ve been able to afford yourself? Are you proud of your work? Have you received positive responses to your work? Do you get joy out of your work? To me, success can be defined in so many ways beyond one line in a dictionary.

To label yourself or your business successful really comes down to the expectations you originally set when you started.
When I started my business, Annnd…Action! Photo Booth, I was hopeful I could get customers and make some money; also, having fun and enjoying the work had to be key.
I knew my experience with film and TV and hobby of photography would lend itself to the photo booth concept and services to be provided. But I also went in with experience in lead generation, marketing, and PR so I already had a pretty good idea of how to promote both. I made sure to secure all the free exposure online that I could get. I offered to do a free photo booth with a charity event that I subsequently helped promote in order to get both the charity’s name and my company’s name out there. After that first free event, we were relatively quick to get real paid events and as Annnd…Action! has grown, we continue to increase the number of events we do each year. We even have repeat customers who rely on us to give them a great experience for their school, company, or their personal events and celebrations. A success!

At year 4, Annnd…Action! Photo Booth finally made an actual profit. We spent a little more than we needed occasionally but generally  tried to keep expenses down. We’ve had to adjust our pricing here and there to meet the marketplace and educate customers about quality and value for money. Admittedly, it can be tricky, particularly in a saturated marketplace like Los Angeles, but when the accountant showed us that tax return where we actually had to pay (ok, I dislike paying, of course) but…a success!

As I reflect upon Annnd…Action! Photo Booth at year 8, I can truly say that I am having a good time running the photo booth business. Sure, it’s work, but it’s a lot of fun too! For every event we start and finish without a hitch; for every customer who thanks us for a job well done; and for every happy smile we see as we sift through an evening’s photo booth session photos in the client’s password-protected galleries that we’ve uploaded for them; I know that we have been a big part of creating special, lasting memories for them and brought joy to their experience. To me, that’s definitely a success.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well, I am originally from Nor Cal, I moved to LA over 30 years ago. I’m a proud grad of Cal State Los Angeles (Go Golden Eagles!) and I’ve done lots of jobs over the years, my professional work being mainly in the film and television industry before I decided to start  Annnd…Action! Photo Booth, LLC.

Annnd…Action! came about from my experience of hiring a mediocre photo booth company for a big milestone event at my home. The company we chose seemed great online but were just “okay” in person. They appeared to put the least amount of energy into it and the service was disappointing. The few photos we had after the event weren’t great. The icing on the cake was when this company offered us movie tickets in exchange for a good review of their service. I took their tickets, but unfortunately for them, they did get an honest review.  I think incentivized marketing is a sham.

So after all that, I realized I could provide photo booth services and it would be so much better, #SoMuchFun ! I imagined my extroverted, creative energizer bunny personality would create meaningful interactions with guests and ensure clients would get many quality photos at the end of their event. The props would be clean and quality, not bargain-basement junk. I imagined an elevated experience with a reasonable price tag.

I did some research, bought some equipment and came up with a clever name: Annnd…Action! (like what a director shouts to start the scene in a movie.) Viola! A photo booth business was born.

8 years later, my company Annnd…Action! Photo Booth, LLC is now a premium photo booth company based in the San Fernando Valley and servicing greater Los Angeles.

We create quality print and high-resolution digital images and provide full customization of the printout designs along with beautiful photographs. Many times, when considering a photo booth, customers think about just funny faces and some goofy props, which we definitely have; however, we also provide some really lovely photos too. Often, we capture some of the most precious moments that even the official event photographer will miss!

Our photo booth is for everyone: we provide services to local companies, elementary schools, proms, colleges, holiday parties, birthday parties, Mitzvahs, weddings, anniversaries; practically any occasion. Ever flexible, we will present as sophisticated and elegant, or as casual/down-home as our clients ask for. A friendly, professional attendant is always on site to assist guests and keep things tidy in the photo booth area.

Every photo booth set-up varies to the space and type of event, but Annnd…Action! has a couple different booth styles and many colorful and textured backdrops to choose from. Our set-ups are also ADA accessible and allow us to capture the smiles of even our tallest or smallest guests. A selection of props are specifically tailored for the customer’s occasion – what matches the theme or milestone – and what’s appropriate for their guest list. We offer lots of options like filters, email/text, different print sizes and extra prints, photos frames, keychains and so much more.

I’ve come to realize that not all photo booths are alike and I would like to think that we provide great value for money when clients hire us. The Los Angeles marketplace is vast and there’s a lot of choice and price points when it comes to extracurricular activities. Annnd…Action! Photo Booth services start at $475 for up to two hours of photo booth rental.

One of the biggest challenges sometimes can be validating our fees for new clients. I do tend to think that “more is more”, as in: the more information the better. I mention the apples-to-apples concept a lot in consultations to ensure customers can make informed decisions. I share our range of offerings in a transparent way and encourage prospects to shop around and feel confident that what they think they want to get out of their photo booth experience – is in fact – what they’re going to get with any company.

I can’t say what all other companies offer, though we’ve seen some convincing, as well as questionable offerings out there. I also cannot rely on my prospects to do all the market research we do.

What I can rely on is that there is only one chance to capture the occasion. Unlike a photo session at the Annnd…Action! Photo Booth, there are no re-dos when you hire for an event. This in mind, we can know our marketplace. We offer as much info about our company as possible. If the client puts their trust in us for their special day, we will always provide our very best service. Period. I think our success to-date and online reviews reflect this.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Based upon reviews online, feedback directly from customers and from my colleagues I the same industry; I’d say I have a pretty good reputation in the market. Have I done everything perfectly? No way. I don’t believe there is a such thing! But I do have a few core principles which lend themselves.

Honesty is the best policy. Corny? Sure. But it is. I think being forthright and maybe offering a little too much honest information goes a long way. Not every prospect we speak to becomes a client. But for those that do, I think it’s the honest approach that works best. I can’t think of any other way to do business, really. Just be honest…and realistic. If it can’t be done, it’s okay to say “no”. If the “no” is such a big deal that you don’t win that prospect…they probably weren’t your customer anyway. Can’t win them all.

Be helpful. My team and I are always willing to help. If a client needs a little more explanation, we explain. If the artwork isn’t quite right- we keep going until it’s perfect. If the wedding decoration we didn’t set-up is falling off the wall, we’re going to grab some tape to help secure it. Being helpful seems cliché, but to me, a little bit of help doesn’t cost much and goes a long way.

It’s not all about you. Now, I have some long-time friends who might affectionately dispute this, but I know it’s not all about me. Frankly, it’s embarrassing when reviews online are like, “Victoria was this…” “Victoria was that…” – but I am the face of the company, so I get mentioned. I think it is honesty and the helpfulness that people tap into the most. It is nice when people say nice things about you, and I am honored when they do.

I have a few close industry colleagues with whom I share news, photo booth ideas and get reality-checks from. This sharing without a big competitive spin is huge. Let’s face it, we could all lie to each other and just try to expand our own little empires and try and benefit on the backs of our competitors…but we don’t. I think it’s the think tank, honesty, helpfulness, and that “not all about you” mentality which we each possess that helps us all be better at what we do. If you have a business and you can find 3, 4 or 20 people like this with which you can network. Find them and keep them. Don’t be afraid you won’t succeed by having them too close. You may find they are integral to your success.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Fortunately, I can’t speak to any near-death moments with the business, except the occasional bad driver on the way to an event, but we certainly have had some sweat-producing challenges, both are related to having employees.

I hired my first official employee in 2023 as a photo booth assistant. She is fantastic. We trained together and I sent her to her first event – alone. She had everything set perfectly. The guests were having a great time for over three hours. Near the end of the event, in the last 20 minutes of photo booth time, the camera suddenly started malfunctioning. There was this crazy line right down the middle of the photos. The assistant tried everything she could to adjust ‘something’ to prevent the line, but despite her efforts it persisted. Slightly frantic, she texted me to show the issue. It turned out that the shutter on the camera had failed. The text image she showed me was the tell-tale sign of a broken shutter. Nothing could be done.

I advised her to take photos with the Surface Pro (we use with the booth) and continue. Thankfully, our good lighting set-up allowed for pictures that weren’t too bad. She finished up the event and I later returned a fair portion of our fee to the Client for the fail. In the event wrap-up with my attendant, I applauded her for keeping her cool and being able turn the situation around quickly. I explained that she did everything correctly – that even if I had been there – nothing could be done about a shutter fail: I couldn’t have fixed it either. I remain grateful for her cool, cucumber disposition and we now both carry an extra camera when we are at an event.

The other incident involved payroll. I almost paid an assistant around $11k for a single paycheck. I had entered the wrong detail into the wrong box! This happened on a Sunday of course – where small business people get things done – while large businesses’ people are chilling out. Unable to reverse the transaction – I left voicemails and sent my payroll company contacts emails. I also alerted the employee that she might get paid a little more this week – please don’t spend it. Luckily, there are steps in place for these types of errors, so the payroll was corrected before any actual transaction transpired. I surely learned my lesson on that one! I continue to learn everyday. Big part of what business ownership and life is about.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.annndactionphoto.com
• Instagram: @annndactionphotobooth
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnndActionPhoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vgenin2008/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/annnd-action-photo-booth-los-angeles-3?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
Victoria Genin