Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristian Beas
Cristian, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It all started back in January 2017 at the beginning of Spring semester while attending college. Due to the heavy school projects/homework, I was not able to commit to a full-time job nor part time but at the same had bills to pay. One day, I attended a family party and a photobooth company was there. From that day on, I decided to invest my time, effort, and the few bucks I had in my pocket to pursue the unknown journey. After a couple months of investing time in educating myself in the industry, I had the opportunity to put my first equipment together. This happened around April 2017 when it was officially licensed and insured under county requirements as we still are to this date. The first event we had was in my home; I invited friends over to take pictures, provide feedback, and have a good time. Shortly after, a good friend of my mother, hired me for the first time for her daughter’s party. At the time, it was only me and my girlfriend in this journey with a very DIY photobooth put together in my mind. The first couple months were slow until the next thing I knew, we had several events every month. By the end of 2017, we had about 40 events with some others booked for the following year 2018. Some point during 2018, we had to chance to upgrade the DIY equipment to more sophisticated and aesthetic setup. We were busy. Fast forward to end of 2020, we had 2 equipment setups and a very good friend of mine had joined me in 2018 (shout out to Julio!). Come 2021, pandemic hit, uncertainty and doubts were coming in my mind as we had to completely stop providing services. We even had to re-schedule events, and I even remember losing a couple deposits. During this time, the ‘going out of business’ idea was present in my mind. One day, at the end of 2021, I took the biggest decision within PicMe! times, the idea of go big or go home. Decided to expand up to 4 equipments, buy a van, marketing, social media, etc you name it. I tried everything. Soon after these ideas came reality, at the beginning of 2022, we started noticing more bookings and started to get very busy like the 2017-2018 times but this time it was triple the busy. 2022 was a great year, had to bring more people onboard to the team. We started adding uniforms, jackets, etc to each of us in the team. By the end of 2022, we had added 2 extra services, 360 booth and snack bars. To this date, we stay busy with the ability to provide several services at once all over San Diego County. One thing that distinguish us is that we are always innovating new ideas and putting them to work. We are currently a team of 6 that each of us represents hard work, great personality, and excellent customer services (shout out to Dani, Hernan, Julio, Beto, and Felix). Behind each PicMe! employee there are families behind making us family oriented. We merge our passion for creating memories and talking to new people at every event (with a little of tech-savvy skills) to make our clients happy. 2025 looks promising with more ideas and possibly 1 more photobooth service to be added.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is and it has not been easy at all. The beginning of PicMe! journey, we had lots of trial and errors with the responsibility to make sure guests have the best experience. Definitely, the pandemic era was one of the most challenging times given the uncertainty it brought. Personally, being a small business owner, has been the best experience in my life and love every moment of it. From the pre-planning to the end of each event, this journey has been amazing, and I will continue to innovate it. This also comes with lots of changes. From missed close family events to having last minute event changes, I always give my best at every event we are hired regardless. That is the mentality behind every one of us at PicMe!.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a local photobooth business that our main goal is to capture the fun and excitement of the event while providing guests with a memorable, tangible souvenir from the occasion. Whether you’re hosting a wedding, birthday party, corporate event, or any special occasion, our modern and customizable photo booths are the ideal addition.
We offer high-quality, customizable photo booth/360booth services complete with a variety of fun props, personalized backdrops, and instant prints. Our user-friendly booths provide endless options for both photos and GIFs, and all images are easily shareable with social media integration as well as QR code sharing.
PicMe! is all about clear communication, personalization, professional service, and going above and beyond to make your clients feel valued and taken care of. Whether it’s pre-event planning, on-site support, or post-event follow-up, making the entire process seamless and enjoyable will leave smiles all around.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The one advice I can give is to be genuine, be yourself and offer value. Networking is a two-way street. Focus on building real relationships and offering help where you can. Whether it’s sharing insights, recommending a tool, or connecting others, be a resource to others, and they’ll be more likely to return the favor.
Pricing:
- $300-$1000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.picmephotoboothsd.com
- Instagram: @picme.boothsd
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/picmephotoboothsd
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/picme-photo-booth-and-snack-bar-san-diego
- Other: picmephotobooth17@gmail.com
Image Credits
Hernan, Rene, and Miguel.
