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Scaling Out Loud

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Rating
★★★★★
5
from
7 reviews
This podcast has
43 episodes
Language
English
Explicit
No
Date created
2026/01/01
Latest episode
2026/10/22
Average duration
20 min.
Release period
9 days

Description

Scaling Out Loud The Photo Booth Business Podcast for 6-Figure Founders Ready to Break the 7-Figure Ceiling If you’re a 6-figure photo booth business owner stuck in the "Chief Everything Officer" role, juggling bookings, managing tech headaches, and feeling crushed under your own success, this podcast is for you. Hosted by Catalina Bloch, founder of MDRN Activations, MDRN Photobooth Co., and creator of Photo Booth Mastery, Scaling Out Loud pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to grow from six to seven figures without burning out in the process. Catalina’s not just talking theory. She’s actively running a 7-figure booth brand while helping hundreds of founders do the same. Each episode is packed with strategy, real-world insights, and unfiltered lessons that speak directly to photo booth entrepreneurs. Inside, you’ll learn how to: • Systemize your business and step out of the weeds • Attract and close high-ticket corporate and wedding clients • Raise your prices confidently and profitably • Build a team you can actually trust • Turn hustle into strategy without losing your edge No recycled advice from other industries. No vague "just work harder" mindset. Just real talk from someone who's built what you’re building and isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said. If you're ready to trade chaos for clarity and bookings for bigger opportunities, hit subscribe and follow Catalina on Instagram @photoboothmastery. Your next level doesn’t start with more work. It starts with listening.

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What a Corporate Events Insider Sees at Every Activation
2026/10/22
Somewhere right now there’s a photo booth sitting in the corner of a trade show with a logo on the print and nobody in line, and the brand that paid for it is wondering where the money went. I recorded this one live at Illuminate in Miami, the day before Julius Solaris took the stage as our keynote. Julius consults for Fortune 500 companies on their event strategy, everything from sponsorship and registration to overall event design. He’s the founder of Boldpush, he writes a newsletter that goes out to 40,000 event planners, and he’s covered the events industry from a media seat for 20 years (his previous business was acquired by Skift). He’s at CES, Cannes Lions, Dreamforce and South by Southwest, and he walks all of them as what he calls an event Karen, so trust me, he notices the booth. Our industry has a habit of listening to the same speakers over and over again, and I wanted someone who sees photo booths from the planner’s side of the table and has zero reason to tell us what we want to hear. So we get into why marketing money is moving into in-person events right now, what separates the activation people line up for from the one they walk past to get the free coffee, and a setup at one of the biggest tech conferences in the world that started with some very basic iPads. Then Julius gives his one piece of advice for photo booth founders, and if your corporate pitch leans on the logo, it’s going to sting a little. What You’ll Learn: Why Julius says this moment is unlike anything he’s seen in 20 years of covering events The research on B2B buying decisions that explains why brands keep spending on events What a gladiator costume at South by Southwest has to do with your next activation Why “we don’t have the budget” usually isn’t the real problem How photo booths ended up as the last line item, and the cost pressure planners are under The simple Dreamforce activation that turned a not-so-great photo into two moments of connection Why the analog side of your booth is pulling more weight with Gen Z right now The three things Julius says your offer should be built around What not to say when you pitch a marketing team, and what to bring them instead Resources Mentioned: Boldpush: https://boldpush.com/ Illuminate: https://illuminatecreative.live Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Know a photo booth owner who’s been trying to crack corporate? Send them this episode. Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Your Team Keeps Making the Same Mistake. Here's What's Actually Wrong.
2026/10/08
It's Saturday night, you finally sit down to dinner, and your phone goes off. It's your attendant, and the printer is doing the same thing it did two weeks ago, the same thing you already walked them through standing right next to the booth. If you've ever typed "how many times do I have to explain this?" into a text and deleted it before you hit send, I recorded this one for you. When the same mistake keeps coming back from your attendant, your VA, or anyone on your team, it's pointing at one of three places in your business. Sometimes it's pointing at the person, and I don't soften that part when I get there, but it's the last place I look. I walk through each of those places with real stories from my own team, including one where the unclear instruction was mine. Then I get into what I count as a real red flag, the kind that's a lot harder to spot, and the homework I want you to do before you say a single word to anyone about the mistake that keeps happening. What You'll Learn: The first question to ask yourself when a mistake repeats The one-line instruction I gave years ago that someone followed to the letter for a couple of years Why answering your team's questions "because it's faster" keeps the texts coming The simple rule I give a VA before they bring me a problem What your attendants will never text you about, and how you find out anyway The red flag that's harder to spot, and why clear instructions can't fix it How I decide when it really is the person, and why I don't drag it out anymore This week's homework: figuring out where your most repeated mistake actually lands Resources Mentioned: Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Tell me where your mistake landed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Know a photo booth owner who's one repeated mistake away from losing it with their team? Send them this episode. Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
You Don't Have to Learn AI
2026/10/01
I basically live inside AI now. Most of my day is spent building apps, building schedules, and working with AI employees that handle work that used to eat hours of somebody's week. I'm getting about 10 times more done in a day than I was before. Being that deep in it for this long has me thinking about AI very differently than most of the people you hear talking about it online. This one is short. I'm telling you where my head is at, and if you've been feeling like everyone else figured AI out while you fell behind, I recorded it for you. I talk about the two kinds of business owners I'm seeing right now, what happened the first time I built an app for my own business, and the cost that creeps up on you one upgrade at a time. Then I get into what I've decided my job is as an educator in this space, and what we're building inside the new Thrive because of it. What You'll Learn: The two types of business owners I'm seeing with AI right now, and which one most photo booth owners fall into What went wrong the first time I built an app for my business, and why it's the reason I can spot other people's mistakes from a mile away How a free AI account turns into hundreds of dollars a month before you notice Why that thing you spent all weekend building might not be touching your bookings at all What I think my job is now as an educator, and how that's changing what we build inside Thrive The one thing to look for on your calendar this week that AI should be doing for you  Resources Mentioned: The new Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/thrive DM me on Instagram with the task you'd hand over first: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Know a photo booth owner who's been beating themselves up for not getting AI yet? Send them this episode.   Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
If I Wanted to Grow a $100K Photo Booth Business to $250K, Here's What I'd Do
2026/09/24
Somewhere around $100,000, something strange happens to a photo booth business. You finally hit the number you chased for years. Then you look around and you're more tired than you were at $40,000. More events, more emails, a helper or two who kind of work out, and a take-home that looks almost exactly like it did two years ago. I know that stage well. When my business was around $100K, I was still working a full-time job, running the booth company on nights and weekends, and I was every single role in it. So when someone asks me how to get from $100K to $250K, I start with the math, because the math is what makes the ceiling feel real, and it's also what gets you through it. In this episode I walk through the five moves I'd make if I were sitting at $100K right now and wanted to be at $250K, in the order I'd make them. The order matters more than the moves. I also tell you what I actually did when I made this jump myself, including the part where I took a pay cut on purpose. What You'll Learn: Why getting to $250K takes far fewer extra events than you think (and the exact number it does take) What your business really keeps from an $800 booking once you stop doing every job for free • The first move I'd make, and why everything else on the list breaks without it How fast to raise your prices, and the jump that sends people running back to their old rates within months • The contact form change that now does the job of a 40-minute phone call What your close rate says about whether clients see you as a commodity Why I'd add corporate before a second booth, a second city, or a second anything The decision that let me leave my full-time job in 2017, and the three places I had to get free first • A $900 event that can out-earn a $4,000 one Two numbers I'd track every month for the next year if I were in your seat Mentioned in this episode:  Thrive (The Founder Path, the Photo Booth Pricing Blueprint and Pricing App, The C.A.T. Wedding Method, The Corporate Hustle, templates, and coaching calls): https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com Episode 36, Weddings Fund It. Corporate Grows It.: https://youtu.be/T3whdBp7aW0 Tell me your real average booking value on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
The Five Stages of Business
2026/09/10
There was a decade of my life where I didn't trust a single person to run one of my weddings. Now I try to avoid going to them. Same equipment. Same clients. Same standard I've always held myself to. Completely different relationship to the work. That shift didn't happen by accident, and it didn't happen fast. If you've ever caught yourself thinking "nobody can do this as well as I can" about your events, your sales calls, your marketing, or your team, this episode is for you. It's the same thought wearing a different outfit every time you climb a level in your business, and it's wrong every single time. It just takes proof to believe it. In this episode, I walk through the five stages of getting yourself out of the day-to-day of your own business, where most people get stuck inside each one, and the mindset wall I'm currently hitting on the other side of all of it. What You'll Learn: Why most founders think they've delegated their events when they've actually just built themselves a helper The real timeline behind offloading a corporate program you used to think only you could run Why sales is usually the highest-leverage hire you'll ever make, and what it actually takes off your plate What changes in your job description the moment you have three people on payroll instead of one Why marketing is almost always the last thing founders let go of, and what happens the day you finally hand it over The leadership skill nobody warns you about once your team grows past a few people What I'm personally struggling with now that I've reached the stage I spent over a decade building toward Mentioned in this episode: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Five Ways I Use AI In My Business
2026/09/03
I spent two months boycotting AI in my business because it kept handing me copy that used the word "elevate" like a life insurance commercial. I decided it was overhyped. I decided my business was too weird for it to actually help. I decided I was right. I was completely wrong, and it was an expensive two months. This episode is not about AI photo booths. We already covered that and it's a totally different conversation. This is about the back office work, the stuff that eats your Sunday and never once shows up as revenue on a P&L. I walk through the five things AI actually does in my business every week right now, why it failed me the first ten times I tried it, and what actually changed that took me from garbage output to work that's ready to send with barely an edit. What You'll Learn: Why the AI output you're getting back is generic, and what that tells you about how you're using it How I turned email, the most neglected part of most photo booth businesses, into something I can hand straight to my team What AEO is, how it's different from SEO, and why almost nobody in this industry is positioned for it yet The zero-click search stat that should change how you think about where your buyers are finding vendors Why I stopped sending every contract redline straight to my lawyer, and what I do instead The one way to actually get useful feedback on your own proposals and pricing pages What actually changed for me, and why it wasn't a better prompt Mentioned in this episode: Illuminate applications: https://illuminatecreative.live Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub - https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Corporate Wants Something New. Do You Have It?
2026/08/27
Three years ago I'd sit down with a corporate client and spend half the meeting explaining what a photo booth even was. What happens at the event. What the guest walks away with. Why it belongs at their conference at all. That meeting doesn't happen anymore. Now I sit down with a marketing manager who's already been to four events this year with something in the corner. They've seen the mirror booth. They've seen the 360. They've seen the AI booth. What they say to me now is some version of "what else do you have." They're not bored. They're being measured on whether this year's event felt different from last year's, and they're hoping I'm the one who solves that for them. So this episode is about what that shift means if you're trying to break into corporate, or grow the corporate side you already have, because it changes what you're actually selling. I walk through the data behind the shift (the exact searches spiking in our own numbers), why AI is now doing part of the buyer's research for them before they ever talk to a vendor, and the mindset trap that gets founders spending money on new gear when the real answer might already be sitting in their warehouse. I also talk about Illuminate, our October creative retreat in Miami, and the working activations we're building there specifically so founders can get hands-on with what's coming before it shows up anywhere else in the industry. What You'll Learn: Why corporate buyers no longer need you to explain what a photo booth is, and what that means for your pitch The real story behind why enclosed booths and scribble booths spiked in our own search and quote data How AI search results are already quoting photo booth companies, and why that raises the bar on what you show up with The two different (and both valid) ways to build your next offering without assuming you need to buy new gear Why most new product launches in this industry fail to get sold, and it's not the product's fault What's actually happening at Illuminate this October, and why the room is capped on purpose Mentioned in this episode: Illuminate Creative Retreat, Miami, October 11-14, 2026 - https://illuminatecreative.live Keynote speaker: Julius Solaris Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Weddings Fund It. Corporate Grows It.
2026/08/20
There's a version of this conversation I have on repeat. Someone tells me they had a great year. More weddings booked than the year before, prices finally went up, reviews are five stars across the board. Then they say the part that gives it away: the calendar is packed during wedding season, and then it just stops. If that's you, stick with me. I want to tell you why weddings can only take you so far, and why most of you are already doing the thing that fixes it and just haven't noticed. I built my company on weddings. I'm not talking down on the market, it's a real business and it can be a very good one. But it has a ceiling, and most photo booth owners hit it somewhere in the low six figures and spend a couple of years banging their head against it without knowing what they're hitting. Corporate is the other half most people never build. It runs on a completely different calendar, a completely different buyer, and it's the reason my own business survived two opposite disasters three years apart. I walk through exactly what changed when I stopped treating corporate as an accident and started treating it as a market. What You'll Learn: Why the wedding funnel has a hard ceiling no amount of marketing can fix The one scheduling fact about corporate that changes your entire capacity Why a single company isn't one client, it's a building with multiple doors What happened to my business in 2020, and again in 2023, and what saved it both times The corporate events you're already booking but not counting as corporate Where corporate buyers actually spend their time (it's not Instagram) The fastest way into a corporate room if you have zero connections right now The one number you need to pull from your own books before you do anything else   Mentioned in this episode: Thrive membership: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
I tried the booth everyone’s asking about - Scribble Booth
2026/08/14
Ever wondered if that viral "scribble booth" trend is actually worth the investment, or if it's just another shiny object eating up your equipment budget? I put the Scribble Booth by BoothActive to the test so you don't have to guess. You've probably seen these popping up everywhere lately, ever since a videographer put a piece of plexiglass in front of a celebrity red carpet and had people sign their names on camera. It went viral, and now every booth company under the sun has their own version. I wanted to know if the portable, brandable version from BoothActive (aka the Neon Booth) actually holds up in a real event, so I got my hands on one, ran it through an actual live event, and I'm giving you the full unfiltered breakdown. I unboxed it, assembled it myself, ran into a few hiccups, worked out the kinks, and took it out into the field at a high-traffic, low-light event to really put it through the wringer. What You'll Learn: What's actually included when you order the full Scribble Booth kit (and what you'll need to buy separately) The real assembly experience, including one thing you need to check in your inbox before you even start Why the backdrop isn't optional if you actually want this thing to look good The lighting setup that took some trial and error to get right (and why your camera matters more than you think) Whether one attendant is enough, or if you need two to run it smoothly The honest pros and cons after running it at a real event Whether this is the right addition to your booth lineup, or if a solid-shell version makes more sense for you Mentioned Resources: BoothActive: Scribble Booth / Neon Booth (all-in-one kit, $3,500 USD) Replacement outer fabric cover: $647 (order directly from the manufacturer) Camera used: Canon R100 Video booth software: Snappic Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Thrive: https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
The $10K Quote I Almost Didn’t Send
2026/08/06
At PBX earlier this year, I sat down for an on-stage interview with Brandon CEO of PBSCO in front of a room full of photo booth owners. The questions went past pricing and talked about territory I don't usually cover here: the three plateaus that almost stalled this business, including the stretch where I took it from $500,000 to $1.5 million in eight months. I wanted to bring you this conversation straight from the stage because it's the plateau by plateau, mistake by mistake breakdown of how I went from building a business around a maternity leave check to crossing seven figures with MDRN Photobooth Co. and MDRN Activations.  Every founder hits a wall. Mine showed up three separate times, and each one forced me to change something I didn't want to change yet. This episode walks through all three, plus the mindset block that kept me stuck longer than it should have.  What You'll Learn: Why I built my entire first year around one number, $30,000, and what happened when I blew past it in a few months The corporate client that changed my whole strategy, and the $10,000 quote I almost didn't send because I thought it was too high The three plateaus that almost stalled my business, and what actually broke through each one Why I didn't hire a full-time employee for years, and what I looked for instead The mindset shift that changed everything, and why I kept calling a legitimate business a side hustle for way too long How getting specific about who I was targeting (not just "weddings") took my brand from six figures into seven Why I eventually split one brand into two, and what that protected The exact part of my sales process that runs without me touching it, and why I only talk to leads who are already sold  Mentioned in this episode: BoothBook (CRM) WPPI (wedding industry trade show) Cricut cutting machine MDRN Photobooth Co. and MDRN Activations Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub - https://photoboothmastery.catalinabloch.com/Thrive Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Is your business failing or evolving?
2026/07/30
I used to think my business was a photo booth company. Turns out it was never really about the booth at all. If you asked me twelve years ago what my business would look like today, I'd have told you we do weddings and we're a photo booth company. That's it. That's all I could see. Today we're an experiential marketing and brand activations company, and we're in the middle of pivoting again toward permanent installs. The name barely changed. Everything else did. I want to talk about this because I think a lot of you are sitting on a business you've already outgrown, and instead of calling that progress, you're calling it failure. You've got a version of the business memorized in your head, and you're so attached to it that you can't see what's actually trying to happen right in front of you. In this episode I walk you through every pivot my business has gone through, the ones I chose and the one that got forced on me, why splitting my brands was one of the smartest moves I made, and how to tell the difference between a real opportunity and just being bored. What You'll Learn: Why I split my wedding brand and my corporate brand, and what happened when I stopped trying to talk to both buyers in one place The exact three signals I use to tell if a new direction is a real opportunity or just me getting restless Why "maintenance mode" isn't the same as giving up on a revenue stream The famous companies that started as something completely different before finding what actually made them money A simple two-sentence exercise that will show you exactly where your business is already headed, whether you've decided that or not Mentioned in This Episode: Illuminate, Cat's application-only creative retreat for founders, happening in Miami this October: https://illuminatecreative.live Follow along and share your two sentences: instagram.com/photoboothmastery  Your Next Steps: Apply to join us at Illuminate: https://www.illuminatecreative.live/application-form Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Follow along and share your two sentences: https://instagram.com/photoboothmastery
7 figure booth owner, manufacturer and software developer. Meet Steve
2026/07/23
If you've ever used a piece of software that's more powerful than it is intuitive, something that takes real time to learn but rewards you once you know it, you've probably used Breeze at some point. And today's guest is the reason it's gotten more accessible without losing that depth. Steve Bliesner is the founder of Hey Okay, formerly known as Photo Booth Guys in Australia and the UK, and he's been in this industry for over 16 years. He's built photo booths out of timber and aluminum, manufactured the gorgeous Art Series booth, launched an audio guestbook brand during COVID that became a seven figure business on its own, and eventually bought Breeze, the photo booth software he'd used and loved for over a decade. Steve gatekeeps nothing. If you've ever caught him speaking at Photo Booth Expo or BoothCon, you know he hands over the playbook every single time. This conversation goes deep into what it actually looks like to build a business for 16 years without ever really stopping to catch your breath. Steve talks about starting as a wedding photographer looking for an add-on service, the mistakes he made scaling into new cities, why he's never been a fan of white labeling, and the hard truth about why most photo booth businesses aren't worth much when it's time to sell. Then we get into the story behind buying Breeze, why the plan was never to make it "easy," and what's coming for Breeze users this year. What You'll Learn: Why Steve started as a wedding photographer and how that shaped the way he built his photo booth business The real story behind manufacturing the Art Series and why he eventually stopped making his own booths How his dad passing right as COVID lockdowns hit led to two separate seven figure product lines Why "if you saw it at the expo, you missed the window to make real money on it" The scaling mistake Steve says he'd change if he could do it again Why most photo booth businesses have almost no resale value, and what actually makes one sellable The story behind buying Breeze from its original founders, and why he never planned to make it the "easiest" software in the industry What's coming from Breeze at Illuminate in Miami this October Resources Mentioned: Breeze: https://www.breezesoftware.com/ Hey Okay: https://photobooth.co/ Illuminate Conference (Miami, October 11-14, 2026) https://www.illuminatecreative.live/ Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery Subscribe on Youtube
Stop Waiting for Permission
2026/07/16
Illuminate Is Coming to Miami. Here's Who's Already Signed On. Every photo booth conference you've been to probably felt like the same room, the same faces, the same "how to do the thing everyone's already doing" content. This episode is different because the thing we're talking about is different. I sat down with Lisa Oler and Meir Israel, my co-founders on Illuminate, to give you the real update on what's coming this October. Lisa built Smile Lounge Photo Booth to seven figures before selling and stepping into logistics work with LA Photo Party and now NUNA Marketing. Meir has run South Beach Photobooth Company since 2008, expanding from event photography into full activation and gaming experiences. Between the three of us, we've built, sold, scaled, and rebuilt more times than we can count, and that's exactly why we built this retreat the way we did. Illuminate is application only. Six and seven figure photo booth founders only. A hundred seats, full stop, because that's all the room can hold. What You'll Learn: Why our keynote speaker had to be pulled away from a competing industry event just to be here The one topic almost nobody talks about at photo booth conferences, and why we made sure someone would What happens when you finally get real legal guidance instead of Googling your way through a contract dispute Why an AI expert most of you have never heard of might change how you run your entire team The exit strategy conversation most founders don't have until it's too late Who our title sponsor is and why the person running that software company matters more than you'd think  Resources Mentioned: Apply for Illuminate: https://www.illuminatecreative.live Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/illuminatecreative.live  Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Scaling Yourself Alongside Your Business: What six and seven-Figure Founders Miss
2026/07/09
You've hit six figures. You've built the team. You've got the systems in place. By every metric, you're winning. So why does success feel hollow? This is the conversation that had an entire room of six and seven-figure founders coming to tears at Jasmine Star's mastermind. I sat down with Dr. Natasha, an industrial organizational psychologist and my personal mentor, to talk about the invisible side of scaling. The gap between the business you've built and the person you've become. The way you've tucked away parts of yourself to scale. And the physical and mental cost of ignoring what's really going on underneath all this success. Dr. Natasha has spent over 13 years working with seven-figure founders and C-suite executives. She's the kind of person who looks at your "team problem" and tells you the real problem is sitting in your chair. What You'll Learn Why your team's performance issues are actually a reflection of how you're operating The question that made an entire room of founders break down What happens to your body when your mind won't slow down Why success can feel completely empty on the inside How to stop abandoning yourself in order to scale The one thing most seven-figure founders don't know about themselves About Dr. Natasha Dr. Natasha is an industrial organizational psychologist and executive coach who works with seven-figure founders and C-suite executives. With over 13 years of experience, she approaches business like a brain: studying the synapses and neurons firing in your organization and how they reflect the mental and emotional state of the leader. She's held roles as VP of Consulting at VaynerX and the Sasha Group, and now runs her own executive coaching practice. She's speaking at the Illuminate Conference later this year. Resources Mentioned  Jasmine Star's Mastermind (where Cat met Dr. Natasha) Illuminate Conference (where Dr. Natasha is speaking later this year) Dr. Natasha's work in industrial organizational psychology and executive coaching Your Next Steps  Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery
Build a Business You Could Actually Leave
2026/07/02
What happens to your photo booth business the day you decide you're done running it? Not the day you sell it. The day you actually try to walk away, even for a few weeks. For most owners, the honest answer is: nothing good. This week I sat down with my cousin Adrian Salomunovic, mid-rainstorm, on a sidewalk in Ottawa, because that's apparently how we do interviews now. Adrian built an eight figure business completely from scratch, no outside investment, no funding rounds, and sold it for eight figures. Since then he's mentored and coached over 400 founders, many of whom went on to exit their own businesses successfully. Most of us started this business messy. Maybe it was a side hustle to pay off some bills, and you built it as you went, figuring it out one event at a time. That's exactly what real entrepreneurs do. But somewhere along the way, the goal has to shift from "keep the business running" to "build something someone else could actually run, or buy." Adrian came on to break down exactly what separates the two, and why most photo booth businesses, even six and seven figure ones, would fail the test if you tried to sell them tomorrow.  In this episode, we covered: The "bus test" Adrian uses to figure out, almost instantly, whether a business is sellable Why documentation and SOPs matter way more to a buyer than how busy you are The accounting habits that quietly kill a sale before it even starts Why naming your company after yourself might be costing you more than you think What it actually means to hit a ceiling in your business, and what to do about it The concept of "optionality" and why it changes how you should think about exiting What You'll Learn:  The exact test buyers use to know if a business can survive without its owner Why "shoebox accounting" is one of the fastest ways to scare off a buyer The branding decision most booth owners make in year one that can tank their exit later How to find an advisor who can actually help you avoid the landmines, instead of learning them the hard way What it means to have "optionality" when it comes to exiting your business, and why it's bigger than just selling or not Adrian's own story of building and exiting an eight figure business with zero outside investment  Mentioned Resources: Illuminate, taking place in Miami, October 11 to 14. Adrian will be speaking in detail about exit strategies and optionality to a room of six figure photo booth owners, with live Q&A and real case studies.  Your Next Steps: Work with Me: https://bit.ly/POD-Site2 Join Photo Booth Mastery Hub: https://bit.ly/POD-Hub Connect on Social: https://www.instagram.com/photoboothmastery

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Insightful and well-produced.
A solid resource for photo booth owners! Catalina is your blueprint to scale your businesses!
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