Exploring Life & Business with Miana Richards of Smile & Style Photo Booths

Today we’d like to introduce you to Miana Richards. 

Hi Miana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have spent the majority of my adult life in Law Enforcement because I love helping others. I saw law enforcement as a way of helping others, but I always had entrepreneurial ambitions. After years of contemplating various businesses, I could pursue I settled on launching a photo booth business in 2017. I am very passionate about fashion and love taking pictures. By combining those two passions I came up with the name “Smile & Style Photo Booths”. We started with two different machines, but have quickly grown to multiple machines of various types to include the Magic Mirror, Mirror Tower, and 360 spinning video booths. The past few years have been amazing. We have serviced events from Florida to New Jersey and west into Tennessee and West Virginia. Our booths have been utilized at some of the most beautiful and historic venues such as The Biltmore Estates, Grandover Resort, The Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, and The Greenbrier Resort. While our core customer base comes from the bridal industry, we have been fortunate to service corporate clients such as Home Depot, Food Lion and Coastal Credit Union as well as Local Governments, and many more. 

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?
We launched in the fall of 2017 and took off right away. Managing rapid growth was our first challenge, but we quickly implemented internal systems to manage our growth. Like most small businesses we experienced a complete shutdown during the pandemic. We went from having 4-5 booking per weekend to having 5 for the entire year of 2020. We were also faced with canceled events. We offered rainchecks to most, but in some cases, we extended refunds. Shortly after vaccinations began to circulate, we’re back to being booked at a rate higher than before the pandemic. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Smile & Style Photo Booths?
We take pride in customer service. We put forth effort in the planning phase to ensure each event is customized to our client’s liking. We do not just want to secure bookings, but see each client engagement as an opportunity to build long-term relationships. As I have a heart for serving, I have routinely provided free or heavily discounted service in support of non-profit organizations and community events. 

What matters most to you?
I strive to do the right thing, in the right way, and for the right reason. This was certainly tested during the pandemic, and we stood by these values. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.SmileAndStylePhotoBooths.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/smileandstyle__?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smileandstylephotobooths/