Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica & Dorian Mckie.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2017 husband and wife duo, Jessica (30) and Dorian Mckie (32), were working 9-5 jobs just like everyone else.
Fed up with working unfulfilling positions and living pay we knew that there had to be more to life and we were determined to find a job that was not only paid better, but allowed us to regain control of our time and our life. We realized that the ideal job did not exist and that we had to create it so we spend days bouncing business ideas off each other. Jessica threw out the idea of getting a photo booth and starting an event rental business. She had had her own experience with an iPad booth 2 years prior that just seemed to stick with her. She remembers that first encounter being so much fun and it left and impression on her and the thought to start the business kept resurfacing in her mind. Dorian asked if there was any money to be made with a photo booth, he wondered if it was a sustainable business, so we decided to do some research and we learned there was a lot of opportunity in the space. From there we did months of research on equipment and finally found the perfect photo booth. The problem was that it costed thousands of dollars and we were broke at the time. We asked family and friends and even tried to get a loan from the bank, but nothing worked out. December 2017, we were determined to manifest our dream so we took a leap of faith and quit our jobs. Jessica pulled all her money from her 401k (about $2,200, the most she had ever had saved at once) and gave it to Dorian to try to convince a relative that we were serious about starting the business, but that we just needed a little help. Dorian’s relative who had previously rejected us for a loan earlier that year, saw the passion and decided to help. Together he and Dorian drove across the country to a photobooth factory on the West Coast to purchase the photo booth. A lot of negotiating took place, and a week later Dorian was able to return home with our photo booth.
In May of 2018 we spent spend 2 weeks learning everything we could about the booth! Unsure if we were ready or not, we jumped out there and started taking the photo booth everywhere we reasonably could; To friend’s house parties and family events! We started reaching out to clubs and lounges in the Atlanta area. Some of our first events were at Buckhead Saloon, Mansion Elan and Magic City. From there we started to get inquiries from event spaces and party planners. We were blessed to do Tiny’s Toy Drive with J Mcallister Events and Tammy Rivera’s Peep Show which aired on VH1 (at Dazzle Me Patries venue). Things seemed to snowball from there!
We are so blessed to have met such incredible affiliates such as Dazzle Me Parties & J Mcallister Events. They are such a big part of why we are where we are today and we honestly couldn’t imagine not working with them. We are so grateful for our success and so proud of our growth. We are both truly grateful to wake up and work a job that we love. We hope to continue creating memories with all of Atlanta for many years to come.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We were two broke newlyweds who didn’t have a clue how to start a business, let alone the money to start.
We had to start from scratch researching how to legally form a business. We didn’t even know what an Articles of incorporation or and EIN number was.
The we couldn’t figure out how we would be able to afford the equipment, but we decided to just start anyway and take things one step at a time. We are big believers in the power of your thoughts and the power of manifestation, so we knew that we had to stay positive and know that a financial way would be made.
When we finally did find a factory to manufacture our booth, they were so far away that it would have cost thousands of dollars to ship it across the country to our home, that’s why Dorian ended up driving across the country to pick it up! The cost was so much cheaper, it was the only one we could afford at the time.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Endless Events – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in hosting the photo booth. We customize the booth for each client, we create a custom template for photos and even custom props.
We are most proud of being a black owned business with majority black clients. We are always so proud to see black success and black dollars circulating in our community.
Our prices are affordable to most budgets, we interact with guests in a different way than most. We give your guests an experience!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are upgrading a lot of our offerings in coming months. Not only are we adding more features to the photo booth, we are also adding other types of Photo booths such as the Mirror booth, to our packages. Additionally, we will have a variety of cool new backgrounds available to choose from.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6786564303
- Email: endlesseventsatl@gmail.com
- Instagram: @EndlessEventsATL
Image Credit:
Endless Events
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