33-Year-Old Makes $6,000 A Month Renting Photo Booths — And It Could Replace His Full-Time Salary

Michael Sim, cofounder of Future Flicks, makes around $6,000 a month from a photo booth side hustle he started while planning his wedding. The New York–based digital marketing professional says the business now delivers profit margins of roughly 60–70% and is steadily growing toward a point where it could replace his six-figure corporate salary.

Sim, 33, works full time as a director of paid search at a media agency, specialising in Google Ads and search marketing. Outside his regular job, he runs Future Flicks, a photo booth rental company he launched with friend and business partner Jazz Singh.

What began as a small weekend project has grown into a profitable event business serving weddings and high-revenue corporate brand activations, with individual bookings generating between $4,000 and $7,000 per event. Sim says the company now runs multiple events each month, particularly during busy wedding and corporate event seasons.

Wedding Planning Sparked The Business Idea

The idea for Future Flicks emerged while Sim and his wife were planning their own wedding. While researching vendors and entertainment options, Sim noticed that photo booths were consistently popular with guests. At the same time, the service appeared relatively simple to operate compared with other wedding vendors.

'I realised people really enjoyed the experience and event organisers were willing to pay for something interactive,' Sim said when discussing the origins of the business.

He decided to explore the idea further and partnered with his friend Jazz Singh. Together they launched Future Flicks as a side business designed to run alongside their full-time jobs. The company initially focused on weddings and private celebrations.

First Clients Came Through Personal Networks

Future Flicks secured its earliest bookings through personal connections. Many of Sim's friends were getting married around the same time, which created opportunities to test the service and build an initial client base.

These early events helped the company gain word-of-mouth referrals, which are common in the wedding industry. Positive experiences from guests and event planners led to additional bookings. As demand increased, the founders gradually invested in more equipment to handle multiple events.

Startup Costs Were Mostly Upfront

According to Sim, the photo booth business has a relatively straightforward cost structure. Most expenses occur during the initial setup phase, when equipment and software are purchased. The company's early investments included:

• Photo booth hardware and professional cameras
• Lighting equipment and backdrops
• Event management and printing software
• Business insurance
• Storage space for equipment

Future Flicks now owns seven photo booths, which are stored in a rented storage unit when they are not in use. Once the original equipment costs were paid off during the first year, the business became significantly more profitable.

'Now around 60–70% of our revenue becomes profit,' Sim said.

Corporate Brand Activations Became Biggest Revenue Driver

Although the business started with weddings, Sim soon realised that corporate events and brand activations offered significantly higher revenue opportunities. One of the company's early corporate clients was the fashion brand KITH, which hired Future Flicks to operate a photo booth at a holiday party. The event helped introduce the company to the corporate marketing and events space, where brands increasingly use interactive experiences to engage guests.

Today, corporate bookings make up a growing portion of the company's work. These events often include custom branding, marketing integrations, and digital sharing features designed to promote products or campaigns.

Brand Activations Can Generate Up To $7,000 Per Event

Sim says brand activation events typically generate between $4,000 and $7,000 per booking, with most installations running four to five hours. Unlike weddings, where budgets can be fixed months in advance, corporate marketing teams often focus more on creating a memorable experience for attendees.

'They care about how the experience connects to their campaign and what guests take away from it,' Sim said.

To differentiate itself in a competitive market, Future Flicks has developed several booth concepts, including:

• High-angle camera booths designed to capture large group photos
• Vintage-style booths that replicate classic photo booth aesthetics
• Custom branded booths created for marketing campaigns

AI Photo Booth Concepts Are Drawing Brand Interest

One of the company's newer offerings uses artificial intelligence to create personalised images for event guests. During a promotional campaign for the cosmetics brand Garnier, Future Flicks created a booth that transformed guest photos into custom hair-dye product packaging designs.

Participants received digital images showing themselves on fictional product boxes, creating a shareable souvenir linked to the campaign. Sim says these types of experiences can help brands create interactive marketing moments during product launches and promotional events.

Managing The Business Alongside A Full-Time Job

Despite the growth of Future Flicks, Sim continues to work full-time in digital marketing. The business operates through a clear division of responsibilities. His business partner Jazz Singh manages much of the event setup and on-site operations, while Sim focuses on:

• Client communication
• Partnerships and marketing
• Business development
• Strategic planning

Some events also run as drop-off services, where the booth is delivered and set up without requiring a full-time staff member to remain on site. Sim's wife also assists with logistics and coordination, particularly during busy event weekends.

A Side Hustle That Could Become A Full-Time Business

Sim has spent nearly a decade working in digital marketing, building a career focused on Google Ads and search engine marketing. While the role provides financial stability, the steady growth of Future Flicks is gradually reshaping his long-term plans. Rather than leaving his job immediately, Sim says he plans to continue expanding the business gradually.

His long-term goal is to grow Future Flicks into a seven-figure company within five years, potentially by expanding into additional cities and developing new interactive photo booth concepts. For now, the venture remains a side business. But with increasing demand for experiential marketing and event entertainment, Sim says the company continues to gain momentum.