Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Ciaglia.
Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up with a highly entrepreneurial father, I knew I wanted to have my own business one day. After graduating college with a business degree, I started doing Marketing for his company, California Skateparks. After 6 years of marketing, doing a lot of research on possible business ideas, and even trying a few out, none of them seemed quite right. While browsing Pinterest I came across a photo booth bus in Northern California. The concept was a culmination of my interest in styling, photography, interpersonal skills, and my Marketing background, so I decided to look further into it. After seeing what the market had to offer, I couldn’t really find a good reason not to do it. I took every penny I had out of my savings and bought a 71′ bus from a guy in Garden Grove. The only buses I could afford needed a lot of work, but thankfully I had my handy-man fiancé to help me work on restoring and transforming it; he helped me with the construction side of things and I took care of the more technical/business side. After the transformation, we booked our first gig with a local shop in Long Beach, Snake Oil Provisions. We met a lot of great people during the event and got some great referrals. Long Beach is a cool city, there’s a large creative community, and amongst it a lot of women-owned businesses that I’ve been able to collaborate with which has really helped get our name out there (big shout out to my friend Jolie at Wild Child Party and Supply!). It’s taken a lot of work and there have been challenges along the way, but I’m proud to say I have a kick-ass photo booth bus and looking forward to the future.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Other than your typical quirks with any older car, dialing in the photo booth and figuring out the best quality photo and print setup has had its challenges.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Traveling Photo Bus – what should we know?
The Traveling Photo Bus is a vintage 1971 VW bus with a photo booth inside! We specialize in creating a nostalgic and magical experience with top notch service and the highest quality photo prints in the industry. The inside of the bus is all birch wood staying true to the Southern California beach vibe. Our photo booth uses a Canon DSLR camera for professional grade photos with a Ring Flash for the most flattering lighting. Our commercial printer prints crystal clear photos in under 10 seconds. The photos can also be shared to phone or email with our on-board Wi-Fi. We travel from San Francisco to San Diego and everywhere in between for weddings, birthdays, corporate events, and any other reason you might have to celebrate.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I put a lot of effort in ensuring our prints are the best possible quality in addition to our customer service; we’re friendly people and understand the importance of details. Being responsible and mindful of people’s time and individual needs is one of our main concerns in a referral-driven business.
Contact Info:
- Address: Long Beach, CA
- Website: www.travelingphotobus.com
- Phone: 909.908.3750
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @travelingphotobus
- Facebook: @travelingphotobus
- Yelp: Traveling Photo Bus
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Image Credit:
Chris Bodiford, Billye Donya Photography, Katee Grace
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