Part One  – I didn’t ever think I would own a photo booth

Every great thing starts with an idea and a dream. It’s a spark that leads to a great burning in ones heart. And that burning, quickly becomes passion.  Most let the fire burn out without letting it become an obsession. You can either let the fire consume you or let it turn to coals. Either way it burns. But it’s way better to fan the flames of passion. The thing about a fire is that it spreads. My hope is that my dream – my story- inspires you to dream and fan the flames of passion in you. 

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called Kombilife. It is about a dude named Benjamin who bought a VW bus and decided to drive the Pan-American highway. A one year journey turned into five. It is an amazing youtube series and I highly recommend it. That led me to find LiveWorkWander,  Vangabonders, Wheres My Office Now?, and  IdleTheory. . . epic YouTube channels about living in a VW bus full-time. And Mustie01 and [Cap10323], two dudes who restore VW buses. I consumed any video I found about VW bus life and followed every Instagram account. 

Something ignited in me. As I watched more and more videos and Instagram accounts, I became more and more obsessed. It was consuming me.  Everything seemed amazing. Every curve of the VW bus was beautiful, hearing the sound of the engine sputtering gave me goosebumps. I was hooked. Something about it breathed freedom. Was it the open road? Was it the simplicity of life? Was it more? Something was stirring in me. 

I had to have one. 

The truth is with a family of four, a mortgage and a decent job. We were barely making it. How could I afford a bus, let alone hit the road with the family? This was constantly in the back of my mind. I was afraid this would be another passion soon extinguished by reality. I figured in 10 – 15 years I could save up enough money to buy a bus. Even then, it seemed like a luxury that I could not afford. My money would probably be better spent in a 401k or some sort of retirement plan. Reality is a jerk. It sucks the life out of you.

But then again, you can make your own reality. I was about to find this out. 

I started praying. I knew that this new found passion was bigger than me. The truth is I get obsessed about things. I want to give 100% or nothing at all. I was into car audio for a while, and then PC gaming, movies, and photography. None of those really seemed to work out. Truth is, those were all pretty selfish. How would a hobby provide for the family? How would a hobby give us a better quality of life?

I started searching Craigslist, Facebook, and Ebay for any and every VW bus that was for sale. Looking for what to expect (cost, value, maintenance, etc), I quickly discovered that there are a lot of “ too good to be true” scams out there or overpriced rust buckets. I needed a good reliable resource to ask questions and check for good deals. That’s when I found thesamba.com.  This place is amazing; it’s like Craigslist for VWs. You can find split windows (pre 1968 buses), bay windows (1968 – 1979), Vanagons (1980 – 1991) and more. (Read this article from GoWesty.com to get a great idea of what I am talking about.)

For the next two years, I poured over every listing. I read every forum. I couldn’t get enough. The more I read, the more I wanted my own bus. The thing about a fire is you can never satiate it.  (You can ask Jamie. It was bad. I sent her listing after listing. Hey baby what about this one? Ohh never mind, look at this one? Do you like blue or orange? What about green? This one has a tent too!)

Here are a couple pictures of the hundreds of buses that I sent to the wife. As you can,  see I like blue.

My wife is a realist. I joke that I live in the clouds and she lives grounded in the earth. She is a planner and not a huge fan of surprises. To me, everyday is a surprise waiting to happen and I love it. Although we balance each other out, I tend to challenge her and overwhelm her with my dreams. Let me provide some context… I am like Doug the golden retriever from UP.  I am very easily distracted and all over the place. Jamie is very practical, organized, and a perfect partner for me. I don’t know how she puts up with me. I have presented several ideas and dreams. She never says no to an idea, but helps me to see the truth in them. Here is a list of some of the ideas that I have had:

Lego Master Builder

YouTube Vlogger

OnlineGamer

Blogger

Missionary Media Consultant

Jeans Company

Clothing Brand

Jedi

. . .These are all doable. . . Kinda. But keep in mind I would pitch these to her within a few days of each other. I think I might have A.D.D.  Squirrel! 

But, I could see, she was starting to warm up to this VW bus dream . Of course, she had valid concerns about how this was going to work. Our house had just flooded and we found out we had to replace all the siding, plywood, and 2x4s due to termites. It ended up costing us 40K in repairs. How could I dream about something so frivolous in the midst of this newly acquired debt? That’s the thing about dreams. They don’t make sense and you don’t know why you have them. You can’t help but have them. You can learn to embrace them or fight them and get bitter. 

I chose to embrace this dream. I didn’t know how or when, but I was going to get my bus. 

I continued to send listings to the wife day after day.“ And instead of dismissing it, she said “if you can figure out a way to pay for the bus, then we can get one”. 

Challenge accepted. 

The gears started spinning.  Ideas came flooding in. I bounced them off any one who would listen. But none of my ideas seemed to fit the dream.

And then I saw it. A VW bus turned into a photo booth.

I pitched the idea to Jamie. And crossed my fingers.

Her response, “ Can you put together a business plan and show me some numbers? I want to know that this is going to work.”

And  . . . 

“Don’t tell anybody. This is a good idea and I don’t want anyone stealing it”

Game On!

I started working on a business plan right away and hit the road running. I spent about a month putting together all the data I could find. I tried to think of every question the wife would ask, so I could have an answer ready. 

So pitched photos bus idea. Excel doc, power point, youtube videos, I used it all. When she ran out of questions, I knew this could work and I was determined to make it work. Little did I know, though, she was already putting together a Pinterest board of photo booth ideas and decorations. The fire had spread. We were going to start a photo booth in St. Augustine!

Part 2 coming soon

The post The St. Augustine Photo Booth Story Part 1 appeared first on The Photomobile Company .