We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Tidswell & Monica Wilding and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle Tidswell & Monica Wilding, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
One day at lunch, we both found ourselves deep in discussion about a new season of life that was upon us. For nearly a decade, we both had been stay at home moms, hanging up our former careers to raise our young babies .
However, with our children growing older and more independent, we both felt a stirring and desire to get back into the workforce…but on our own terms .

We knew with both of our husbands being in the fire service , that our schedule needed to stay flexible. We needed jobs that we could coordinate around the needs of our families and that would allow us to keep them as our top priority. A job like this was hard to find.

At this point, we hadn’t considered working together . We were just two friends in the same boat bouncing ideas off of each other .

Fast forward a few months later, Monica happened upon a social media post of a friend launching her own Photo Booth business out of Utah. It looked intriguing. As she began to dive deeper into her research she saw that not only was it an incredible opportunity, but that it checked off all of her boxes. She presented the idea to Michelle and they decided to become business partners. That’s when Face Forward Photo Booth was born.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
From early on, we decided that our brand would be focused on both quality and an elevated experience.
From investing into higher quality equipment and software… to personally designing and customizing every photo template, we have always strived to provide our clients with an experience that we would want our own families to have. We carefully curate every prop and backdrop that we offer to align with our standards.

It is never lost on us that when people book our booth, that they are entrusting us with their most precious life’s moments. We care about the success of their event just as much as they do.

One of the things we consistently hear people say when they enter our booth is that they can’t believe the quality of the photos that we take. They can’t believe a Photo Booth delivers studio quality photos. They have even loved them enough to use our photos for their family Christmas cards and professional headshots.

In fact, most of our business comes from referrals. As a small business , this is the biggest compliment to us and confirms that we must be doing something right.

Another way that we stand out is that we engage and interact with every guest. We believe that WE are our brand. How we make people feel is important to us. We want everyone to leave our booth feeling happy, seen, and valued.
While growing a business hasn’t always been easy…seeing the joy that our booth brings to others makes it 100% worth it.

We are extremely proud of the brand we have created and hope our children can look at us and see that anything is possible with hardwork, perseverance, grit, and faith.

Lastly, we want the world to know that no matter your age, it’s never too late to dream a new dream . If two mamas in their 40s can do it, so can you. Sometimes you gotta go all in and take a leap of faith.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Family Favorites:

– Watch an LAFC soccer game at BMO Stadium

– The LA farmers market has the best food and right next door the Grove Mall

– Go to Sofi stadium to catch a Rams game

– Visit the LA Science center. They have tons of fun things to look at including hands on activities.

– Visit the LA Zoo

– In the Winter months ice skating in the heart of downtown

-Trejos tacos for yummy Mexican food

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would definitely like to acknowledge our husbands, Mike and Trevor , who encouraged us to take the leap and to not be afraid to fail. We couldn’t have made it this far without their love and support.

Website: http://faceforwardphotobooth.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faceforwardphotobooth

Image Credits
Jennifer Lux Photography

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