Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucy Yates.
Hi Lucy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My path to entrepreneurship wasn’t planned. I spent 17 years in corporate banking, mostly in business development and client relations. On paper, it was a long way from photo booths. In reality, it was some of the best training I could have asked for. Banking taught me how to build trust, how to listen to clients needs, and how to create an experience that makes someone want to work with you again.
I’ve always had a creative side that banking was never able to fullfil. I enjoyed photography, events, design, branding, and bringing people together. When I took over Selfie Station in 2019, it felt like the first time both halves of me got to show up to work.
Then 2020 happened.
I had taken over an events business less than a year before events everywhere came to a halt. Around that same time, I became a mother. I was learning how to run a company and raise a family at the exact moment the industry essentially disappeared. There were seasons of growth and seasons where I had to rebuild and pivot, and figure everything out as I went. I now have two young girls, and in many ways, I’ve built this company alongside raising them.
The biggest shift came when I realized we were never really in the photo booth business. We are in the experience business.
Technology keeps changing but what doesn’t change is that people want to connect, feel included, have fun and walk away with something that reminds them of how an event made them feel. That realization reshaped the way I run the company, and it’s why I think of my role as Chief Experience Officer rather than simply an owner.
Today, Selfie Station creates interactive photo, video, and AI powered experiences for corporate events, trade shows, conferences, nonprofits, weddings, and brands across San Diego and around the country. This year, we were named Best Photo Booth by San Diego Magazine, which was an incredibly meaningful milestone.
When I look at where the business started and where it is today, I’m proud of the recognition and the events we’ve produced, but I’m most proud of the resilience it took to keep building.
My story is still being written. The goal is to grow Selfie Station into a nationally recognized experiential event company while staying rooted in what made me fall in love with this work in the first place: creating memorable experiences, building real relationships, and bringing big ideas to life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I don’t think entrepreneurship is supposed to be.
Taking over an events business in 2019 and watching the entire industry shut down months later was my trial by fire. There was no roadmap. I had to learn fast how to adapt and keep moving even when I couldn’t see what was on the other side.
But the hardest challenges haven’t always been the dramatic ones. They’ve been the everyday realities of running a business: the uncertainty, managing cash flow, learning when to take a risk and when to pull back, building the right team, losing opportunities you thought were yours, and constantly adapting as the industry and technology evolve.
Motherhood added another layer. I’ve had two children while building Selfie Station, and there have been plenty of moments when I’ve had to switch between being a mom and being a business owner almost instantly. I’ve answered client emails with a baby in my arms, worked through nap times, and learned that balance doesn’t mean everything gets an equal amount of you at the same time. Some seasons require more from the business, and some require more from my family.
I’ve also had to learn to trust myself. In corporate banking, there was always structure, a team, and an established way of doing things. Entrepreneurship is different. At the end of the day, the decisions are yours. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t, and you have to be willing to learn from both.
Resilience isn’t about never struggling. It’s about continuing to show up, adjust, and move forward when things don’t go according to plan. Some of the moments that felt like setbacks at the time are the ones that forced me to become a better business owner and build a stronger company.
We’ve been impressed with Selfie Station Events, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Selfie Station is an experiential marketing company based in San Diego, creating interactive photo, video, and AI experiences for events and brands locally and across the country.
We specialize in corporate events, conferences, trade shows, brand activations, nonprofit events, weddings, and celebrations where the goal is to create something guests don’t just see, but actually participate in. Our experiences range from professional photo booths with studio lighting and onsite printing to digital selfie stations, AI generated portraits, headshot experiences, custom branded activations, and other interactive concepts.
What sets us apart is that we approach every project from an experience first perspective. The photo matters, but we’re thinking about the entire guest experience from beginning to end. We want the activation to feel inviting, seamless, and intentional, whether we’re creating a fully branded corporate experience or capturing guests at a wedding or celebration. At the end of the day, our goal is always the same: create an experience people genuinely enjoy and a memory they get to take with them.
We’re also focused on making things easy for the people producing the event. Our clients are event planners, marketing teams, agencies, organizations, couples, and families who are managing a hundred other details at the same time. They need a partner they can trust to show up prepared, create a great experience for their guests, solve problems, and execute without needing to be managed. That reputation is something we’ve worked hard to earn.
What I’m most proud of is the reputation we’ve built and the relationships behind it. A large part of our business comes from repeat clients, referrals, and event professionals who keep bringing us into new opportunities. Being named Best Photo Booth by San Diego Magazine this year was incredibly meaningful because it felt like recognition from the community where we built this business.
Ultimately, I want people to know that Selfie Station is much more than a photo booth company. We’re an experience company.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My definition of success has changed over the years. As the child of immigrant parents, I was taught that success meant going to school, getting an education, building a career, and having a well-paying job. It was the salary, the benefits, the 401(k), the retirement plan, and the security that came with all of it. For a long time that was the goal, and I still have tremendous respect for that definition because it gave me a strong foundation.
But as I’ve gotten older, become an entrepreneur, and especially become a mother, my definition has evolved.
Financial security still matters to me. I’m ambitious. I want to grow a successful company, create wealth, and know that my family is taken care of. But I don’t want to build a successful business at the expense of being present for the life I’m building it for.
Today, success is also having choices. It’s having some control over my time. The events industry has allowed me to build a career where I can work incredibly hard and still have the flexibility to be present during the day. I can take my daughter to school, show up for the things that matter, spend time with my family, and sometimes decide that they need more of me than the business does.
There will always be another revenue goal, another event, another opportunity, another milestone to chase. I still want those things. But I don’t want to be so busy chasing the next version of success that I miss the life I’ve worked so hard to create.
For me, success isn’t choosing between ambition and presence. It’s building a life that has room for both.
Pricing:
- MINI Rentals start at $650
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.selfiestation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfiestationco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SelfieStationCo/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyfyates/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/selfiestationco
