For anyone living in Korea, chances are there is a pile of photobooth pictures taken with family and friends somewhere at home. With colorful themed frames and goofy, extravagant props to choose from, self-taken photobooth stores are now a frequently visited playground for young people. Life4Cut (인생네컷) is one of the most famous photobooth chains that has branched out in almost 400 stores throughout Korea and also some around the world since its first opening in 2017, basically securing its place in Hallyu.
The founder of Life4Cut, CEO Lee Ho-ik, shared his story of how he pitched the idea and more importantly how he made it come alive.
By the time he started his Life4Cut journey, Lee had already embarked on and saw relatively unsatisfactory results from businesses with kiosks and vending machines, which he eventually closed down. Photo booths already existed, planted on the sides of the streets, and his business idea sparked when he witnessed the long lines in front of the booths.
“I was surprised to the point I could not understand them, because it was a very hot day out and the people would wait in line, go inside the booth, which must be even hotter, and when they should be aggravated, they would instead be laughing and having the time of their lives,” Lee said.
He knew photobooths were beneficial from a business perspective because it does not require costs on managing the place or hiring a worker. However, he mentioned feeling bad for the people in the heat and thought he should rectify the poor environment.
Finally, in January 2018, he first opened a store where he gathered photobooths and made space for people to wait in line, touch up their appearances and pick out cute props, providing a pleasant environment for people to have fun.
When Lee first sought for opinions on his business idea, people were very reluctant, saying that photobooths do not have prospects anymore. However, Lee saw this becoming a success and sure enough, the business caught fire almost as soon as the stores opened up, proving them wrong.
A few years into the business, Lee and his fellow employees encountered an obstacle when attempting to branch out Life4Cuts in the United States.
“When I did some research on photobooths around the world, I thought it could do better. It really got me thinking Life4Cut would do well in the United States, with the unique mood and details it serves,” Lee said. “So, I wanted to create a K-photo wave and everyone in the company worked so hard to make it come true and was excited about it. However, COVID-19 struck, and the process started lagging, making it more difficult to make our goals come to life.”
Installing Life4Cuts in other countries takes a significant amount of effort including securing payment systems and networks, which is different in every country. With everything already being a challenge, COVID-19 only made the situation harder. The tricky situation cost them a little more time, but Lee and his coworkers eventually pulled through and successfully branched out overseas.
Based on all the trial and errors he had experienced along the way, Lee gave a word of advice to students who will be embarking on their own journey in the near future.
“Everyone is given an opportunity, butitisnouseifyouarenot prepared, so know what you are good at and cultivate it so that you are ready when the opportunity is granted to you,” Lee advised. “Also, have a good attitude, because a good attitude attracts good people that help you, whereas a bad one attracts the opposite type of people. No one succeeds on their own, so it is important that you are surrounded by and work with people that influence you in a good way.”
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