COLLEGE STATION, Texas — While many businesses were forced to close their doors during the pandemic, one College Station man was inspired to his very own.
The popular app Tik Tok inspired his new business venture
Taking photos in an interactive selfie museum may be easy, but starting a business after the local economy took a few hits wasn’t captured so seamlessly.
While Kinda Candid opened its doors just a little over two weeks ago, the idea took the last two years to conceptualize and bring to life.
“Content creating is what’s driving this world now and so this is an opportunity for anyone and everybody to come in and create content,” said Robert Mwandia, co-owner of Kinda Candid.
Since then, unemployment has hit historic highs, forcing new business owners to get creative.
”As challenging as it is, it represents some opportunities for a number of businesses which have flourished and thrived during the pandemic, especially businesses that are digitally enabled,” said Venkatesh Shankar, Texas A&M Professor of Marketing and Retail studies.
Kinda Candid is an immersive selfie museum that provides at least 16 different photo booth backdrops.
“Despite being through some really tough times over the last year and a half, this space gives people an escape,” added Mwandia
Mwandia encourages others looking to start a business to simply take the leap.
“Do it, take the risk, just do it,” shared Mwandia. ”Knowing there are going to be challenges is the first thing. I think once you know that, then mentally, you’re prepared because there it’s inevitable. However, using your community and your friends really encourages you to keep going,”
The museum counts on community partnerships and social media to get the word out.
“Especially using social media, talk about it a lot. People will give you good ideas, people will tell you what works and what doesn’t work. I think just being more involved with everybody in the community and not trying to do it yourself has really helped us tremendously.” said Mwandia.
Come the new year, Mwandia hopes to change out the booths, giving customers a reason to come back.
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