Member Jeannie Bing
Mom of two, creator of Basic Booth NJ (photobooth rental) and The Sweetest Sendoff Goodie Bags on Etsy.
My name is Jeannie Bing and I was raised in Bergen County, NJ and settled into Ridgewood in summer 2021. I worked in the entertainment industry for years and most recently NYC Radio working with a team to produce live events and on air giveaways. It was my dream job and I loved it so much but of course 2020 happened and changed everything and I was eventually let go when I was about 25 weeks pregnant with our first child, Daisy. I gave birth to her in October of 2020 and remained a stay at home mom since then. A couple years later, we welcomed our second child, a boy named Miles in 2023. I was still a stay at home mom but at this time started to get the itch to get back into working in some capacity. This is when friends of ours from college in Florida convinced us to buy a photobooth and rent it out for events in NJ/NY. My husband is from Long Island so we cater to them as well. I was nervous at first but decided to do it anyway and we ordered the photobooth, got familiar with setting it up and then basically spammed anyone and everyone to offer our services!
I have found that mostly cold calling or reaching out to people who post event fliers at places like grocery stores helps bring in the most business. After our first few, we started to book events via word of mouth and it snowballed from there. It was exciting for me to use my brain and creativity and hustle in a way other than brainstorming crafts and play dates for our children and instead work on something other than motherhood solely 24/7. It was also fun because I’ve been able to take the kids with me and they love setting up and breakdown for the booth right alongside me. They’re my tiny coworkers! Fast forward a couple years and my husband's sister and her husband had been running a party goodie bag business out of their home and selling on Etsy. My brother in law was also let go during COVID and was a stay at home dad for years running this goodie bag business and when another opportunity to work elsewhere came up for him, he decided to try it and asked me in the asked me if I’d like to take over the goodie bag business. Again, I was nervous and scared. Would it be too time consuming? Where will I store the goods? Would I be able to run the business, have time for the kids and my husband as well as my own personal hobbies? After talking to my husband about it we decided to go for it and took it on.
It’s been a few months now and we are doing amazing on Etsy! I’m also able to incorporate the photobooth business as well by offering it to buyers who are local to us here which has been great! You can find our Photobooth on IG @basicboothNJ and the goodie bags can be found on Etsy as “The Sweetest Sendoff”. Both businesses are managed on my own time and while the start up for both was a little hectic and new, I’ve got systems in place now that allow me to juggle motherhood and hustling just fine. My daughter loves helping me pack the goodie bags and it’s so fun to get to do it together! I work out of our home office where my husband is usually working from home so we get to work side by side and that’s been a fun experience as well.
We love being in Ridgewood so much! This was our dream town and it’s amazing we’ve been able to make it a reality. Of course we love getting sweet treats at Tatte and Rey Sol. We can be found most afternoons at the library and our summer days are spent with friends at Graydon! Our daughter currently attends Glen School and is enjoying TK and our son will start there next fall. My husband can’t wait to get started on Dads Night at Hawes and we love getting involved with the sports for kids in the community!
To be completely honest, our oldest is 5 and our son is 2.5 and I am just now this past month or so finally feeling like I’m getting out of the fog of those early early motherhood days. I know I’m still in the thick of it currently but I have been able to come up for air more recently and really focus on myself now more than ever before. I could not have survived those early years or even currently without our friends over at the Ridgewood YMCA. We have been members there since we moved here in 2021 and as a stay at home mom with no local help from family (everyone works) this has been my saving grace. Miss Jean and Miss Liz over at the Stay And Play at the YMCA have saved me so many times! Even if it was a hard night of no sleep, I was able to go there, bring the kids to play and even just sit in the lobby and close my eyes for a half hour knowing the kids were in a safe space having fun with the other kids there. Not to mention the gym and sauna there have been amazing for my mental health! Taking that time for myself each morning, creating that community for my kids with trusted adults who I know love and care for them like I would is something I will be forever grateful for. I tell everyone who will listen to me JOIN THE YMCA!!! They have also booked our photobooth for multiple events and are always excited to share our businesses with families in town. You cannot put a price on that supportive community.
We love our Ridgewood community and the moms I’ve met through the YMCA, school, dance and gymnastics classes, library events have all been so welcoming and kind! We are so very lucky to live here and we can’t wait to see what our future here holds!
