South Florida man turns love of parties into booming wedding side hustle while juggling other jobs

For South Florida entrepreneur Zach Valerto, weddings aren't just a celebration of love, they're also a business opportunity.

Valerto is the owner of Sparrow Booth Company, a growing photo booth rental business that has turned his passion for parties into a profitable side hustle, all while he juggles two other jobs.

What started with small family gatherings has grown into a business with six high-end photo booths and multiple bookings a day, primarily at weddings across South Florida.

"I really love what I do because you get to bring a smile to people's faces and I love a party," Valerto told CBS News Miami's Scott Withers.

Turning South Florida's wedding boom into a business

South Florida is the fifth-largest wedding market in the country, with more than 44,000 weddings held annually across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area.

Couples spend an estimated $1.6 billion on weddings in the region, with the average celebration costing about $36,284. Luxury and multiday destination weddings can easily exceed $75,000 to $100,000.

For Valerto, that booming industry has created an opportunity to build a business around something he genuinely enjoys.

His company rents out high-end photo booths that allow wedding guests and partygoers to capture memories from special occasions.

But getting the business off the ground wasn't easy.

"It wasn't easy at first, it certainly wasn't, but it took a long time to learn the ropes and get to where I'm at today," Valerto said.

Each photo booth costs him about $5,000, an investment that typically takes five bookings to recover.

When he first started, Valerto had little experience running a business and wasn't sure whether he would even break even.

"Nothing, zero. I did not know a thing. I still don't know a thing about running a business," he said. "But you get thrown into the fire and you figure it out as you go."

Balancing other jobs while building a business

Despite the success of Sparrow Booth Company, Valerto hasn't given up his other jobs.

In addition to managing photo booth rentals, he works for an airline and the Florida Panthers, balancing three sources of income in one of the country's most expensive regions.

"The reality is that South Florida's expensive and I don't know how people survive without a side hustle," Valerto said.

With no formal business training, he turned to online videos to learn the basics of entrepreneurship, joking that he graduated from "YouTube University."

Through trial and error, he gradually expanded his operation from small family parties to a business capable of handling multiple events in a single day.

Today, much of his business comes through the Sparrow Booth Company Instagram page and word of mouth. Wedding guests who experience one of his photo booths often become customers themselves, booking the company for their own celebrations.

For Valerto, the experience has reinforced his belief that starting a business doesn't necessarily require extensive experience, just determination and a willingness to learn.

"It's kind of this desire and drive to be an entrepreneur," he said. "People always think starting a small business is a big scary thing. And it can be, it is, but it's a lot more doable than people think if you're willing to put in the effort."

Zach Valerto is part of CBS News Miami's Hustle & Heart series, highlighting South Floridians finding creative ways to earn extra income while pursuing their passions.