We were lucky to catch up with Gabriel Patterson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gabriel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
Legacy is an interesting concept. Eventually, we’re all forgotten. In the immediate aftermath of our passing (and for some, a little longer), how would we like to be remembered? And more interestingly, how would we like the idea that people had of us to somehow carry on, even after our name is long forgotten? This is the truly interesting angle to me. I suppose I’d like to help propel ideas into the future such as “everything is important”, “take nothing personally”, “listen to your muse”, and “advocate for others and yourself”.
I’ll briefly expound on each. We often feel the urge to rank everything around us. This seems sort of built-in and common to most human beings, and certainly we all must prioritize to be effective in an endeavor of any complexity. What I’m getting at is less about what order things are done in, though, and more about how each step is undertaken. “Any job worth doing is worth doing right”, if you ask me. I didn’t coin any of these sayings, but I have embraced them! I truly believe that attention to detail at every stage of a project often makes for a product that is far beyond what a client could ever have expected. This is where some of the greatest rewards are found in my working experience, and I hope that by taking this approach, I can influence some others who’ve observed the results firsthand. If it trickles down to some folks generations from now, even better!
As for taking nothing personally, I think we all kind of know this one to be valuable. It’s just tricky to be consistent with. The more we’re able to remind ourselves that A) Most people are more worried about themselves than anything we might be doing, and B) We never know what others may be going through, I think the better off we are. There are so many things I took personally in the past that I look back at now and realize I was either dead wrong about, or simply wasted my time on, or both! Conversely, it’s so freeing to get into a mode where you’re unbothered by things that could be spun in a negative way, or even remarks/behaviors that are intentionally mean. It’s usually not about us!
Listening to one’s muse could be broadened to listening to one’s gut, wisdom, higher power, etc. I just use the word “muse” because as a creative in the entertainment industry, I feel it fits me best. There’s a voice in us that shows up from time to time and really does provide us great direction. It can suggest the perfect word to use, the ideal chord to play, which subtle inflection to apply, or the best analogy to share. It gives us all of this and more, which I’ll call “the what”. But equally important, it also gives use “the when”! I strongly believe that everything in existence is either part of some sort of wave, or at least subject to a wave, and timing is like a magical key that unlocks so many things. Only by marrying disciplined habits and thorough preparation to a conscious sense of spontaneity and an open ear for this voice can we receive its message and take advantage of our seemingly omniscient friend who’s constantly trying to help us!
Advocating for oneself is something anyone who’s made any progress in life can surely attest to doing. It’s essential that we stand up for ourselves consistently, otherwise we have no right to complain when things don’t work out how we’d like. I think entitlement and complacency are a huge part of the problem we have in our culture right now. What ever happened to just putting your head down and fighting to move forward? Going for what you want? It’s becoming a bit of a lost art, perhaps. All that being said, there are those who truly do need a little help getting some forward momentum. Each of us who’s experienced any degree of success has undoubtedly been the beneficiary of someone’s help somewhere along the path, and more than likely many people’s. I find it essential to look for opportunities to do this same thing for others who have yet to enjoy a level of privilege like my own. This could be anyone from underprivileged kids and female small business owners, to larger groups outside our industry, such as minorities demanding equal treatment and entire ethnicities experiencing a full-on genocide. I try to see every person as myself simply living another life, and considering none of us chose our destiny on this planet, it only makes sense to give what we can to those we’re able to help in even a small way.
Gabriel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m originally from a small town in west Texas (pop. 7,000). Though my heart is still at least partially out in the desert, I’ve lived in the Metroplex for over 30 years now. My journey as a DJ began in high school, when I’d cart my whopping collection of CDs over to friends’ homes and curate party soundtracks on their home stereos. Later, in college, I formed a band which eventually morphed into the DJ company you see today. The group’s P.A. equipment I started with eventually got upgraded and replaced several times over, as this little side hustle I began in 2011 quickly evolved into my full time gig!
Owning a small business is the most rewarding project I’ve ever undertaken. It’s truly gratifying working for myself and learning to be disciplined without any clock to punch or quota to fill. I love that it’s all on me to establish goals and manage every aspect of my company, though admittedly, it can be exhausting at times. My company, GDG Elevated Events, is a North Texas mobile entertainment outfit specializing in upscale DJ/MC services, specialty lighting, luxury mirror and 360 photo booths, and premium flower wall decor for corporate functions, weddings, quinces, and all other special events. GDG sets ourselves apart from others in our field with timely communication and personalized service from the earliest planning stages up through the celebration itself. Custom music mixes tailored to each unique group and an array of optional enhancements make for a unique and unforgettable entertainment experience!
A few features clients can expect when enlisting GDG for their events include our in-depth mobile planning app, phone consultations with their entertainer, advance song requests and do-not-play lists, optional club-style mixing, custom song edits, pro timeline insights, music and game suggestions, wireless sound for any space, animated monograms, and more. The combination of peerless service, over a thousand events’ worth of experience, and cutting-edge gear make us one of the best values in our market for mobile entertainment. We also travel for destination weddings and corporate events, which not many of our competitors do.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
When COVID hit, our industry went on total lockdown for several months, just as many others did. All scheduled events were either canceled and postponed, which obviously meant the money stopped flowing. I had to make a choice. Looking around at some of my peers in mobile event entertainment, I noticed how conservative many were getting. The majority seemed to be hunkering down and really circling the wagons. Spending was out of the question for now, as this was a time to save as much as possible and withstand the ongoing drought, which had no discernible end just yet. This behavior was common amongst not just companies parallel to mine, but of many other vendors across the event industry I’m connected with. Though it would have been wrong of me to judge anyone else’s choices, I will say that my own instincts urged me to head the total other direction. I opted to get more aggressive than ever before. Having saved a fair amount of money prior to the pandemic, I now made the decision to spend a large portion of that savings to upgrade virtually everything business-related that I had. This meant all my sound and lighting equipment, all our promotional materials, my wardrobe, our other staff uniforms, and my entire web presence. There was more. I purchased a new, larger company vehicle. I started paying experts to help me more with SEO and visual design projects. I moved into a warehouse space which would allow me to expand even further. I looked for any and every way I could step up GDG’s services, marketing, and infrastructure. This was a leap I remember vividly as one of the scariest, yet most exciting, of my entire life. I knew that by betting on myself, I stood to win big. That’s how these things work, after all. It wound up being my biggest win in business thus far, as the two years after the COVID slowdown were by far the biggest of my company’s history. In the first year, I nearly doubled my business, and in the second I brought on more staff members who made the company even stronger. I suggest that other entrepreneurs listen to their instincts, and follow them. You can make incredible progress when you do your homework and make bold choices others shy away from.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My company’s reputation in our market is almost 100% a result of us sweating the small stuff. As I touched on earlier in this interview, I consider everything important. There have been times even my clients did not understand why I was so intent on learning who they were, who would be in attendance at their event, and so forth. Things like knowing what an engaged couple does for a living can pay off later when we’re hosting their wedding and interacting with guests as their MC. Finding out what a teenager celebrating her sweet sixteen’s favorite show was as a youngster can lead to us playing a surprise mash-up that is the peak of her entire party during open dance time. Everything down to the color scheme for a company’s new logo or the florals being provided can be valuable info we use to style our own visuals. Rather than being an eyesore over in the corner as is often the case with a less-invested DJ company, a GDG set-up will often become a true centerpiece of an event’s decor. I firmly believe that by going above and beyond what most expect from a music or photobooth or lighting vendor, we deliver a service over time that is simply elite, and the right people notice that. This is why I have not run a single advertisement for my business in over five years now. My work and my incredible team are the best advertisement I could ever hope to have!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.godjgo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godjgo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gdgelevatedevents
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabepatterson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@godjgo
Image Credits
Tyler + Lindsey, GDG Elevated Events, Taylor Solerno Photography, Kim Peichel Photography, Andrea Elizabeth Photography