We were lucky to catch up with Gwendolyn Anokye recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gwendolyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I have to foremost give all the glory to God because He brought me the vision, I just had to remain faithful. 10 years ago when I started going to school at the Art Institute of Dallas, I thought I enrolled into the radio because that was my interest at the time only to find out I actually enrolled in the film program. Luckily film happened to stick with me, I actually never imagined running a media company ever. After school I stepped out on faith, became a freelancer and named my company SoGe Media. SoGe stands for So Grateful everyday, which is basically a lifestyle of living. I have to give a huge shout out to my cousins and loved ones because I didn’t have a team at the time so they would be the ones to come out and help me for long hrs just to help me see my vision through! I met a lot of wonderful people while freelancing, one of which happened to be my business partner Travis Angelle (Co Owner of SoGeTHP Creative Media LLC). He was an artist at the time who I’d met through my twin brother so I would shoot his music videos and later learned he was into film as well. Once I learned how creative he was, we just starting filming everything together and ended up merging our brands together which is how came up with SoGeTHP Creative Media LLC. THP stands for Track Havoc Productions because he’s cold with both music and video production.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I would definitely have to say faith and persistence is what has kept me along this journey. My business partner and I work so hard to give our clients another level of creativity while bringing their vision to life. I would be lying if I said it has been easy but it definitely makes it worth it when you have a business partner who is just as dedicated and disciplined as you. Sometimes we’d work our 9-5, get off and shoot then would edit all night until it was time to go to work again. It’s all about what you’re willing to sacrifice. We both have sacrificed time with our families and loved ones just to see the vision through. I would definitely have to say our bread and butter comes from word of mouth. We film everything from weddings, short films, commercials, special events to music videos and instructional videos. We offer photography services as well. We didn’t want to put ourselves in a box and just offer one type of service, we wanted to work with everyone and be able to offer multiple services at a time. From working with clients like McDonalds, Intuit, NFL Networks and many more, they were all word of mouth. When we began to work with companies like those, it opened both of eyes to the future of SoGeTHP Creative Media LLC. What makes me most happy about this company besides having the best business partner ever is being able to create memories and experiences for clients will last for a lifetime. Giving them something that will be passed down to the next generation definitely warms my heart to the fullest. What sets SoGeTHP apart from others is that none of our productions look the same. We like to personalize our creativity per client to bring their vision to life. We create treatments and mood boards for each client where we basically mix our creativity with their vision on paper which will allow them to see and feel the vision we’re creating as one.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I actually met my business partner through my twin brother. They worked together and he was an artist at the time looking for a video director. Met Travis 8 years ago and we’ve been locked in since!!! I shot a few videos for him and then I learned that he was into filming as well so he’d come along and help me out on my shoots. We worked so well together that we just ended up merging our brands SoGe x THP. Having a business partner like Travis definitely motivates me to be the best business partner I can be as we both continue to make sacrifices for this business of ours. Iron sharpens Iron! One band one sound! We’re always looking for different ways and solutions to grow as a black media company.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an creative is there is no right or wrong way to create. People pay us for our eye, our ideas and our creativity, from there we’re able to not only give them an experience of a lifetime but there are memories being created that will be passed down their legacy. I love when I visit someone and they have print outs of a photo session they had with me hanging on their wall. Definitely one of the greatest feelings in the world knowing the photo will be passed down generations to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: SoGeTHP.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sogethp?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: @sogethp
• Twitter: @sogethp
• Youtube: SogeTHP Creative Media, LLC
• Yelp: SoGeTHP Creative Media

Image Credits
Cheyenne Fortson