Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Gaul.
Patrick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The Homegrown Entrepreneur was an idea that started back in 2014 when I took my first job as a banker and had dreams to climb the corporate tower to one day become an executive in the banking world. I was never a very good banker because I beat myself up about being in my early 20’s speaking to people in Highland Park about how to manage their money, but I thrived on simply speaking to people. I spoke with hundreds of entrepreneurs in various industries of varying sizes and in various stages of their business. I grew captivated by their freedoms to manage their passion, live their passion and how they thought. The mind of an entrepreneur was apparent to me very early on, they see time as the primary resource and money as a solution to buying more time. As I spent more time thinking of what kind of company I would start if I ever did I thought “what is my passion?”. Years later, I realized I had been living my passion all along, speaking to entrepreneurs and hearing their story. January of 2019 I set out to start my own podcasting business by first grabbing all of the relevant social media handles and podcast handles as well as a website name, The Homegrown Entrepreneur was born January 14th, 2019 when I made my first post on Instagram.
I was using a cheap five years old laptop, an app you can purchase on your phone to record phone calls and every possible connection I knew was a low hanging fruit to gain traction in the ‘Interviewing Entrepreneurs as a Business’ business. I had previous clients at the bank I worked at, my family friends and some local entrepreneurs I saw growing in a big way on Instagram. After some video sessions with a business coach, I realized two things; 1 I needed to get better equipment since I ran my own website, marketing, podcasting, editing and content strategy, and two there is no money in just interviewing people. This is where I came up with a marketing company, all of the lessons I had learned from trying to monetize a podcast I took as a crash course in modern marketing and advertised myself to some of the same entrepreneurs I had courted as guests.
The company now has three operating computers myself and a friend built, a drone, a gopro and of course my iPhone (marketing expert in your palm). I now have four clients I work with consistently ranging from a local BBQ restaurant in my old college town to a Horse Ranch out in Georgetown, TX. My life has been redefined by the opportunities afforded by taking the risk and diving headfirst into my passion- helping people.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The first thing an entrepreneur will tell you when interviewing is that “you will struggle”. That is as true a statement to me as the sky is blue. This journey has had some severe turbulence at times. My first marketing gig was for EarthX and marketing for the Hemp Expo division of the largest Earth Day Event in Texas. I had rounded up a crew consisting of a digital media editor, drone pilot, photographer/graphic designer and me to document this event.
Our first hiccup came when a major keynote speaker was about to step on the stage that I was supposed to document and the digital media editor was locked outside of the event, I had to literally run what felt like a mile in the blistering Texas heat of April and do my best to find him. Upon finding our editor we came back to grab some drone footage of the speakers and participants of the event, quickly we found that flying Drones at the Texas State Fair was off-limits. Did not stop us from trying three times but certainly kept us from grabbing good footage. The whole affair ended with me losing a crucial SD card which had a prominent member of the Texas State Government giving a presentation on hemp. The entire affair was a disaster and completely took me back in what I thought I was doing. I lost friends in the process and a great future business opportunity. Didn’t quit though, I had a business coach that told me the single most memorable piece of advice I carry today – “Welcome to Business”.
I now tell myself that everytime something comes up, a credit card is too maxed out for equipment, a software I need has raised its prices and I have to eat it or a job I am doing doesn’t have the right resources to accomplish and I have to jerry-rig equipment and strategize to make it work on a dime because the event is happening. This entire process has had many struggles and setbacks, but the journey is like something I’ve never experienced before and it’s addictive.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Homegrown Entrepreneur – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Homegrown Entrepreneur is a digital marketing company with roots in podcasting entrepreneurs. Our forte at the moment is video production, social media campaigns, and web design. Our three main clients are comprised of a working Horse Ranch, a BBQ Restaurant, and a Home Development company. Our uniqueness or specialization would have to be described as the Homegrown approach. Every client we have we eat, sleep and breathe the business with them before coming up with any content whatsoever. I have personally logged over 200 hours at the Horse Ranch we do all of the video production and marketing for, spending many nights in their home and going so far as to assist in building a 60’X150′ arena.
The creative content becomes so much easier to come up with because we live the industry and spend real time with our clients. By the time we begin producing content we believe we are doing it as if we were the client because essentially we’ve placed ourselves into the role of the customer. In my opinion, the hardest money a small business can let go of is money spent on their marketing. It helps us and the customers when they know we were in the boat with them, getting our hands dirty then producing honest, homegrown content from a place of understanding.
Our proudest moment was when we locked in a University Contract to serve BBQ on Texas State University’s campus and as a vendor at all athletic events in San Marcos, TX. Due in part to guerrila marketing tactics where we served BBQ at the river and paired with a local San Marcos marketing powerhouse, San Marvelous, to bolster the BBQ restaurant’s name to not only the locals but football players who were working there over the summer. The marketing appealed to a close network contact who reached out for the opportunity with the school. That’s been one of our most notable achievements to date.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The podcast piece took a backseat as the marketing business picked up and required so many logged hours. My plan is to go back to podcasting one entrepreneur a week firstly. The rawness of a conversation with an entrepreneur and all of the great information that can be gleaned in speaking with a business owner is the fuel that drives me. My podcast goal is to interview bigger names with a larger fan base to attract new viewers who are sitting on the sidelines of owning a business. The focus would then be to drive them to the more ‘Homegrown’ content, or interviews with entrepreneurs in their own backyard, to show that it’s not only doable but the only thing stopping you is yourself. I would one day like to be a professional podcaster or interviewer that would travel and generate content directed towards people just like who I was, an audience member watching and waiting for a shot to try this entrepreneur thing out themselves.
As for the marketing company side we have found moderate success in the areas we are involved with now but as it is with longterm customers you ebb and flow with their business. We are beginning to become more specialized in Industries and are currently branching out to more equine-related businesses and local restaurants.
The goal is to be a niche marketer in industry where we offer a great product for an affordable price and will provide time and time again on a project basis as opposed to being a live-in marketing company of sorts.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 214-675-4089
- Email: hgecast@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homegrownentrepreneur/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomegrownentrepreneur/
Image Credit:
Texas State University Strutters; Sakura – Japaneses restaurant; Aj’s Ranch Road Grill
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