Meet Kate Winsor | Event Production Guru

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kate Winsor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The importance of marching to my own beat. (Maybe pun intended?) The event production business is so non-traditional and I really have a hard time fitting the way we do things into most traditional ideas of business. We don’t have normal business hours, we work weekends and holidays, and the lifestyle comes with its own set of challenges.

One of the highest compliments I got from a professional acquaintance was when she pointed out to me that I just tend to do things my own way without seeming to care much about what others think. I took that compliment to heart and after reflecting on it, I see it as the most important lesson I have learned from my business. I have to do what is best for us, and what works for us, and it isn’t always the “way things are done.”

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Right before we graduated from high school, my girlfriends and I documented our predictions for the future. When we were talking about future careers, I said I wanted to go into business with my brother. At the time, I didn’t know what that looked like, but it was a little twinkle in my eye that would manifest itself almost two decades later.

My brother David started the company in 2009. What began as a freelance audio engineer company has had many evolutions over the past decade, and we now find ourselves as the leading provider of audio-visual rentals in the North Texas/Southern Oklahoma area. At one point we had a retail store focused on selling high-quality music gear and offering great customer service but we closed that in 2017 as the demand for our event production services grew to the point where it was becoming more and more obvious that we needed to shift directions.

It took us a few years of brainstorming in the background to come up with a name and to figure out how to move this new venture forward, but we officially launched Cadence Studios as a full-service event production company at the beginning of 2018. I stepped in to take over marketing and operations freeing up David to be able to focus his time and talents on helping our clients bring their events to life. I had been running my own independent User Experience consulting firm since 2013, and fell in love with the operations side of things so it only made sense that I transition to the ‘family business’ and give my brother room to DO the business while I RAN the business.

I love telling our story of two siblings running a successful business together. I get the best looks and questions about what it is like working with my brother. I spend a lot of time explaining to people at events that we’re married, but not to each other. We’re siblings! But the truth is we are yin and yang: we have our areas of expertise and respect the work that the other does. In high school, I was voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ while my brother was voted ‘Best Dressed.’ That should tell you a lot about our personalities.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Funny you ask, beause my best friend is coming for a visit (from Zambia!) and I’ve been doing some research on awesome things we can do over on my side of Dallas.

We’d start in Fredericksburg and go on Absolute Charm Wine Tours’ new Safari Wine Tour. I know she just flew in from Zambia where they have actual safaris with wild animals, but this would be a fun way for her to give me a taste of life in Africa.

We’d also have to swing by Zerbina Wines in the design district of Dallas on the way home to stock up on my favorite wines. The owner, Bryan, is my ‘cohort’ husband from when I was in the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

Once we made it back to Rockwall, we’d visit Ham’s Orchard in Terrel for some fresh peaches and peach ice cream. We’d probably bring them home and bake a pie. I’d make sure we visit some of the other local farms such as Farmers Lavender Co., and stop at Honey’s for a snow cone on the way home.

We’d check out what was going on at Tate Farms, they always have some sort of festival or movie night we could get tickets to. Or head down to the Harbor by Lake Ray Hubbard. We’d have dinner at Rodeo Goat with a view of the sunset on the lake. I’d have one of their battle burgers (on a gluten free bun!) We’d probably also find ourselves at Standard Service in Heath. I’d get their kale caesar salad and one (or three) of their charity cocktails.

I’d love to drag her out to a Creative Morning Dallas event. They always leave me inspired (and caffeinated!)

If it was a Saturday between May-September, we’d start our Saturday mornings at the downtown Rockwall Farmer’s Market, then check out all the cute boutique shops around the square. We’d end our amazing week with a sunset cruise on the lake. I’d call my friend Billy with Sail with Scott for the hookup.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without question, my shoutout has to be dedicated to my parents. They are the backbone of the business and are responsible for establishing the foundation that has contributed to our success.

Website: https://www.cadencestudiostx.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdncstds/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadence-studios/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdncstds/

Image Credits
I took all those photos! Except the one of me taking a picture was taken by James ‘Lucky’ Harlan.