Story & Lesson Highlights with greg capozzi of North Shore

greg capozzi shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning greg, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
As a business owner you have to look out for your employees first and foremost. Sometimes clients may want to cancel a service or add-on and that impacts the entertainer who has been reserving this event date for months or even more than a year in advance. Often times, our talent declines other opportunities that may have paid more than the current booking. When a client wants to cancel, we do our best to enforce the contract, but sometimes they have no understanding or empathy. I’ve learned it’s best to just make the problem go away rather than playing hardball and going by the book.

There have been many occasions where I’ve had to reimburse the client, and then I still pay the talent part or all of the original compensation, for the lost opportunity. Standing up for my staff does cost money out of pocket, but I’d rather do that and keep my people happy and loyal. It also keeps me feeling good about my integrity & character, knowing that I take care of my staff above all.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a professional sax player, DJ, entrepreneur and business owner. We book top tier DJs, jazz and pop combos (guitar, sax, bass, keys, drums, vocalists), string ensembles, lighting, photo booths and photographers. We’ve been in business since January 1, 2003 and currently have over 2,200 five star reviews. Our brand is that it’s all about the music. No ego, no cheese, no gimmicks. We fly under the radar but always deliver an unforgettable experience. I strongly believe that if you provide an amazing service, the clients will do the marketing for you. We are very fortunate to have built such an outstanding reputation and to have cultivated such long lasting relationships with our clients and vendor colleagues. Above all, we’ve built such an incredible team of world class talent, some of the hardest working and most passionate people in the industry. I’m very proud of all their accomplishments and super grateful to work with such outstanding individuals.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My wife has always been my biggest cheerleader and believes in me more than I believe in myself to this day. She has instilled confidence in me, since that is something I struggle with. She has always understood my life as a musician and performer, and all that goes with it — working all day to get gigs, client meetings at night, then late night rehearsals and practice sessions, then dinner at 10 or 11pm, then up early to do it all again. Being gone all weekend, traveling, prepping and performing. Through it all she’s always had my back, pumped me up when I’m feeling low, and nobody celebrates the victories along the way more than her, like an incredible gig or recording. It literally takes a village to keep this company afloat, big shout out to Gina, our director of operations. But without my wife’s support, there is no way I could run this ship and keep this empire going.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Many times. It is so hard being self employed. Every day you have to get up and make it happen. Nobody is going to do anything for you. There is no paid vacation, no 401k retirement, no health insurance, no sick days. For years and years it really felt like I was putting everything I had into the biz, emotionally and physically, yet I wasn’t seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It was just getting gigs, managing clients and staff, and playing gigs — then do it all over again. I often felt like it just wasn’t worth it any more. Despite having such a successful business, I felt chained to my phone and laptop, with no balance in life, no spare time whatsoever. Despite being on the fence, I never had the heart to throw it all away. Thankfully over the las 5-7 years, I finally feel like the business is giving back, affording me a little balance in life. It is still thriving so it’s easier to find the drive and dedication to keep it going.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
As an entertainer you are performing at people’s celebrations every week and weekend. It is not fair to them if you bring your dirty laundry to the party. If you’re having a bad day, or struggling with your personal life, or if you have an injury, etc….whatever the obstacle is, this is show biz and the show must go on. So when I’m at the party, normally the smiles and energy are organic as music is my passion. But sometimes you gotta put on a face and dig deep to perform and bring joy to all the guests. In those instances, that’s the public persona and not the real me in that moment. Being a musician takes dedication, discipline and lots of time alone practicing. It can be very frustrating since it’s so complicated. All the musicians I know feel the same way, that we’re never going to sound the way we want and that ultimately music is so vast, we’ll never figure it out. For me it can be a love hate relationship, but the public can’t know that. They just need to see the sax player (or DJ) ripping it up at the party with everyone dancing all around going bananas for hours.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would try to stop worrying so much about work & money. I’d try to back off on being such a perfectionist. That’s a good quality to have, and I believe it’s a big reason as to how I got the business to this point, but I do tend to stress. I think that’s natural for any business owner, especially one that has so many people involved. With so many individuals on our roster, it’s impossible not to get overwhelmed from time to time. I would like to get a better grip on that. I made that promise to my dad before he passed, and I am trying to honor that as best as I can, but I have a long way to go.

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