Southeast Missouri State University seniors Cole Davis and Gordon “Gee” Taylor are creating a name for themselves with the establishment of their entertainment company Forever Humble Ent., commonly known as Frat House Ent.

Davis and Taylor started hosting smaller events in St. Louis before deciding to host events in Cape Girardeau. After moving in together last school year, they decided to have events at their own house.

Although Frat House Ent. is not primarily for Greeks, individuals began referring to their house as such because of their memberships in National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities.

The two gained recognition for their events based off the house so they decided upon that name for the business.

“We promoted an event with that name and it stuck,” Davis said.

Taylor said last year the entertainment company became well known because of the increased promotion of events in the area, which is what led to their first venue event, SIUC vs SEMO.

“We barely knew what we were doing, the security was off, we were using the wrong speakers, it was just a big test run,” Taylor said.

The duo used their first event and others as learning experiences. Now anytime they have an event they recap on what was successful and what they can do better next time.

“It’s not like every time we have an event everything runs smoothly and the night go as planned, that’s not reality,” Davis said. “You win some you lose some, but you have to take that risk.”

After their accomplishments last year, Davis and Taylor realized there was still a need for positive events not only on campus, but also in other regions, so they expanded their business to different parts of Missouri and different schools. At this time, the two have added more people to their business.

“Everyone has a role in Frat House Ent. There is an official DJ who goes by the name of ChillWill, there is a person to keep everything in order who goes by the name Barry, there is a host who goes by the name Satterfieldd, and Gee and I are the CEO’s and promoters,” Davis said.

Although Davis and Taylor would never say the team is fully fulfilled, the two are very selective on who gets to join since becoming a licensed business. Although it doesn’t have to be someone they know personally, it does have to be someone who they can trust and knows how to handle everything that comes along with Frat House Ent.

Davis said expanding Frat House Ent. will allow the business to be represented in various locations at the same time.

“We like to travel and do different stuff, so sometimes our team splits up. Our DJ and promoter may be at two different schools and Gee and I may be at another,” Davis said.

Traveling to different areas helps the company build a diverse audience that they envisioned having since the beginning.

“From a business standpoint, you never want to have one population on your side. You want it to be diversified,” Taylor said.

According to Davis and Taylor, in order to be successful you have to have a strong base. They also said having a good connection with your main audience and the people who support you is important.

“It’s all about the way you act, you need to be neutral with everybody, that way nobody can say anything bad about you,” Taylor said.

Professionalism has led Frat House Ent. in hosting their biggest event of the year.

Chicago rap artist Lil Durk will perform at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 at 681 W Deerwood Dr. in Jackson.

The event may be one of the company’s biggest, but it has also become it’s most difficult. The company started planning for this event throughout the summer and it didn’t come together until mid-September. Lil Durk was originally scheduled to perform at the Student Recreation Center-North but had to be moved because of his violent past.

Although the plan is to grow bigger and better, publicity is not the main focus for Frat House Ent. The company’s main priority is making sure other people are having a good time.

“What brings both of us happiness that most people don’t understand or get sometimes is the fact that we put others before ourselves. The events we throw, we do that for other people,” Davis said.

Davis and Taylor said they advise any students trying to create a business but don’t know how to get started to just go for it.

“It’s all about doing it multiple times because every time you are going to get something out of it regardless if it’s good or bad,” Davis said. “You can’t give up, because if you give up you are letting yourself down.”

Tickets for the Lil Durk concert are $25 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com