Building “Momentum” In Your Business
By Cheval John
Courtesy of mariaross.com
I had the opportunity to chat with Maria Ross, owner of Red Slice on my podcast, What’s The Word.
Maria is a brand strategist and the author of “Branding Basics for Small Business: How To Create An Irresistable Brand, Rebooting My Brain, and The Juicy Guide Series For Entrepreneurs.
I had Maria back on the show to chat about her upcoming group coaching program, “Momentum“* which is set to begin on September 5th.
She has been one of a few people who made an appearance three times or more since I began the show over three years ago.
Maria is a lady who is on demand for interviews from national media, local media, bloggers and podcasters because she shares uplifting content that solves people’s problems.
Her story of becoming an entrepreneur is refreshing because she guides her audience through the ups and downs she faced when she was building her business.
And she will tell the truth like it is because she sees how marketing has gotten a bad reputation over the years because of a few people who cut corners.
Maria is one of the reasons why I host my show because I want to learn from entrepreneurs and business professionals who have succeeded in their careers without cutting corners to achieve their success.
And I know that entrepreneurs, sports organizations and business professionals will get valuable lessons from Maria Ross after listening to her interview.
Disclosure* I am not an affiliate of the Momentum program
Choose Your Social Media Platforms Wisely
By Cheval John
It seems like every few months we see the next big social media platform that would benefit us.
It’s a mad rush to jump onto that social media platform because of the fear of missing out.
In the last year and a half, live streaming platforms like Periscope, Snapchat, Blab have changed the game of how many businesses market themselves.
Then Facebook’s subsidiary, Instagram “created” Instagram Stories” about three weeks ago to rival Snapchat.
And recently, Google announced that they are shutting down Google + Hangouts On Air and moving their users to YouTube Live starting on September 12th.
It is understandable of why so many people are jumping onto live streaming platforms.
The advertising dollars are now in live streaming according to this New York Times article.
You might hear from many telling you that you need to be on this live streaming platform or that live streaming platform because many of your fellow entrepreneurs or professionals are there.
So a person can wonder which live streaming/social media platform should they or their business be on.
The answer is “it depends on where your audience is and which live streaming/social media platform you feel comfortable using.”
For example, the Sam Houston State University athletic department are only on Youtube, Instagram (Facebook) and Twitter because their audience want to see highlights from the sporting matchups that their teams participate in.
Ashley Johnson, owner of Mouth Marketing, LLC, told me on my show, What’s The Word, that she is not using Instagram Stories because they integrated Snapchat like features in their platform.
Ashley also said that she does not use Snapchat and was getting used to Instagram.
And for myself, I only use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and LinkedIn because I feel comfortable using these platforms above.
Plus, I am trying out the live streaming platforms like Firetalk and Huzza.io to see which one works well for my podcast recordings (I was using Blab before they shut down their live streaming platform last weekend).
You do not want to jump onto the next big live streaming platform because other tells you to.
What you should do is focus on the social media/live streaming platform that works well for your business and your personal brand.
If you try to be great at all of the social media platforms, you will wind up burning yourself out and create a bad digital trail of your social media presence.
It Not’s Me, It’s You
By Cheval John
Everyone was enamored with the live streaming platform called Blab when the app came out in July of 2015.
We saw influencers like Kim Garst, Michael Stelzer, Sue B. Zimmerman using the platform to record their shows and provide valuable information to us about social media.
We also saw celebrities and brands like ESPN using the platform to record their shows.
Then we got the message from the CEO of blab that they were not investing more resources into the platform because they saw that the audience was only there for the hangout after the shows were over with, paraphrased.
Everyone of us knew that it was a matter of time before blab was going away for good.
So we look at alternatives to record our shows.
Then we got the message last night from the CEO that they were shutting down blab.
My reaction was mixed because blab was the reason why I became a better podcaster.
Plus, I met amazing people like Jackie Bernardi, Gerald DuBose, Victoria Taylor, and Vicki Fitch who I would not have met before.
And I had the opportunity to talk with Kelly Hungerford, Brian Fanzo, Rachel Miller, Christin Kardos, Adel de Meyer, Samantha Kelly and many more which I don’t have the space to mention.
Blab revolutionized live streaming because they had saved the audio in addition to video of the live streaming show.
They were the reason that many people who were not podcasters became podcasters.
Now I will get to the disappointment of blab.
The CEO of blab had a lack of communication with their users.
They did not give any warning of a change in direction of the platform.
I understand 100% that blab was their business and that the main goal is to be profitable.
However, they should have at least have the decency to let the users who was heavily invested in blab, know that they were moving in a different direction.
If they would have been more transparent about the change in direction of their business, I honestly believe that many people would have been cool with them.
And the fact that they decided to shut down everything without letting the people know about it was utterly classless.
They should have allowed the users of blab to have ample time to save their recordings so that they can have a track record of the interviews that they did on the social media platform.
It is so sad that the CEO had the audacity to blame most of the users for blab’s failure.
Other than the lack of transperency, blab opened up the possibilities to see that podcasters can also be live streamers.
Blab also allowed me to be featured on Ebony Magazine’s website.
What I can say is that I am thankful for the opportunity to record my show, What’s The Word on blab and later repurpose the show on BlogTalkRadio.
At the same time, I am grateful that I did not leave BlogTalkRadio entirely because if I had moved my show fully to blab, I would have regretted the decision above.
Now, I am using different live streaming platforms like Firetalk.com to record my show and putting that same show onto BlogTalkRadio.
The lesson that blab teaches us is to never put all of your resources in one social media platform because in the end, you will get burned.
People Trying To Catch All The Pokemon
By Cheval John
The Pokemon Go app has taken over the country since launching about three weeks ago.
Many people have been walking across cities like Houston trying to locate Pokemons that will allow them to arrive at the next level of the game.
Business establishments, sports venues like Texas A&M’s Kyle Field has been the hot spot for many to locate Pokemons.
The downside has been people have not been paying attention to where they were going while playing the Pokemon Go.
It has been a hazard to a degree in the same manner as people using snapchat while driving.
They have been some manuals for those who are playing the Pokemon Game that will keep them safe.
In the same way, I learned a harsh lesson about participating in a Twitter chat while using my smartphone.
No, I was not tweeting while driving as I don’t drive anymore.
However, this lesson I learned about participating in a Twitter chat with a smartphone can apply to anyone indirectly who are tweeting and driving.
I was participating in #sproutchat, a twitter chat hosted by Sarah Nagel of Sprout Social.
As the chat was moving along, I had difficulty in keeping up because the chat was moving along fast while I was receiving updates of the chat very late.
What ended up happening was that I was answering some questions way before Ms. Nagel had asked the question and it caused a lot of confusion to the other participants of the chat.
I felt really bad and I understood even more why a person should not participate in a Twitter chat with a smartphone.
What they should do is participate in the Twitter chat on their computer and use apps like Tweetchat to keep up with the conversation that is happening during the chat.
That way, everyone will not be confused when they are participating in a Twitter chat like #sproutchat.
This lesson above will help the people who are participating in the Pokemon Go game indirectly too.
To avoid my mistake of participating in a Twitter chat with a smartphone, listen to this episode of the Social Media Examiner podcast that features Twitter Marketing expert, Madalyn Sklar.
Also check out my recent What’s The Word shows featuring William S. Matthews and Laura Wilkinson, who will be covering the Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
William S. Matthews
Laura Wilkinson
The Nation Is Recognizing #HTownTakeover
By Cheval John, September 3rd, 2016
The #HTownTakeover has officially been recognized by the USA.
It should be called the University of Houston potentially crashing the College Football Playoff party.
The reason is that Houston dismantled the defending Big 12 Champion University of Oklahoma 33-23 in front of a sellout 71,016 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
UH students, faculty, alumni and even the city of Houston are celebrating this epic win against a top-ten opponent.
The Cougars solidified the hype of possibly being the first team from a non-power 5 conference to make the four-team playoff.
It also makes a case for UH to be included in the Big 12 Conference.
Here is Elissa Rivas, a reporter and anchor of ABC 13 Houston responding to this tweet about the Big 12 proposal by UH
And the Houston Astros was watching the matchup during batting practice in preparation for their second game against the Texas Rangers
And UH President and Chancellor of the UH System, Dr. Renu Khator, echos the statement about the win against OU as a statement matchup.
So why is it that UH is all of a sudden the talk of the town
It has to do with their head coach Tom Herman.
Before Coach Herman arrived, UH was an above average football program under the previous head coach Tony Levine.
Coach Herman set a winning culture in the football team and even implored the college students to attend their home matchups.
And the #HTownTakeOver took root on the UH Campus and later in the city of Houston after they won the American Athletic Conference title, then the Peach Bowl against Florida State.
I can argue that former UH softball coach Kyla Holas built the program from the ground up and made them a powerhouse in collegiate sports.
Since UH softball or any other women’s sports does not garner the attention like football and basketball, they are left in the shadows of the money-revenue sports of collegiate athletics.
With the above being told, they are a few lessons that anyone can learn from the recent success of the UH Football Team.
1. You Must Have A Winning Mindset
Though the UH Football Team did not have any top recruits like their counterparts in the Power Five Conferences, they developed the mindset that they could beat any collegiate football team in the country.
They understood that to develop that winning mindset, they had to work as a team
Dave Sanderson explained on my show, What’s The Word, that the passengers of the US Airways Flight 1549 survived the plane crash because they worked together to escape the sinking plane
In the same way, we must have the mindset that we can succeed in our business and careers because sooner or later, the success will come to past.
2. You Must Be Laser-Focused on Your Goals
In the midst of the noise that UH could go to the Big 12 Conference, the coaching staff reminded the team of their goal of winning the AAC championship this season.
They understood that they had to beat OU if they wanted the collegiate football world to take them seriously as a football team.
As business owners, we hear all the noise of the rise of a new social media platforms that can revolutionize our business and that we need to be on there.
We need to stay laser focused on our goals that will eventually lead to the success of our business.
3. You Must Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People
The UH Football Program would not have achieved their success had it not been for the administration under Dr. Khator.
Dr. Khator invested money into the athletic department that allowed them to improve the stadiums around the UH campus.
And since UH Football is the main draw for the university, they are determined to keep Coach Herman at the university as long as Dr. Khator continues to believe in the athletic programs.
You must surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams of a successful career or business because they will lift you up to the next level.
The places to find like-minded people is at conferences and networking events.
And you can jump-start the friendships on social media in group chats because you will be able to build trust with your potential customer or business partner.
As I conclude this blost post for better, here are a few group chats on Twitter to consider joining:
Twitter Smarter hosted by Madalyn Sklar
Biz Heroes hosted by Paper.Li
ChatSnap hosted by Kristy Gillentine
Viral Chat hosted by Post Planner
Influencer Chat, hosted by Rebekah Radice, Ann Tran and Diana Adams
HootChat, hosted by Hootsuite
VC Buzz, hosted by Ann Smarty
Media Chat, hosted by Aaron Kilby
Millennial Talk, hosted by Chelsea Krost
Dare To Be, Hosted by Andrea Sanchez
Blog Chat, hosted by Mack Collier
Lets Live Stream, hosted by Rachel Moore
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