Codie Sanchez: Former Journalist Who Become an Investor
By Cheval John
Codie Sanchez is not your typical entrepreneur.
She is also the Head of Latin America and Offshore Sales for First Trust, a firm that helps people to reach their investment goals.
Codie recently made an appearance on my show, What’s The Word? to share about how she decided to become an entrepreneur.
In this episode, you will also hear:
What led her to make the transition from a journalist to an investor
How she balances her time between running her own business and being an investor.
How social media plays into her daily life.
You will also hear me speak Spanish in this interview as I allow people who are broadcasters, podcasters, television journalist, or the former to ask me a question on the show.
I will add that Codie, who speaks three languages, demonstrates the importance of knowing a second or third language because it allows her to do well in business and understand her fellow colleagues’ cultural norms in the process.
Hope you enjoy this episode.
Upcoming Podcast Recording on Facebook Live:
Deidre Breakingridge, Founder of Pure Performance Communications-September 21st 4 p.m. eastern, 3 p.m. central
The Rewards of Hosting A Super Bowl
By Cheval John
I am in “recovery mode” after having the opportunity to work and cover Super Bowl 51 that took place in Houston.
This past super bowl was the best championship matchup ever due to it going into overtime for the first time ever.
It was also the first time that a team had an epic meltdown on the biggest stage ever.
The Atlanta Falcons, who came into the Super Bowl as having the No.1 ranked offense, found a way to lose to the New England Patriots 34-28 in overtime.
The Falcons had a reputation of collapsing in the playoffs over the years.
Many thought that they were going to reverse the above and finally win their first Super Bowl.
The Patriots found a way to overcome a 25 point defecit with their determination plus heart and won their fifth Super Bowl.
Many major media outlets documented the Falcons’ epic collapse and also Lady Gaga’s halftime show
These same journalists from the major media outlets travel annually to cover the Super Bowl, which is the biggest event in the USA.
If a journalist is not a beat writer or a sports reporter for that particular NFL team, then they will not be able to travel to cover the Super Bowl due to budgets constraints or if their team did not make the championship.
Many television, radio and newspaper journalists had the opportunity to cover the festivities surrounding Super Bowl 51 here in Houston.
We saw reports about different festivities like Super Bowl Live, which took place at Discovery Green, that allowed the fans to see live concerts and also see the sports television personalities from Fox Sports, the NFL network ESPN and many others broadcast their shows live.
We also saw the feedback from the visitors on whether the city of Houston did an excellent job of hosting them during the Super Bowl.
Local residents of Houston had the opportunity to work as volunteers for the Houston Super Bowl Committee.
Some of us who work as social media professionals volunteered our services in working at the social media command center at the headquarters of the Houston Super Bowl Committee.
I had the opportunity to work as a social media volunteer for the Houston Super Bowl Committee and cover the activities using the different social media channels to give my audience a behind the scenes view of Super Bowl 51.
Take a look at this light show at Discovery Green
And the revolving Super Bowl rings that was displayed at the NFL Experience (which you had to pay to attend) inside the George R. Brown Convention Center
This photo below is the Lombardi Trophy which attendees had the opportunity to take a picture with
You will see how downtown got extremely busy when the visitors outside of the Houston area arrived on the weekend of the Super Bowl
I can tell you that it was truly a dream to be here for the Super Bowl because of seeing the lively atsmophere when watching all of the media coverage of the championship event.
I got to see first hand the teamwork from the different tourism organizations like Houston First and The Greater Houston Partnership who helped promote the event.
I also saw the Houston Astros organization lend their full support to the Super Bowl with the use of Minute Maid Park, where the opening night (media day) took place.
Now that Super Bowl 51 is over, the Houston Super Bowl host committee did the honorary transfer of the guard to the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee to get their city prepared to host Super Bowl 52.
My advice to the Minnesota Super Bowl Committee is to think outside of the box and enlist social media professionals in addition to business leaders to help promote Super Bowl 52.
You will do an excellent job because you have the right leaders and team members that are qualified to host the Super Bowl.
For anyone who works in the different business sectors and industries in the Minneapolis area, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to be apart of the Super Bowl.
Though you will not get paid, I can guarantee you that you will see the long term benefits of volunteering your time for the Super Bowl.
When the commissioner of the NFL tells the crowd and the national media that your host city did an excellent work in hosting the fans and visitors, you will have a sense of pride in being a part of a Super Bowl.
To close out this blog post, here is the video of the Super Bowl train leaving downtown which was the home of the Houston Super Bowl Committee
And the fireworks to end the Super Bowl Live Festivities
Three Restaurants To Visit During Super Bowl 51
By Cheval John
In the Houston area, they are thousands of restaurants and coffee shops that serve the residents that call this city home.
The interesting thing is it will take a lifetime to visit all of the restaurants in the fourth largest city in the United States of America.
The reason is that most coffee shops and restaurants don’t last for more than five years.
Every year there is a new restaurant opening within the Houston area.
And with the Super Bowl set to take place in less than a week, the city of Houston are prepared to showcase what they have to offer.
According to Visit Houston.com, an estimated two million people will descend here for the biggest event of the year.
The city has changed dramatically since hosting the Super Bowl in 2004 with the expansion of the train system and the addition of discovery green park.
Plus, the convention district has renovated in the last couple of years with the addition of new restaurants, the new marriot marquis houston hotel and the partnership tower.
With that being said, people will want to know where are the best places to eat during the super bowl festivities.
Here are some of the best restaurants and coffee shops that you will enjoy while you are here during the Super Bowl.
These restaurants and coffee shops make this list because they are houston based and some have a strong social media presence.
ToutSuite
ToutSuite opened in 2011 with the intention of changing the east side of downtown houston.
They are located at 2001 Commerce St. near Minute Maid Park.
The company was founded by Sandy Tran and Thuy-My Luong.
ToutSuite has one of the best selections for coffee and food items.
What is truly cool about them is that they are consistently busy because most of their customers are college students who are doing their homework or studying.
Another aspect that makes them very unique is the way how they engage their audience on social media.
Their social media team consist of Roshan Bhatt, marketing coordinator and the company’s co-owner.
When I tell you that their social media is excellent, I mean it.
Each of their content on Instagram averages 400 likes and people always leave a comment.
The key driver as to why they are always getting engagement from their fans is because they consistently posts their content everyday.
Take a look at this post:
And this post here:
Though the co-owners had no intention of expanding their business, they opened a second location at 303 Memorial City because of a need to bring a coffee shop there.
And they are planning to add a co-working space to their company because they see a need for small business owners to collaborate on work related projects.
If you have the opportunity, you should visit ToutSuite.
806 Main Kitchen
This restaurant is located inside the J.W. Marriot Downtown, which opened in 2014.
The hotel occupies the historic “Carter Building,” Houston’s first skyscraper which was built in 1910.
806 Main Kitchen has a variety of food items that represents the city of Houston.
The interesting thing is that most of their customers are business professionals who work in downtown houston.
The chefs get the orders finished in a timely manner that makes it easy for the workers to enjoy their lunch hour and recharge before they go back to work.
So when you walk inside during the busy lunch hour, you will see a lot of business professionals enjoying their break time from the daily stress of working for oil and gas companies.
The only thing I would advise is to find out from the staff if the Main Kitchen will be open to anyone due to the Super Bowl festivities.
Zabak’s Mediterranean Cafe
Zabak’s Cafe has been in business since 2006.
They are located at 5901 Westheimer Road near the Galleria Mall.
The company has one of the best mediterranean foods in Houston.
What I love about this restaurant is that the ownership take care of their employees and they treasure their customers.
And their story is unique as well.
The owner’s parents immigrated to the Houston area from the Middle East and opened a restaurant that catered to other immigrants.
They have been featured in the Houston Chronicle and made Travel and Leisure’s Best Sandwiches List.
When you walk inside Zabak’s restaurant, you will sense a welcoming atmosphere that will make you feel more relaxed.
And they have no intention of expanding because they believe that they are in the right location to be extremely successful with their business.
It takes about an hour to get to their location via the Houston Metropolitan Bus 82 Route.
However, the travel will be worth it because you will enjoy their mediterranean food.
If you are staying in the Galleria area, you should stop by Zabak’s Mediterranean Cafe.
And if you need to know where else to go around downtown during the Super Bowl, you should check out,
downtownhoustonlive.com, a video guide created by Annette McBride and Laura Lea Waldusky to give visitors a video tour of what to do while they are here for the super bowl.
Did I miss any restaurants and coffee shops in this article?
What are your favorite places to eat and drink while you are in Houston?
You can leave your comment below
Giving Your Fans Unique Access To Your Business
By Cheval John
The Sevilla Football Club (FC) made history a couple of days ago in Basel, Switzerland.
The Spanish club defeated Liverpool F.C. 3-1 to win their third consecutive UEFA Europa League Championship and also the only club to win the title five times.
Sevilla again qualified for the UEFA Champions League season for next year.
They also have another opportunity to play for the UEFA Super Cup against the winner of the Champions League final that is set to occur next Saturday in Milan, Italy.
Some will probably not make a big deal out of Sevilla’s dominance in the Europa League because it is not as well known to the casual fan like the Champions League.
It is comparable to the fact that North Dakota State, who became the first collegiate team to win 5 consecutive national championships, because many view their competition as inferior due to the level that they play in, the Football Championship Subdivision, (FCS).
But the thing is that Sevilla is one among the most storied soccer teams in this century because they are finding ways to win tough matches.
In this year’s championship, Sevilla was down 1-0 entering the second half.
Then they scored three goals in the second half to steal the title from Liverpool.
This matchup was widely broadcast on television stations around the world especially on Fox Sports, the spanish equivalent Fox Deportes and ESPN Deportes.
For those who wanted to watch this matchup probably did not have access to these channels because they could not afford the cable channels above.
What would have happened if these sports teams give their fans a unique access to championship matchups by using the live streaming apps like Periscope and Snapchat?
I have a feeling that these sports teams would have built a stronger and deeper following like the North Carolina State Wrestling Team.
I heard of how the NC State Wrestling used periscope to give the alumni and fans access to the NCAA Wrestling Championships from Jennifer Hoverstad, livestreamer, Operations and Project Manager for 03.
That is truly awesome because the NC State wrestling team knew that most of their fans would not be able to watch them compete on ESPN3.
Also, the team listened to what the NC State alumni wanted and were able to solve the problem by giving them access to the NCAA championships.
This is why businesses should take the time to listen to what their audience want and not just try to sell to them whenever they have a chance.
When the businesses and sports teams follow the example of the NC State wrestling team and Mrs. Hoverstad, they will be one step closer to being extremely successful in their business.
Janette Speyer Makes Guest Appearance on International Podcast Day
By Cheval John
This blog post is out spontaneously because today is International Podcast Day.
I actually forgot about this celebration and did not plan out accordingly.
In this article, you will hear the episode featuring Janette Speyer.
Janette made her second appearance on the show to chat about her recently launched Twitter Chat called #FlipBizChat.
She is an avid fan of FlipBoard which is a curating platform which puts together content like a magazine.
The first time Janette appeared on the show, she shared about co-founding Web Success Team and Hot Ice Media.
In this episode, you will hear:
What led Janette to co-found #FlipBizChat
What is internal learning
The process of starting a twitter chat
The episode was recorded on Facebook Live via Blue Jeans Network
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Entire episode on BlogTalkRadio
What are your favorite podcasts to listen to? You can leave your comment below
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