A Blogging Success Story

Many journalists, talk show hosts, and others in the media subscribe to Google Alerts in order to keep informed on specific issues (this is a great free, tool that I strongly recommend). I have several, including one called "Houston Real Estate" which I use to prepare for the Houston Home Show I host with Mark Jeffrey of UBuildIt (Friday at 1 PM on CNN 650). Recently I received an alert that included a blog post that discussed Houston's booming economy and how that should contribute to continued growth in Real Estate in the future.

That post was written by Rose Stabler (photo at left, a local business broker), who ironically just decided to start a blog in the last few weeks. It was an excellent piece and clearly shows that Houstonians can expect this economy to continue to grow, that unemployment should be well below the national average, and that housing should continue to improve for investment and other purposes. I asked her to be on today's show and she did a fine job pointing to the reasons for continued optimism. Her interview will be available online at the Houston Business Review (I suggest getting a free subscription to it by clicking here so you can be kept up to date on all our media). I encourage sharing that segment of the show with others who wonder about the future of Houston's economy.

I'm not suggesting that if you start a blog you will be on the radio speaking to thousands in a few weeks. I do believe, however, that starting a blog can differentiate you as an expert (something Rose is doing very well in her blog), can attract attention from those who can help your business, and can provide discipline to help you become better at what you do. For those of you who spend hours reading blogs, but debate whether or not you should get in, the water is great.

On This Week's Houston Business Show

On this week's Houston Business Show I interviews Jim Stein of the Bank of Houston, Steve Hansen of Summit Financial Resources, and Jim O'Neill of Lone Star Sound.

Jim Stein discussed the enormous growth of the Bank of Houston and the secret of the bank's success. The Bank of Houston has gone from $20 million in assets to over $200 in just two years and he attributes that growth to its commitment to community banking. As a result it has gone from a single main location to three in just two years with future growth in mind.

Steve Hansen of Summit Financial Resources discussed an up coming speaking event for the National Association of Business Women Owners in which he will help that audience develop "a financial statement bankers will drool over." Coming up on March 22, I think any person in business will find it helpful.

Jim O'Neill, our latest business show expert discussed his new blog entry about to be added to HoustonBusinessShow.com. It is all about YouTube and how smart entrepreneurs can take advantage of that unique website to promote their business. In addition, Jim discussed a new program that we are developing to give people the opportunity to get TV ad exposure with virtually no production costs. For more information click here.

For the latest in all Houston Business Show media, visit my What's New Blog at HoustonBusinessShow.com. For information on when you can hear today's program online and to receive weekly updates on what's new, subscribe to my free newsletter at Houston Business Review.

Kevin Price... A Great Face for Radio

On today's show I had Andy Valadez on as a guest and he took the liberty of creating a video and placing it on YouTube. This is the kind of innovative marketing that Andy is famous for and has created quite an archive on the Internet.

In it you hear an overview of today's program and it epitomizes the type of quality content we provide each week. For an archive of recent shows visit the Houston Business Show site and follow the links to our radio programs. While you are there, visit the Houston Home Show brought to listeners by UBuildIt.

As you can clearly see, I have a great face...for radio.

Richard Sonnier Predicts Demise of Text Messaging

On today's Houston Business Show (Monday at 1 PM on CNN 650 or 24/7, archived at HoustonBusinessReview.com) I interviewed Business Show Advisor Richard Sonnier of Nimble Services, who did an update on some of the latest changes in technology. I love this kind of programming because it helps me understand what are real changes and not mere fads, what I need to implement immediately or can wait until later, and what are the best approaches to incorporating technological changes.

On this week's show he discussed the new Apple IPhone which is expected to change the way individuals communicate with others and the way phones such as this is profoundly impacting text messaging (SMS). Text messaging was a hot form of communication just a couple of years ago and now, according to Sonnier, it is facing serious decline. Why? Because as people move to pda equipment they will increasingly use email, which doesn't cost anything extra since they likely already will have the web on their devices. Furthermore they can check out that information on their computers as well as their phones. When you can have major forms of communication be dismissed in months, the world of business is a really scary place. Companies must be holding on for dear life as they try to keep up the demands of an ever changing population.

Richard Sonnier has been an Advisor to the Houston Business Show for three years and his information has made a difference in the way many in our audience and I conduct business.