Meet Kevin Cortez of Mobile Marketing Helper in Frisco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Cortez.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Entrepreneurship is in my blood. My grandfather cashed out his cattle-ranching business in 1946 and established a wholesale distribution company in California called Eastern Sierra Wholesalers. He was incredibly good at perceiving new business opportunities and expanding the line of beer, wine and liquor products that he sold to retailers in my hometown area.

I have wonderful childhood memories of running around the warehouse, playing on the pallets of beer and picking out candy from the storage racks in one of the back corners of the facility. Since I was the oldest of three boys in my family, I’d always felt that someday I would be the one to take over the beer distributorship from my father, which I did in my early 30s.

After over a decade of running our family’s business, I felt like I had flatlined. Even though our revenue had tripled since I’d started working there, we’d hit a ceiling. Sales had plateaued. It just wasn’t fun or challenging anymore. I felt constrained. If I were to sum up the biggest problem in one word, that word is “California.” Our distributorship had been stifled and smothered with one unnecessary hindrance after another.

Our company was stable, but for me personally, I could tell it was time to make some changes. So I did. I turned the business over to my brother and moved to Texas in 2006. It was extremely difficult to step away from something that I had envisioned for my life since a young age. Especially since I only had about three months of finances to live on—six months if I cashed out my life insurance policy (which I ended up having to do).

After arriving in Texas, I was recruited by a leading privately held management consulting firm and trained to be a management consultant. After traveling throughout the United States and Canada helping small business owners address some of their greatest challenges, I started my own consulting agency called Entrust Management Solutions. My last consulting engagement ended in 2010, and since the economy had not yet recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, I wasn’t quite sure what was next for me. This was not a comfortable place to be at when you are 50 years old and out of a job.

It was May 2010, and I was reading about Google’s new Mobile First Rule. Google’s chief executive had announced, “Mobile first in everything.” When I saw this, I knew it would only be a matter of time when mobile “first” would become mobile “always.” I immediately realized that business owners were going to need help with this new mobile marketing transition. That was my eureka moment. I started my digital marketing agency, Mobile Marketing Helper, that day.

Has it been a smooth road?
Being an entrepreneur is great—except when it’s not. The problems entrepreneurs face are relentless. There are no time-outs. Every day, we battle something that is trying to pull our businesses apart. A couple of years ago I was complaining in my heart about the obstacles I had encountered in several areas of my business. But when I stepped back and carefully reexamined my situation, I had an “aha” moment! I was, in fact, experiencing my dream of being an entrepreneur. Despite everything pressing in all around me, I couldn’t imagine living any other way.

Everyone who’s ever had an idea for a business has a place they want their business to arrive at. They begin their journey to that destination, but almost immediately they encounter a steady stream of setbacks and failure. Despite the obstacles, I believe we are living in the greatest era in all of human history to be an entrepreneur. The barriers to entry for business have come crashing down because of technology and automation.

It is amazing what we entrepreneurs now have at our fingertips. The unbelievable production capabilities with unlimited access to distribution on platforms like YouTube and Facebook would have cost tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure just a couple of decades ago. Now, everybody’s got a shot at entrepreneurship. Because of tech, there is no infrastructural or financial situations left that can stop anyone from choosing to pursue their entrepreneurial dream.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
When I led my family’s wholesale distribution company through its numerous challenges and established it as the largest beverage distributorship in its trading area, I am beyond thankful for the incredible support I received from our various suppliers: Coors, Snapple, Red Bull, and other manufacturers. They would help us with business plans, marketing campaigns, sales planning, operations, budgeting, and anything else we needed to be a successful business. I’d ask myself on several occasions, “How in the world do small-business owners make it without this kind of support?”

Then, when I became a consultant, I was committed to providing that same type of help and support to my clients. Nothing feels better than earning money on hard work, sweat and tears—except, perhaps, giving back without expecting anything in return. It’s hard for me to put this into business terms, but I truly believe that the more we give, good things just have a way of happening in our lives. Doing good for other people is a great strategy, and this is the foundation of my media agency.

Mobile Marketing Helper is a full-service digital marketing and national communications company that helps entrepreneurs and small-business owners grow their business through permission-based marketing. We are proud to be among the first premier providers of mobile marketing services for the Dallas area. Over the last several years, our clients have consistently experienced increased revenue and bottom-line profits using our best-in-class marketing technology.

As for our services, we help clients connect with consumers across every mobile channel, including SMS text marketing, mobile web sites, NFC marketing and branded apps. Our Online Marketing Packages include Website Design, SEO, Local Search Optimization, Social Media Re-Branding, and Reputation Management.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I’m so happy to have moved here from California. The Dallas area offers a business-friendly climate, vibrant workforce, low cost of living, and great quality of life. There may not be a state with a stronger business community than Texas. Over the past few years, we have gained a reputation for attracting businesses from all over the country, and there’s tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs.

I live in Frisco, which has become a magnet for companies investing billions of dollars into development. Even the Dallas Cowboys have moved their world headquarters and training facilities here. Go Cowboys! So, I’m immensely grateful to live here in North Dallas and have absolutely no complaints.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2770 Main Street #99, Frisco, TX 75033
• Website: http://KevinCortez.com
• Phone: 972-842-7071
• Email: Kevin@KevinCortez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realkevincortez
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realKevinCortez
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/realKevinCortez
• Other: http://EntrepreneurDetour.com

Image Credit:
Photography by Misty

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