Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilse Gonzalez.
Ilse, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas by my mother, Yesenia Gonzalez, and father, Rene Gonzalez. I attended YES Prep North Central for both middle and high school.
While in high school I did theatre and dance and towards the end of high school I did more on-camera acting like statewide commercials. Yes, if you saw a South Texas Dental commercial on TV and thought it was me, it is me! I loved acting and dancing, but I knew deep down that there was more than I could offer and that I wanted to do. I stumbled upon journalism as I was looking for majors and ended up really liking it, so I applied to college declared as a broadcast journalism major.
I went to the University of Houston and got involved with student media organizations and within my first year in college, I took a position at Telemundo Houston as a brand ambassador. My job as a brand ambassador was to go out to events and interact with our viewers, get them to follow us on social media, give them free goodies, and overall just promote the station. I was so thankful for the opportunity, but I wanted to do more so I kept insisting my boss to give me a project to show him what I was capable of doing and sure enough, he gave me my first project to work on: a nation-wide campaign that we had to localize called Clear The Shelters.
While working on the campaign, a position opened in the newsroom and there was no way I could pass up on the opportunity to take on a full-time job in a newsroom as a sophomore in college, and well the rest is history! I took on the position of an Assignment Editor and was with the company for almost four years! I went to school and worked full time, which made it very difficult, but it was also motivating as it got me pumped to graduate and just focus on my career and sure enough I was able to finish college within three years!
During my time at Telemundo Houston, I took on a position as a Planning Editor as well, earned three Lone Star Emmy’s, covered hurricanes, elections, World Series championships, the death of George H.W. Bush, festivals, mass shootings, weather specials, end of year shows, and the list goes on! It was a once in a lifetime experience and I am forever grateful for the experience in the journalism industry, but coming into my fourth year I was ready for something new.
I have always been passionate about the power of social media, the digital world, content, story telling, and more than anything helping people and local businesses which is why I decided to make the jump into entrepreneurship! I have grabbed all of my skills and talents that I acquired over the years in the media industry to start my own media company – Connect Media Firm. We are a Latina owned and operated media agency connecting people with their clients through strategy-driven marketing services.
I am so excited to take on this new venture of producing meaningful content, helping people find their brand, and allowing them to connect with their audience like never before! It sure hasn’t been easy to make this jump, but if we aren’t scared about the next jump we are taking then that means we are staying in our comfort zone. I am so excited about stepping outside of my comfort zone and helping local businesses and organizations do the same with their products and services!
Has it been a smooth road?
This has definitely not been a smooth road, and I didn’t expect it to be. During college, my struggle was keeping up with my school work while still having to focus and give it my all at work as that was my career.
While working in the industry and until this day, my biggest struggle has always been my age. When someone looks or thinks about a 23-year-old, they definitely don’t think of an entrepreneur running a media firm and a former journalist with three Lone Star Emmy’s.
It’s hard for people to take a woman in her 20’s seriously, but if you have met me or know me, anyone will tell you I am definitely not your typical 23-year-old. I have always heard the phrase: “you are wise beyond your years,” and I hope everyone gives me the opportunity to prove that.
Of course, I am young and want to have fun and enjoy myself, but I also feel like I have a responsibility to contribute so much to this world, I want to share my skills and talents with others, and help the future generation of entrepreneurs and journalists.
Like most local businesses, I believe in collaboration over competition. I believe we are stronger together and that we all have something to learn from one another regardless of age or experience.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Connect Media Firm story. Tell us more about the business.
Connect Media Firm focuses on providing digital, production, and marketing services. Under those three umbrellas, we have a variety of options including social media management, website development, photography/videography, media exposure, and event coordination to name a few.
We take pride in the fact that we are Latina owned and operated, so we have an in-depth understanding how we can help local and small businesses owned by minorities and can offer our services both for Spanish and English speaking entrepreneurs.
As a company, my biggest goal is to make business owners’ life easier! We get it that as a business owner, you don’t have time to update your website, post on social media, take pictures, or coordinate an event.
All of these marketing strategies are very important, but they just don’t have the time as they are so focused on the administrative aspect of the business which is, by all means, the backbone of the business, so that is where we come in.
We are happy to meet with our clients, understand their needs, their wants, their gaps, their budget, their brand, their audience, and use our services to put them on a platform to receive the exposure and support they need and deserve!
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
At this time, my whole focus is on getting the word out about what we, as Connect Media Firm, do, what we offer and what we stand for. As far as plans for the future, it would definitely be to expand our client base, be involved in the community through volunteer work, and eventually be able to expand our offices into other cities or states.
We are so thankful for the support we have been getting, our current clients, and the trust that others have given us to take their business, their products, and services to the next level.
The launch of Connect Media Firm would not have been as successful if it weren’t for all of our friends, family, and business partners that have shared our pages and services. We are so excited to make services and ideas that once seemed unattainable for local businesses and organizations, a reality!
Contact Info:
- Address: 261 W Rittenhouse St, Houston, TX 77076
- Website: https://www.connectmediafirm.com/
- Phone: 832-661-3510
- Email: ilse.gonzalez@connectmediafirm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectmediafirm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectmediafirm/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/connectmediahou
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