Two networking events are worth your calendar this month if you're building anything in DFW right now — one this week in Fort Worth, one later this month back in Dallas. What's Actually Happening DFWNC Habanero Hangout — Monday, Aug. 17, 6-8 PM at Habanero's
Five Dallas City Council members want a vote on a new zoning classification built specifically for data centers — a sign the city is done treating massive server farms like any other commercial building permit. What's Actually Happening Five Dallas City Council members are pushing to adopt a data
Dallas police are expanding their AI-powered camera network across the city — and in a rare move of restraint, department leadership says the facial recognition features baked into the hardware won't be activated, at least for now. What's Actually Happening Dallas PD is rolling out more
A balanced contractor lead mix in 2026 looks close to 40% paid (LSAs plus Google Ads), 30% organic and Google Business Profile, 20% referrals and repeat customers, and 10% other (email, SMS, social, direct mail). If you're 80%+ paid, you're one algorithm change away from a
Contractors across HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and electrical are moving away from shared lead marketplaces where you compete with 3-4 other companies for the same homeowner, toward exclusive, high-intent leads that only go to you. Here's how to make that shift without blowing up your lead volume.
HVAC websites convert visitors to leads at about 7.8% on average, but phone leads convert at roughly 46%, nearly six times better. If you're pouring resources into landing page optimization while your phone rings to voicemail, you're optimizing the wrong end of the funnel. What&
Three storylines defined the creator economy this week: paid newsletter revenue on pace for $35M by year end, audience ownership through email becoming a top-3 trend, and sponsorships no longer even the top way creators make money as the $250B creator economy matures. What's Actually Happening Paid
AI workflow automation is now one of the three biggest trends shaping the creator economy. The simplest, highest-leverage use: turning one long-form piece (a newsletter, a video, a podcast episode) into five pieces of derivative content without manually rewriting each one. What's Actually Happening AI workflow
Three numbers should shape your marketing decisions this month: HVAC cost per lead averaging $104 on Google Ads, the 40/30/20/10 lead mix top performers are running, and the 46% vs 7.8% conversion gap between phone and web leads. Here's the roundup. What's
Performance Max campaigns are delivering HVAC leads at $72 on average, compared to $149 for non-branded search, less than half the cost. If you haven't tested Performance Max yet, this is the single fastest budget shift you can make this month. What's Actually Happening Performance
The home services industry keeps expanding even as individual categories get more competitive. Here's the scale of the market you're actually competing in. 2026 by the numbers $463.93 billion — the global home services market size in 2026, up from $424.86 billion in 2025, a
Roll-up activity across the trades hasn't slowed down in 2026. Here's what's actually moving in HVAC, plumbing, and roofing right now. Apollo backs Apex Service Partners at a ~$10 billion valuation. In May 2026, Apollo agreed to put roughly $2 billion into Apex
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SMS is one of the highest-performing channels available to home service businesses right now — it sees roughly a 45% response rate against about 6% for email, with most messages read within three minutes. But in 2026, texting customers without the right setup can get you fined or your number
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The creator economy just crossed a symbolic line — Forbes' 2026 Top Creators list posted more than $1 billion in combined earnings for the first time, while the broader market keeps climbing toward $480–500 billion by 2027. Here is what is actually moving in the data this week. The
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Most new podcasters either underprice their first sponsorship out of fear, or guess a number with no basis and lose the deal. Here's a straightforward way to land on a defensible rate using real 2026 CPM data. Step 1: Get Your Real Download Number Pull your average downloads
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Patreon remains one of the largest direct-support platforms for creators. Here's what the current data actually shows about earnings, active creators, and the direction per-patron support is trending. $2 billion+ — What creators collectively earn annually on Patreon today. $10 billion — Total lifetime payouts to creators on
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A lot moved across the platform landscape this week beyond the usual TikTok and YouTube headlines. Here's a fast rundown. LinkedIn is building a full creator monetization suite for fiscal 2027 (July 2026–June 2027) — internal documents point to a brand deals marketplace, a subscription product for newsletters,
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If your Instagram reach has quietly dropped over the last few months and you can't point to why, check your last 10 posts for one thing: how many are reposts, reaction clips, or aggregated content pulled from other creators without real transformation. Instagram is now running AI detection
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Home Service Growth | Issue #1 Every DFW home service business — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical — is sitting on the same leak. It doesn't show up on a P&L line item. It shows up as a phone that rings and nobody answers. The $138K Leak Here's
FYI Dallas | Issue #7 — Sunday Briefing Good morning, DFW. Here's your Sunday briefing — what moved this week, what to watch next week, and one move worth making today. What Moved This Week in DFW * Home service demand continues to climb with summer temperatures. HVAC companies are reporting booked
FYI Dallas | Issue #6 — Saturday Edition Short one today. You've earned the weekend. One Move Every DFW Entrepreneur Should Make This Weekend Before you get into family time, yard work, or whatever Saturday looks like for you — I want you to spend 20 minutes on one thing: Write
FYI Dallas | Issue #5 — Friday Briefing Happy Friday, DFW. Before you check out for the weekend, here are three moves worth making. Move 1 — Audit your follow-up speed. Pull up your CRM or phone records. How many leads from this week didn't get a same-day follow-
FYI Dallas | Issue #4 We've covered why DFW home services is a wealth-building opportunity, and how to buy a business here. Today — how to fund it. The DFW Funding Playbook Most people think there's only one way to fund a business move: walk into a
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