SoKy Local Business or "SoKybiz"

I’ve taken some criticism from a few friends and associates about starting a publishing company in 2007. It’s understandable with all of the bad press, declining margins and circulation drops that people would be concerned for me. Overall, it’s not going so bad for my little magazine and we just published our 12 issue which is nearly double the page count and advertisers. I wrote about it briefly on my personal blog http://blog.davidfrancis.org. In short, I’m very pleased and encouraged by the results of our labors, even so much as to have registered a few new domain names today and have started writing another business plan and restructure of my publishing efforts.

My idea was not to become another news source. I felt we have a glut of news on TV, in print and on the internet. My idea was not to copy any other publication at all, but to create a product that I longed for. My motivation was selfish you could say because I created something that I would read. I also felt that if I worked hard to help my community, I would be rewarded through loyalty and pride in the product. I feel it is working.

When I first started blogging in 2005, I made mention about the demise of the newspaper as we know it. I expressed my opinion even more recently that the business model of daily newspapers is flawed or even broken, but I do not suggest it is beyond repair. Far from it actually.

Today, when I was supposed to be working I found myself surfing some blogs and websites I enjoy reading and ran across an interesting new (to me) section of Advertising Age. It’s called, “The Newspaper Death Watch.” In the comments, I found another blog titled the same. It’s interesting that people much smarter and more informed are making the same observations I have. That something is broken and needs to be fixed.

Reference http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=126685  & http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/ 

I’ve had several interesting discussions this week with editors and publishers, not so much about the demise of the newspaper, but some of the flaws or ways to improve or enhance them. I’ve exchanged e-mail with some who want to know what I think the solution is. I play my cards a little closer to the vest these days and don’t share all of my ideas like I used to, but I have listened carefully to what others have said. More importantly, I have also been able to interpret the motivations and passions that ultimately are the root of the issue with many small daily newspapers.

Another interesting development over the past several weeks, I’ve had three different publications contact me for advice. No... I didn’t share any, I’m not stupid. But it does make me feel good that other people see something in my publication that they want for their own.

Correction, a forth publication contacted me from Biloxi MS, an automotive weekly classified. She honored me through her words and said that she picked up a copy of SOKY Happenings at the Corvette Museum while passing through from up north. She said she picks up everything she can for good ideas and in her words, “Your magazine is the best one I found, so great in fact that I wanted to call and tell you. I also want to know how you do it.” I told her everything from software to technical details and even provided a potential source for printing that would increase her quality and lower her cost. I’m not stingy, just careful. (grin)

My point is that I did not set out to create another newspaper. That would be stupid! I set out to create something I felt the community would enjoy and be an effective method of advertising for our sponsors. I didn’t copy what anyone else was doing, I did something different. The difference shows in our publication, so much so that other publishers want me to share my secrets.

Note: I have a 3x5 card near my monitor that reads; “If you want things to be different, you have to be willing to do different things.” The same goes for this product; I wanted something different and created it.

On a more useful note: (grin)
Another key to the level of success we have achieve is my willingness to do whatever it takes. Also that of my wife, her commitment has been amazing. I have not tried to do things that I cannot accomplish myself or that would cost more than I could afford. I stayed within my personal skill set so I didn’t have to rely on anyone. Sure, I had to learn many new skills and make some investment, but the bottom line (which I have written about many times) is that I needed to keep my overhead low and only attempt what I could accomplish myself. Fortunately, willing contributors came forward and I received invaluable help with graphics, illustration, layout and technical advice from people I never even knew before I got into this business. I was willing to open my mind and learn new ways of doing things and that my friends is what has allowed us to achieve what we have in only 1 year.

Now I admit, my skill set is a little more diverse than the average Joe, but I really had no idea how to publish a monthly magazine when I set out to do it. I just did what had to be done and it all came together. Today, the software and hardware I use is different, my daily routine is different, even the language I use is different because I was willing and able to learn it. There is much more I will have to learn, but I have been going at a pace that I can keep up without having to depend on others.

I hope you find some encouragement in my words and that my journey might inspire you to keep up the good fight and go for your dream. I am and it feels great. Sure, I’ve failed a number of times, but like Nemo, I just keep swimming.

Thanks for reading.
~ David Francis

Labels: personal, print publishing, small business, Soky Happenings

This was posted by SoKy : 2:48 PM  0 comments links to this post

So far so good for the year; I’ve posted one blog per week. Okay, it’s only the first week and time will tell if I live up to my commitment but I have received more incentive to blog more frequently. I received an invitation to join the Forbes Business and Financial Blog Network from the membership manager herself.

I must admit, I was highly skeptical and replied to the invitations twice to make sure it was for real. I also searched her name and phone number just to get a “warm fuzzy.” Forbes was patient and replied to me both times assuring me that it was on the up and up. So here I am! I filled out the paperwork and am waiting for marching orders.

So what’s next? This new membership plus my own commitment to the small business community puts my plan to upgrade this blog in overdrive. I will be importing the old blogs and categorizing them in a new custom solution. This may take some time and I will do my best not to break the existing pages, but it will allow me to read each post, choose to revise it, remove it or include it with some categorization and keyword tagging.

I’m shooting for a minimum of one blog per week to be published on Mondays though I’ve had several ideas for blogs since I posted this week. The third week of the month will be the most difficult because that is when I go to press with my print magazine.

The plan: Move this domain to a new server and change the blog engine I use to post. I will put all current pages on the new server and redirect as each is moved to the ASP.NET system. What’s most difficult about this process is the changed page names (from .asp to .aspx). This is all very technical but it underscores my opinion that when moving an existing website to a different system, every effort should be made to keep from breaking links. It’s very similar to filing an address change form when moving to another office. This is not the technology blog so I won’t bore you with the details.

Labels: blogging, personal

This was posted by SoKy : 4:26 AM  0 comments links to this post