Early Planning

In looking back to the time when I pondered over my approach to starting the Caribbean Business Digest, I recall two important decisions that had to be made. Those decisions were concerning getting the magazine printed and the frequency of the magazine (weekly, monthly etc). Well, the printing decision had two options really: self- printing or outsourcing. Interestingly this is no different from what a lot of companies do. In the business world, companies routinely have to decide if there are processes that they are better off doing in house or sending out to do. In some cases, these companies have to decide whether the outsourcing will take place overseas (Mexico, China etc). Well, as I thought about whether to self print, my old business classes from way back when came flooding back as I mapped out cost for printer, supplies etc. Well there are a couple of factors that surfaced that rendered that idea unworkable. First, in order to do this I would need a substantial capital outlay for a commercial printer and then would need someone to operate it. After meeting with a couple sales representatives I was convinced that the smart way to go would be to find local printers that perform the service for me. So I performed a search online and found there are numerous options to choose from. Before settling on the printer of my choice I remember sending out for quotes for my media guides and business cards. A few businesses gave me quotes via email without seeing the document that needed printing. In one particular case I got back a quote that I thought was favorable. However after sending the files I was told that the price list was old and the quotes were not accurate. So I asked for a quote from the correct price list to which I was then told that the sort of service I needed could not be met by this company. The company is located in Broward County and I remember thinking that perhaps the owners had a publication of their own and this was their way of stifling the competition. After more rational thinking however, I came to the conclusion that the company itself just did not engage in the printing of magazines. Amid the comical and aggravating times, I finally decided on a print shop to carry out the printing function.

The second decision that I had to make was the frequency of the magazine. Initially I wanted to do it bi-weekly. While ambitious it was not nearly feasible as I found out in putting together the first issue. My preference is for a monthly magazine and I hope to produce the Caribbean Business Digest on a monthly basis in the near future. A bi-weekly magazine would create an enormous amount of work to get the articles written, proofread, edited and properly laid out. At first I thought bi-monthly would have been too far apart for the magazine to keep readers’ interest. Monthly, I believed would have been just right. However, I ended up settling for bi-monthly due to the economic factors. Additionally, bi-monthly allows for adequate time to properly research articles of interest to the targeted readers and gives more time to woo potential advertisers in between issues. I remember meeting a freelance writer from the Sun-Sentinel at a banquet honoring Jamaican entrepreneurs (where I heard a dynamic speech by Aubyn Hill). I shared my idea with her and she asked me a few pointed questions about the project. In the end her advice was to do a bi-monthly publication as this would allow the idea to take root and it would introduce the magazine to readers in a methodical way. Turns out she was right and that is the approach that I will be taking.

With the printing decision and the frequency of the magazine all wrapped up, decisions now center around the articles to include and the approach to take for marketing the magazine to advertisers. I will address these in future blogs.