Home Business Idea: Start A Local Magazine

While many dream of owning a global business, some home-based entrepreneurs are finding success right in their own back yard by publishing a local directory or magazine.

Remember a few years ago when everyone saw the Internet and had dreams of starting businesses that could be global right from the start? It was a big deal and why not? Up until then, it was very difficult (not to mention expensive) to start a home-based business that stretched much beyond your backyard. The Internet changed that and it really leveled the playing field.

Now, it seems that we are starting to see the pendulum swing back the other way. Many business owners are looking to their local markets for their business success. Local publishing offers a great way to capitalize on this market.

If you’ve ever gone out to eat or to the hair salon, you’ve most likely picked up one of these publications. They are often free and contain short stories and lots of ads for local businesses. Some of these publications are a few black and white pages, while others are glossy, full-color digests. Either way, the basic principles are the same.

Most of these publications are advertiser supported, meaning the publication is distributed to readers for free and the advertisers pay the cost of production and distribution. Short articles are usually included in the publications in order to increase readership and shelf life.

One word of warning here. All businesses require work and a certain level of energy, but this business model is likely more demanding than many. After all, you will be wearing a lot of hats in this business. There are many things to do, such as:

• Selling the ads
• Laying out the pages
• Editing the stories
• Arranging for printing
• Distributing the publication
• Billing the customers
• All the other work that goes with running a business.

Of course, you can outsource many of these tasks, but you’re still responsible to make sure they get done. That requires some energy.

You may also need considerable capital to start your business. After all, printing is not cheap. If you’ve purchased paper recently, you can see that it can be quite expensive. Fortunately, you will most likely be selling ads to cover the cost of your first issue so your out-of-pocket costs will be reduced. Just remember, you still have to have promotional materials in order to get customers. This is especially true when you’re drumming up business for your first issue, since you don’t have a physical example of your publication to show your prospective clients.

In researching this article, I found three companies that offer packages to help you get started in this type of business:

1. Hoo Knows – They publish several different “community digest” publications for you to choose from. Some of their titles are “Kids & Families,” “Biz2Biz,” “Home & Garden,” “Food & Spirits,” among others. Their publications are full-color, glossy digest-sized booklets. According to their advertising, they offer support in training you to start and run your business. Since their publications are not currently distributed in my area, I have not come across one “in the wild,” but the sample they sent looks really sharp. The letter I received mentions that they normally charge $4950 to license one of their publications for your area. Now, however, they are offering it at the reduced price of $995. You can read more about it at www.hoo-knows.com.
2. Coffee News – Now, I must confess that I really enjoy this publication and I pick one up every time I see it. Coffee News is a 8 or 12 page black & white publication with short stories or jokes and lots of local ads. Overall, it’s very interesting reading and I can’t tell you how much this publication helped us find local businesses when we first moved to our current home four years ago. Coffee News offers franchises with protected territories. I couldn’t find a franchise fee on their website, but I believe it to be several thousand dollars to start. You can find out more at www.coffeecupusa.com.
3. Tidbits. Tidbits is more like a tabloid or newspaper in format. Again, they don’t have them in my area so I have not reviewed the publication. The publication samples on their website look very interesting and inviting. Like the other two companies, they also offer a protected territory. Check out www.tidbitsweekly.com for more information.

PROS & CONS OF BUYING A FRANCHISE

PROS

• Established system – You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
• Name recognition – You are starting with a familiar brand
• Help & Support – Most franchise operators offer full support and training

CONS

• Very expensive – You can expect to spend hundreds or (more likely) thousands of dollars to get started plus additional fees as you go along.
• Lack of choice regarding vendors – You usually have to use the franchise operator’s approved vendors and that stops you from looking for other, possibly more cost-effective suppliers.
• Strict rules - Most franchises have strict rules governing what you can and cannot do in your business
• No chance to build your brand or expand.

Obviously, you don’t have to buy a franchise to tap into this market, you can certainly “go it on your own” if you like. Of course, that is up to you. Some people may prefer to spend the money on a franchise in order to have an established system and, if that’s you, that is great! It’s all about what works best for you. On the other hand, if money is tight and you want to get started with a minimum of cash outlay, going it alone is probably your best option.

Whether you want to go it alone or you want to learn more about this type of business before buying a franchise, I really do suggest that you read a great book called “Publish Your Own Magazine, Guidebook or Weekly Newspaper” by Thomas A. Williams, Ph.D. This book is excellent and will give you a good, in-depth view of a successful local publishing business.

Now, I must warn you that this book is a bit dated. It was published in 2004 and technology has changed a bit in that time. Even so, it is still a great read and it is packed full of great information on starting and running your publishing business. It covers everything from start-up considerations to marketing to finance as well as the actual publishing process. For a retail price of less than $20, it’s a no-brainer.

I hope that this article has given you something to think about.

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