Murphy's Law states that "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." In no two forums is that law more applicable than foster care and magazine publishing. I’m sure there are thousands of occupations and situations where that is true, but I run a magazine about foster care, so just go with it.
Each month, after the completion of the last issue, I prepare with a new vigor.
I INTEND for everything to go smooth as silk, after all, I’m 45 issues into this thing, should be second nature by now. Should run like clockwork. Think about your job though, how often do things go smooth? How often are there no hiccups?
Now imagine you have to do EVERY. SINGLE. JOB in the building. Billing? That’s you. Shipping? That’s you too. Production? Well, you do every job, you can figure it out. That’s my life. I do every job. Happily, mind you, but I still do every job.
With so many responsibilities it’s easy to see how some things may fall through the cracks.
I’m not much for excuses; when things go wrong I figure why not just own it. You are clearly smart people. Surely you understand that there are some things that are out of my control. Maybe that’s why I haven’t let too many people help me with this magazine.
I’m celebrating my 12th anniversary with my wife this month so clearly I have no trust issues. However, I have been wary of letting any outsiders into the Foster Focus world.
This line isn’t going to make sense to anyone who doesn’t run their own business, though I suppose it is relatable to those who run a household. With so many different things to worry about, I prefer that I be the one who has to worry about them. I told you it wouldn’t make sense.
Here’s what I mean; when the printing of the magazine was a problem last year, I felt hopeless; I had no control over my own product. There wasn’t anything I could do. It wasn’t my company printing the magazine. Wasn’t my timeline or my priority qualifiers. I was held back for bigger projects, stopped in the middle of printing because my numbers were too low to rate. I didn’t complain. I kept working.
The phone calls came to me. The screaming customers vented their frustrations in my ear. The cancellations, the hurt feelings and the refunds all came from my overworked email and wallet. I spent the nights worrying and the days explaining myself. It sucked. Not being able to control my own fate gave me the same feelings I had while I was in care. It’s a horrible feeling to have.
I fought through, changed printers and things improved. But I’m not nearly where I think the magazine should be.
Lateness (is that really a word?) has become an issue. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to lock in on as the root problem. It’s where that Murphy’s Law thing comes into play.
The magazine ending up in your mailbox or office late can be traced back to a few different problems, depending on the month.
The first big problem I have is that my Columnists are too important.
I managed to assemble this high powered stable of top tier Columnists and I forgot to account for how damn busy they are. So gracious are they to lend me, us, their time and expertise in these monthly columns but on occasion, they get too bogged down with their primary responsibilities. When this happens I do a lot of stalling, a lot of biding my time. How does a punk like me tell a CEO or Professor that they are late? It’s tough. Luckily, these great folks understand that I understand. I understand how many directions they are pulled in. I understand that their first job is to take care of their business and then their families. How they find the time to help me out is the stuff of legends (too much? I get carried away but you get it, these folks are busy and they’re doing me a solid.).
So in summation; occasionally columns come in late despite best intentions. No amount of planning can account for life happening and I roll with it.
The second problem is a feeling everyone has; where’s my money?!?!
When I manage to find the chance to sell an advertisement in this fine publication I’m ecstatic. I sold cars before the magazine so the thrill of the sale still gets me. Here’s the thing, ain’t nobody got time for that! Just assembling the magazine, coordinating the stories, keeping up with the website, updating the headlines online weekly and taking care of my 3 kids takes up 20 hours of each day. I only sleep like an hour a day so in those other 3 hours I have to decide between mag improvement and growth or ad sales. I pick magazine improvements 9 times out of 10. Hopefully that won’t hurt me in the long run but it’s all I have time for. If this magazine sucks then no one would buy it and therefore there would be no need for advertisers anyway.
My plan has always been to follow the “Field of Dreams” mantra of “If you build it, they will come”. I give you and the world a quality product and the readers appear. Check. When the readers appear then the advertisers will see the audience they have yet to address. Check…kinda. And with the advertisers comes money to pay for the printing and grow the magazine. Checkish?
At present, it’s a little spotty. Surely if I had more time or a dedicated sales team there would be a nest egg from which to pull print money, I’m not quite there yet. The magazine does well but not profitable, well, Not yet. Occasionally I will find myself in dire need of an ad check to come in. Its destination isn’t me. Its journey goes from the advertiser directly to the printer. I have been so lucky to have had an advertiser decide to go with Foster Focus at the best times; the times when the money is almost gone. I get an amazing deal on printing, people have really gotten behind the magazine and given me every chance to succeed but printing is still crazy expensive. Again, not a complaint, just the reality of life as an independent publisher of a national magazine (seriously, who’d complain about that?)
To sum this little section up; sometimes I nearly run out of money. Or checks come later than expected. It happens. I imagine it happens to a lot of businesses in the initial years of growth. They say a business fails in the first 5 years, well, we’ll be there in a year and I’m taking every step to ensure I pass that mark with steam behind me. A sales staff for advertising is being assembled (finding time to put together a great media kit has proven tough), comprised of former foster kids from across the country.
Plans are also in the works to create a call center for subscription sales. Up to this point, subscribing online has been the only option. In addition to that, my big mouth has been the only voice shouting about subscribing. This should fix that. The call center won’t be a physical location, that’s not financially possible; instead it will be a new way of doing things. Cell phones and former (maybe current kids over 18) foster kids will amplify my voice and reach more people and offices than I could ever hope to alone. Even with the social media reach the magazine has, only so many folks can be reached.
Back to the last problem I have (sorry, typical rant but I bring it back around). The final problem has plagued me since birth (I assume, who’s memory goes back that far?). I’m almost always late. I follow the Coach Wooden (UCLA, Google it) philosophy that if you are on time you are late. I always plan to arrive at whatever destination 15 minutes before the intended appointment. I NEVER arrive on time. Preparation doesn’t matter, when I leave doesn’t matter, nothing matters, I WILL be late.
It goes back to the Murphy’s Law rule. I don’t know why. Call it bad luck. Call it poor driving or planning skills. Call it what you will but some force has always caused me to be late.
I apologize and smile through it all. What else can I do but try to improve? I don’t beat myself up over it anymore. Someone smarter than me told “Life happens. Roll with it and do the best you can.”
So I do that, with the promise that I will continue to improve and we can revisit this in 10 years.
Murphy’s Law or not, the magazine and I will still be here, rolling along.
Enjoy the issue.
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski