Why does shit always happen to me in weird ways?

So I am up at the skate park talking with some buddies of mine about random stuff and picking up some shooting work with a couple local skaters and such. So this older guy I talk to here and there starts talking to me about skate shooting and where I come from in my style etc.

So I explain to him about my feelings on the style I prefer and how the newer stuff is just another shot to me and I stopped buying skate rags because of it. So he looks me dead in the face and says, "So lets start a skate magazine".

I chuckle and say that I have been thinking about it but not sure I am ready to carry a magazine on my back right now...but it's a nice thought (of course still thinking its a joke of sorts). So he asks me what we need to get rolling. I let him know what it would basically take and he starts trying to figure out writing staff and layout people. Starts figuring the cost for the first three issues and asking me if I know any publishing houses to do this.

Ummmm......

So anyways I know this guy and he is pretty much a no BS guy but not sure I am ready to make an investment of this amount right now. How the hell do this things seem to fall into my lap in times of transition?

 

Sounds like you got yourself in a pickle..

He offered it to you, so your not gonna start off with an obligation to do it. If you don't feel you can pursue it, tell him.

 

Yeah well the problem is that I want to do it, but the financial investment scares me a little.

I think I am going to discuss it a bit further with him and see what we can figure out and figure out investment wise.

 

Start with a zine.

 

try to line up investors? line on sponsors and advertisers? then take that and a hopefully well written business development plan to a bank for a business loan.

or you can form a corporation first then do the above to minimize financial risk to yourself but that can take anywhere from 1-6months.

 

That was something I had mentioned as well but to get a larger publish really isn't that much more cost and I have a connection with a distributorship already because of my work with the other magazine.

 

Well the investors would be myself and this other guy. And ownership would be dependent on intial investment pushed into a LLC rather than a corp heading. It is easier and just as safe to enter as an LLC rather than a corporation.

The advertisers would basically be the investors after the intial two publishings so out of pocket really isn't a huge thing but still a big lump sum to think about (20-40k +/-).

 

It sounds like a cool idea, however, there are already lots of skate mags that have been around for some time, and have a super loyal fan base. It would be difficult for a new mag to get readers nationwide, compete with the other mags, and make money. It would probably take quite a bit of time to break even....but thats how every mag starts out. The safe way to do it would definitely be getting larger companies to front some costs.

 

Yeah but if you get larger companies involved they end up dictating your format and content and the founders are nothing more than figureheads in the end.

Corporate ownership does mean big money and no risk, but it also means having to sell out to a large degree in a lot of areas

 

If you really want to, do it. You have less time than you think. Worst you could do is lose some money. Money is one of those things you can always get more of.