Asian Wisconzine is one year old. My baby has started to "walk" and create some noise. When I think about its early days, I thought that its survival during the first year would be uncertain because as a business startup, it was comparable to a newborn in a single-parent home with no real resources but the guts of its mother. Indeed, it was pure determination and hard work that delivered such a figment of my imagination to fruition.
My confidence generally stemmed from many years of work experience in editing, publishing, and managing people. After completing a business plan during a three-month StartSmart workshop conducted by the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation, I started telling people about my magazine, distributing questionnaires, and convincing a core of Asian Americans in Madison to provide Asian Wisconzine's editorial direction. I used up what little savings I had to send out flyers and subscription forms to more than 6,000 target readers. I availed myself of 18-month no-interest offers to purchase an 8-megapixel digital camera, a laptop computer, and a color printer. Months of sleepless nights working on the magazine's design and Web site left me with eyebags that never went away. My little one-bedroom condominium unit has become a "war zone" where office equipment and boxes of research documents and supplies fight for space, forcing my treadmill and stationary bike to retire prematurely in a corner, gathering dust. My center table has become littered with boxes of index cards and folders for future stories, while my dining table has doubled as a working table as well.
Subscriptions and advertising did not come easy. There were moments when I wanted to cry for not being able to get an ad for which we had worked so hard to solicit, or for not getting subscriptions from my own acquaintances or even from Filipino Americans! But there were victorious moments as well. One of them was when Madison Gas and Electric Company decided to support Asian Wisconzine by placing full-page, full-color ads on the back page for 12 straight months. Another was when the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) got 104 paid subscriptions for all its schools.
Bringing Asian Wisconzine to life was the most difficult challenge I have had. But I have been blessed with many friends who did not allow me to suffer alone. Asian Wisconzine would not have been as diverse as it is and issue-rich in coverage without our volunteer writers -- the Editorial Advisory Board and columnists (see our Powerhouse) -- and our freelance writers. Doug Haynes cleaned and refined Asian Wisconzine's masthead. Jon Gramling shared much of his technical and editing expertise. Agnes Cammer was a loyal advisor. Kerri Meulemans submitted wonderful interviews. Jenny Lee's assertive personality provided numerous paid ads before Smart Motors (Toyota) discovered her talent. Anita Martin wrote "Happenings" and sold ads as well. And Jim Webendorfer and his staff at Wingra Press helped create Asian Wisconzine's personality at a par with other local publications.
Thanks to all of you! I pray that we continue to nourish Asian Wisconzine with love and affection so that this baby will grow to be a caring, responsible, and enlightening publication for many years to come! |
