We recently connected with Eleanor Ward and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eleanor , thanks for joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

I would have my magazine proposal ready so that it can be sent out electronically as well as via snail mail. I would make sure I have a reliable affordable printing company in place before I even start. This is very important, turn around times for magazines are not quick so you have to find an efficient printer that can get you your items quickly and still have them turn out well.

I would secure advertisers for an entire year who either want to repeat their ads or fully commit to one issue. I would do a promotional affiliation product on my magazine website. Of course, I would approach companies directly for advertisements. I would also look to sign up for a blog-specific ad program.

I would approach potential advertisers who have businesses that will tie into specific articles in that first issue or into ongoing topics that will be covered in each issue. I would encourage them to purchase the 12 months’ worth of ads by offering discounts on the advertising space.

Eleanor , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a life coach, I realized after talking to some amazing women how many people’s businesses were not being featured. This realization pushed me to start Prosperity Business Magazine. I feature women in the small business space that are deserving of celebration. Some of these women are millionaires, going beyond giving and exceeding expectations, which is completely amazing!!!

I knew nothing about the magazine industry other than I knew what I wanted to talk about. I knew that I wanted to present my stories in the best possible light. I knew that I was going to have a magazine that the public would like and people want to feature their business in.

These people may be overlooked by large mainstream publications but they can be featured loudly and proudly to my audience. I am proud that while I didn’t take the first steps into the publishing world in the easiest of manners. I did it. I published my first magazine out of pocket for one year bootstrapping it all the way.

I am now of course utilizing advertisers heavily and properly. I have two employees that help put out the magazine. So I employ people that are (in my valley girl voice) simply bodacious to me! My brand is becoming known. I am super excited to be in talks for two book stores and a few libraries. I know it is going to happen I am not worried. We have to push ourselves to get to the next level.

I will be starting an upscale black travel magazine this year with a publishing date in the new year. I am doing this one right, taking time and with other people’s money for sure.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to keep putting stories out there about people of color. All colors, not just mine as an African American. I especially want to give the spotlight over to these boss ladies. I want young ladies to know that you can have thriving businesses too! 

You can push forth to multi-millionaire status! You can be an inventor, an astronaut, a woman of distinction, you can have a non-profit, for-profit, all that, and then some. My parents showed me Town and Country, Connoisseur, Food and Wine, Ebony and Essence.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I almost missed payroll last December. I was completely frantic, I had no photographer, most of my authors had dropped out, and no advertisers. I was pushing to do it anyway. I had my graphic designer start the issue. I flat out knew I was running out of time. I just couldn’t figure out what to do. I had never done a holiday issue and came to realize that people do not stick to deadlines during the holidays.

So that lesson was learned and filed away for the future. I finally had to take the loss and go ahead and cancel the December holiday issue, that felt awful. I felt like the ultimate failure. I could not get one of the issues of my magazine out.

I chose not to share or even ask those in the business for suggestions, the timing, deadlines, and all of it was just gone. Nothing could save me at that point. I didn’t miss payroll completely. I did a partial payment for the work that was done and canceled the remaining contract.

It can be very hard when people do not come through and even harder when we feel we do not have an alternative to come through for ourselves. 

I vowed that would never happen again and it hasn’t. I did ask my industry colleagues what they would have done after it was all over. 

They said simply; eloquently you should have turned it into a New Year’s Issue. I laughed and laughed. I needed that to understand I could have simply extended my time to meet my needs for my business. No matter what by the grace of God I have always been able to make payroll!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prosperitymag.info
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/prosperitybusmag
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/prosperitybusinessmagazine

Image Credits
Krystal Jackson ,Gateway Photography,  Dallas Tawanna and K Jones Photography