Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeffrey Gomez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

My biggest risk was leaving the traditional workforce and a steady paycheck and starting my own business. It was difficult to leave a job where I had health benefits and a paycheck I could count on. When I started my business, I had zero source of income and relied completely on savings and cutting back on my spending. It was extremely difficult and I made no money for 2 years. It was at that point that I was in dire straits, but I knew I could not stop. I just kept my head down and told myself that my hard work, research and skills will lift me up. And it was true, in my darkest hour, I got a big break and that turned into more big breaks. I was soon relieved of financial burdens and my magazine was a success. Now, I don’t worry about money and am quite the leisurely person. I set up my business so it can run without me and I’m glad I did because I take frequent vacations every month. I certainly couldn’t take the amount of vacation days I currently take with a traditional job. For instance, last year I travel 45 times and was gone 3 weeks out of every month. The financial success, the business model were all thought out ahead of time and I’m happy I believed in myself because I could not have what I have not, without the trials and tribulations I went through. It makes everything that much sweeter.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my magazine quite by accident. I have degrees in political science and never thought I’d be a writer, at least not a successful one. When I was in college, I started writing for car magazines because that is where my interests lied. I soon found it to be boring and rather bland. My creative mind wanted something more to write about, so I started a simple blog. It was a much needed outlet for my creative mind to spew out to. I had learned the publishing business from the car magazines I worked at, and so I studied them more and learned from editors and others in the industry. It was only then, when I knew enough about it, that I decided to make my little blog into a full-fledged magazine. I harnessed the connections in the car world I already had and got advertisers and public relations people interested in what I was doing. Soon, my magazine was on par with large corporate entities that were turning over millions in revenue, while I was working all by myself. It was gratifiying that I was getting the same access, trips and gifts that larger magazines were. I kept my head up high, that even though it was just me behind the scenes, I was still viewed and honored as the big players were. My magazine sets itself apart because everything we write about or feature, we have seen it, felt it, heard it, touched it and used it. All of our articles feature first hand reviews. We, unlike most magazines, do not go off of an informational sheet sent to us by public relations or marketing people. We vet everything and we make certain that it is of quality and caliber, worthy of people spending their hard earned money on. We tear down the marketing gimmicks and hype and get to the product and how it functions. We pull no punches in our assessments and people have come to trust us for our honest, sometimes brutally honest reviews.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started my magazine, I had a very good friend working with me. I thought that hiring friends would be great. It wasn’t. He just wasn’t as interested in the magazine as I was. He missed deadlines, was late for work, sometimes never even showed up. I hated this and so I fired him. I had to unlearn that good friends don’t always make good work partners. The problem was, he had an expertise that I didn’t. So I had to rely on him and that irked me so badly. So before I fired him, I learned every aspect of what he was doing for me and I mastered it. So when it came time for him to leave, I was not at his mercy. I could do his job, and mine, and be fine. Sure, it was more work, but I learned a valuable lesson. I never let any aspect of my business run without me knowing full well how to run it. I don’t want to be an anyone’s mercy. I know every facet of my company and I could run it if something happens. I am beholden to no one.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think people view creatives as kooky and aloof. I have to agree to that, but I think there is a pejorative view that follows along that line of thinking, as if we are expendable and not needed in society. Creatives make your advertising, they make the patterns on your bedsheets and the curtains hanging in your room. Creatives are more than just paintings and poetry. We are those that see beauty where there is none. We harness the burgeoning ideas in our heads and focus them on making this world fun and beautiful. We are needed, we are necessary. Creatives simply cannot stop working with these thoughts floating around out heads and when we find out outlet, our passion, nothing can stop us and we just let out a deluge of ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thesnobmagazine.com
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