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

Hi Karla, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Miami Kids Magazine started when I became a mom for the first time. I was pregnant and with many questions about what to do with my life. I moved to the United States when I was 24 years old. My family was in my home country and my closest friends too. I didn’t know who could help me with advice about my pregnancy. So I went online, and it was overwhelming.

I started with a pre-natal course and noticed that many other pregnant moms had the same questions as me. Miami is a city where many people come and go; many people were not born here. They moved here in their later years like me, having that missing feeling of not having the right direction in something as important as being a new parent.

I started to write many of these questions in a notebook. Questions like “Do we need a pediatrician even when the baby is not born yet? How many kinds of strollers are on the market? What is the best baby bottle among the 1,000 types to choose from? Do I need to register my baby on a pre-school waiting list at one year old? OMG! Which school is going to be the right one for my son? ….

I decided to start a publication to serve as advice for all the local Florida moms! A media guide where they can connect directly to find the best answer right away!

I knew that I wanted to have a second child, so I decided to wait until my second child was at least one year old and had to finish breastfeeding, so I had more time to dedicate to this project. With my second child, I had more questions written in that notebook.

In this process, five years had passed, and my notebook of questions was pretty full. Finally, it was about time for the launch to the public “Miami Kids Magazine.”

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 have a Master’s Degree in Marketing. I studied Communication Science. I loved what I studied, and I continue learning every day. My father was a magazine publisher in my country of birth, Lima, Peru. He was also a TV and radio host. So I grew up learning the process of how to make a magazine. I was entirely sure that I wanted to go in the same direction.

Miami Kids Magazine is not only a print magazine. We also have an online and virtual magazine. www.MiamiKidsMagazine.com Bi-weekly newsletters, we manage our social media accounts @MiamiKidsMagaine and organize many events with more than 5,000 attendees who like our publication.

Our mission is to provide information to families about nutrition, education, art, places to visit, medical advice, and much more. Additionally, we are inclusive, and we integrate exceptional children into society. We have a big responsibility as a local media resource in our community, and we take it seriously.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Before publishing the magazine, many people told me that this industry was harsh, the market was very competitive, and I should reconsider my decision.

I was 100% sure of my decision, and I continued. Now we are celebrating five years, and all these people who advised me were right, but I love what I do, and I’m surrounded by a great team that believes in the same idea as me, to make a difference in our community and be inclusive!

We survived COVID with the support of our partners, who also believed in us. As a result, we are stronger than ever and with many new ideas to develop as part of our publication. I have the same energy and passion as I had the first day when I started with the notebook.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The new way to communicate with many people these days is through social media. As I mentioned before, for MKM, it is very important to have that direct connection with our readers, for them to be able to ask questions, leave comments, and find immediate answers. We try to guide them with the resources we have accessed over the years to help them. We have a social media specialist attending to our account during business hours and sometimes after hours, including weekends, to be there for each of our readers. Each person is very important to us.

We are so happy that many families were able to solve their problems thanks to our platforms. Our readers respond to us to say thank you, and that makes us feel that our mission is accomplished!

Now with the magazine and all the related platforms, our readers have everything that I wish I could find when I was pregnant. I’m so proud of it!

The most important objective is to be authentic. Focus on your target audience and the content they are expecting from your business. Sometimes people only care about the number of social media followers instead of the quality of your content that will bring you, real people. You want people that interact with you and trust you. This is how you build long-term success like Miami Kids Magazine. We are so proud to be celebrating our 5th anniversary.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MiamiKidsMagazine.com
• Instagram: @MiamiKidsMagazine
• Facebook: @MiamiKidsMagazine
• Youtube: Miami Kids Magazine
• Other: You can register to receive our bi-weekly newsletter on our web page www.MiamiKidsMagazine.com