August 6, 2007
Paw print | A chat with Holly Sherburne, founder of Downeast Dog News in Rockland
Founded: May 2006
Startup costs: $20,000
Employees: Sherburne, plus four part-time freelancers (bookkeeper, ad sales representative, editor and graphic designer)
Revenue, year one: $60,000
Projected revenue, year two: $110,000
Contact: 273-6248
PO Box 945, Rockland 04841
www.downeastdognews.com
How did you get the idea for the paper?
Although I grew up here in Maine, partway through college I went out West and lived in Oregon for about 13 years. And when I was in the Portland, Oregon, area I came across a free, monthly dog newspaper and I looked forward to reading it every month. And so I always knew I wanted to move back to Maine, and I had it in the back of my mind that [the paper] would be fun to start and could be successful here. So once I did move back [in 2004 for a job at Bowdoin College as a Web content producer] I did some research and it took me about a year and a half, but I finally put a business plan together and that's when I started it.
How did you learn to write a business plan?
Research on the Web primarily. There's really good small-business resources out there. There's a lot of stuff from the state of Maine. And Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset is where I received my small- business loan. They had some information as well. I received a loan from them for $16,500.
What topics do you cover?
I always have a section called Hot Dog News. It's news blurbs about who's opening a business or who's relocated or gotten an award. I always have at least two or three educational articles ˆ we've covered heartworm, ear infections, canine bloat. I write a dog-jobs profile, where I talk with somebody who works in a dog-related field. There's always a calendar of events to let people know what's going on in terms of dog-related events in the state. And then I have a section [about] dogs for adoption from either an animal shelter or a rescue group.
Do you have a background in the dog-care industry?
I don't specifically have a background related to the dog business. But I have two dogs of my own. I have a 10-year-old black lab mix and a 10-year-old Australian cattle dog. The way I view my role is I'm providing a vehicle for information about dogs to be shared around the state. I really look to the experts like trainers and veterinarians to write the articles because they are the experts.
How do you land advertisers?
I started out by hitting the road. I had a mock-up of what the newspaper would look like and I talked to people to find out if they'd be interested in carrying this free newspaper in their store or office. And I broached the topic of advertising and a lot of people asked about it as well. I mailed out several hundred postcards to dog businesses announcing this new paper. It was an unfilled niche and people in the dog business arena realized they could use this as a vehicle to capture their target audience. In the August issue I counted 68 different advertisers.
You publish Downeast Dog News monthly, how many copies do you print per issue?
The first issue was May 2006. I printed 10,000. I've been printing 14,000, for example, in July, and most of those issues ended up being gone after about two weeks. I think a lot of it's due to a lot of tourists in the state, so for August, I'm printing 15,000 copies.
What are your main expenses?
The biggest expense is definitely printing. I print at Lincoln County Publishing in Newcastle. Distributing the paper is another significant expense. I have family members who help. I also have some volunteers, and advertisers who I'm able to trade some advertising with to help me get it distributed. When you talk about expenses, a lot of my time and energy is spent on the content and making sure that it's high quality. Finding writers is challenging. I have a wonderful base of writers, but I'm always looking for more.
Did you consider doing an online-only publication?
That's always crossed my mind given the cost of printing the paper and distributing the paper. But I think there's something to being able to pick up the paper and hold it in your hands and spend time flipping the pages.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
Startup costs: $20,000
Employees: Sherburne, plus four part-time freelancers (bookkeeper, ad sales representative, editor and graphic designer)
Revenue, year one: $60,000
Projected revenue, year two: $110,000
Contact: 273-6248
PO Box 945, Rockland 04841
www.downeastdognews.com
How did you get the idea for the paper?
Although I grew up here in Maine, partway through college I went out West and lived in Oregon for about 13 years. And when I was in the Portland, Oregon, area I came across a free, monthly dog newspaper and I looked forward to reading it every month. And so I always knew I wanted to move back to Maine, and I had it in the back of my mind that [the paper] would be fun to start and could be successful here. So once I did move back [in 2004 for a job at Bowdoin College as a Web content producer] I did some research and it took me about a year and a half, but I finally put a business plan together and that's when I started it.
How did you learn to write a business plan?
Research on the Web primarily. There's really good small-business resources out there. There's a lot of stuff from the state of Maine. And Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset is where I received my small- business loan. They had some information as well. I received a loan from them for $16,500.
What topics do you cover?
I always have a section called Hot Dog News. It's news blurbs about who's opening a business or who's relocated or gotten an award. I always have at least two or three educational articles ˆ we've covered heartworm, ear infections, canine bloat. I write a dog-jobs profile, where I talk with somebody who works in a dog-related field. There's always a calendar of events to let people know what's going on in terms of dog-related events in the state. And then I have a section [about] dogs for adoption from either an animal shelter or a rescue group.
Do you have a background in the dog-care industry?
I don't specifically have a background related to the dog business. But I have two dogs of my own. I have a 10-year-old black lab mix and a 10-year-old Australian cattle dog. The way I view my role is I'm providing a vehicle for information about dogs to be shared around the state. I really look to the experts like trainers and veterinarians to write the articles because they are the experts.
How do you land advertisers?
I started out by hitting the road. I had a mock-up of what the newspaper would look like and I talked to people to find out if they'd be interested in carrying this free newspaper in their store or office. And I broached the topic of advertising and a lot of people asked about it as well. I mailed out several hundred postcards to dog businesses announcing this new paper. It was an unfilled niche and people in the dog business arena realized they could use this as a vehicle to capture their target audience. In the August issue I counted 68 different advertisers.
You publish Downeast Dog News monthly, how many copies do you print per issue?
The first issue was May 2006. I printed 10,000. I've been printing 14,000, for example, in July, and most of those issues ended up being gone after about two weeks. I think a lot of it's due to a lot of tourists in the state, so for August, I'm printing 15,000 copies.
What are your main expenses?
The biggest expense is definitely printing. I print at Lincoln County Publishing in Newcastle. Distributing the paper is another significant expense. I have family members who help. I also have some volunteers, and advertisers who I'm able to trade some advertising with to help me get it distributed. When you talk about expenses, a lot of my time and energy is spent on the content and making sure that it's high quality. Finding writers is challenging. I have a wonderful base of writers, but I'm always looking for more.
Did you consider doing an online-only publication?
That's always crossed my mind given the cost of printing the paper and distributing the paper. But I think there's something to being able to pick up the paper and hold it in your hands and spend time flipping the pages.
Interview by Kerry Elson
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
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