PRIME business club

“Services are falling away thick and fast. There are fewer post offices, fewer bus services. Villagers were in danger of becoming isolated from one another.” This was the thought process that sparked Ann Davidson into creating My Village News, a local magazine which is attempting to bring her community back together.

After being made redundant from her job in newspaper advertising, Ann, 57, saw a need for a magazine in rural Cheshire where she lives. What started as a small idea is now well on the way to becoming a big success story. The monthly magazine My Village News has just celebrated its first anniversary, with 12 issues published.

“We started modestly in May last year with 24 pages”, says Ann, “and delivered to two-and-a-half thousand homes and businesses. Now we are averaging about 50 pages - and we deliver to over 5,200 homes”.

Ann and her husband John deliver all the issues themselves, which takes about eight days a month to do. What makes the task more arduous is that My Village News is aimed at a rural readership. In rural communities houses aren’t always easy to reach. Indeed, many free newspaper teams don’t bother to find the more difficult country addresses, but Ann and her husband feel it’s important to deliver to everybody. They laugh about the trials of finding the elusive letterboxes and the long drive-ways. “We’ve got to know the dogs - and which ones are friendly and which to avoid!”

Local advertisers fund the magazine. Ann believes one reason the magazine is doing so well is that people are moving away from buying from large chains, preferring instead to put their trust in local retailers and produce. For example Ann’s father’s freezer recently broke down - and one of the magazine’s advertisers not only delivered a new freezer and set it up, but packed up the old freezer and put it out for the council to collect. As long as people are happy to support their local advertisers, Ann is confident the magazine will be well funded.

However, My Village News isn’t all about business. It also contains free listings for local events such as fetes, proms and charity events, reviews of local pubs and eateries and editorial features. Ann and her husband write and produce the magazine entirely themselves, sending the final disk to the printers in nearby Nantwich.

Ann’s advice to others thinking of starting a business is to do plenty of research first. For example, Ann came to the conclusion that delivery had to be a high priority, to make sure enough readers were genuinely receiving copies. This would then increase the chance of advertisers getting a good response – which is what drives the long-term commercial viability of the business.

Ann turned to PRIME for encouragement after a friend suggested them. “We went to see PRIME within our first three months. I wanted some advice about the insurance I’d need to cover my business. I used PRIME to discuss ideas and thoughts, and used them as a sounding board. They are very approachable, and always returned my calls.”

Ann suggests making full use of your own experience. “After being made redundant, your first instinct might be to do something completely different. But consider the experience that you have gained in the workplace, and think about going with something you are familiar with. Selling advertising is second nature to me.”

Compared to Ann’s old office routine working on a newspaper, the hours that she works now suit her much better. She can fit magazine work around looking after her grandchild.