The magazine Motto has ceased publication. Started as Worthwhile, the magazine espoused a mission of "purpose, passion, and profit" and had a strong subtext of sustainability and social responsibility. I was a blogger for the magazine in its early days and am sorry to see it go.
I am curious about its demise given my own interest in both publishing and social enterprise. Though I can only speculate from afar, I see three reasons that Motto failed:
1) It was principally a print publication at a time when off-line media is having a tough time. A glossy magazine is an expensive proposition in the best of times; given the current climate, it would be tough to make a new entry fly even with deep pockets and an editorial focus on celebrity gossip never mind a niche focus like finding deeper purpose through business;
2) It was an advertising-driven business model. The magazine never had very many ad pages and ad dollars are shifting on-line (see item above). It is enormously expensive to get up to the circulation numbers that attract national advertisers. Given the niche market, I would have at least experimented with a higher subscription price to make the publication less dependent on space advertising;
3) They were under capitalized. The publication ceased operations after four years. It typically takes seven years for a magazine to reach profitability. Unless you have deep, deep pockets, it is difficult to survive that long. I would have started on-line and only gone to paper when I could demonstrate market demand for it.
Founders Anita Sharpe and Kevin Salwen may have been ahead of their time. Social enterprise is much hotter now than it was four years ago. They may also have cast their net too wide: they were about finding purpose in work no matter the type of organization for which one worked although they featured a lot of what one would call social enterprises. A tighter bead on being the journal for the movement might have helped.
I'll miss Motto and wish Anita and Kevin the best of luck in their next adventure.
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1 comment:
Eric,
great blog you've started here, with interesting topics. I also have a social enterprise blog at SEReporter.com/seblog which I invite you to peruse and comment on. I agree with your comments on Motto, and have similar concerns about prospects for Good, and my own online newsletter, the Social Enterprise Reporter. I've been trying to make a go of it as a subscriber-supported venture, but haven't reached breakeven after three years. Since most social enterprises are in a fairly specific industry their information needs are most often related to that product or service. Nonetheless I'm still hopeful about growing SER into a print publication for TBL entrepreneurs.
Best wishes, Tom
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