A semester in review

This semester, I took a class called Entrepreneurial Journalism. I can confidently spell that word now.

I must say that the semester looked a lot different than I imagined. I was challenged to derive a business out of thin air using my passion and my knowledge. Then I was challeneged to actually formulate what it was; to come up with business plans, spread sheets, presentations to investors.

What I orginally imagined was a pretty easy semester with practical tips to save myself in a changing journalistic world. In a way, that was true. But it was much more than that. I learned what it takes to be a businessman. To devote time, money, energy, and hope to a company that may never give a return. 

I give a big thank you to my retiring professor, Mr. Sandy Marsters, for asking me to do projects I didn't want to do at first. In the end, I think it was a good investment. 

Reviewing other business plans

While we were in class, we had the delightful opportunity to review our friends' business plans for editing. Upon seeing other business plans, I realized that I really liked some simpler, cleaner layouts as opposed to my more decorated one.

One girl made her own logo. Another girl chose a typewriter font. I made my own graphics. In the end, I really liked the simple layouts that were easy on the eyes. Mine was simple, but maybe it could use a more clean-shave.

Then there's the philosophical question: Do I change mine because I like theirs? Or in a pile of business plans, does mine stand out because it isn't as clean shaven as some others? If I conform to be like other business plans, does my business lose some of its originality and flare?

I probably won't change it much after all.

On putting together a business plan

Yesterday, I went through a put together a business plan for my News in Comics company. 

I can honestly say that when I signed up for Entrepreneurial Journalism, I did not expect to come up with a business (or have any good ideas). I did not expect to put together a business plan, think about money, and interview entrepreneurs. 

But what I've come out of it so far with is a deeper understanding and appreciation for what goes into making a business run.

Before this class, I probably never would have thought myself capable of making a company. 

Now that I'm in the middle of making one, it's hard to believe I thought that way for several reasons. 

• Being a businessman is difficult work, but it's also rewarding. 
• I can ask for help. I can hire people. I can start from scratch and spend next to nothing to get things going. 
• I love being creative, and running a business is a golden outlet for it. 

I liked making my business plan for a couple of reasons. To me, it was fun using a Mac template for my presentation. It was fun editing beautiful photos I'd taken and then adding text to them. It was not fun trying to figure out the footer situation, and it didn't print anyway. But what do I have to show for it? A beautiful presentation that actually looks like I put thought and effort into my work. Because I did. 

Post presentation review

Man, I just love when things go exactly as I know they won't.

Today, I finally presented my project idea to the class. I studdered and mumbled in my nervous shell, and my technological wit wasn't savvy enough to put my latest version onto my flash drive. Yes, friends, I have learned a lot today: I'm even less of a public figure than I am a business person!

In all honesty, I think my presentation was a good representation of my ideal company, but I do wish there were more guidelines. For instance, when we started our projects, we were supposed to present them either as if they just started out of thin air, or as if we had run them for a while. Naturally, my I presented as if it's been running because that's what we saw from Shark Tank. And then people got confused. 

In the end, though, I think I've developed a large appreciation for people in business and the backbones of functioning institutions. Who knew it took so much? 

My competitors (2)

In my last blog, I explored my competition in the world of comics journalism. There are a couple organizations that have established themselves or are close to doing so. There seem to be some freelancers, too. 

But there is one problem with their journalism: presence. 

My news, if everything would go according to plan (which it won't), would have a big social media presence. I would try to spread it once I got my feet on the ground. That way I could open the door for people to see and consume comics journalism. It could even help my competitors a little bit. I'm not interested in business politics, so helping my competitors a little bit wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to me.

Also, the other comics journalism website I explored was great. Free access to stories and good looking comics. The problem, however, as I saw it was that it wasn't interactive. It's just a comic page and then you hit next and it moves to the next comic page. 

I'd want mine to look more like Marvel's online comics. 

Where you click next, and the page zooms to the next text box and appropriate picture. If users don't like that way, though, they could opt out for the page-by-page option. I would want mine to be as interactive and enjoyable as possible. I don't want it to be a comic book with news instead of fantasy. I want it to be an experience. 

My competitors (1)

Every business, including my own, even in its hypothetical state, has competitors. There's this guy, referenced in my last post, who has a blog about comics reporting. 

Then there's Joe Sacco, who is pretty much the pioneer in this medium. He has a wikipedia page. He could be someone to partner with if this ever comes to fruition, or he could be someone to fear.

Umm, then there's these people who have my idea almost down pat. These guys have stories for free on the internet in comic form. And they claim to be #1 (don't know how true that is). Their layout is good, their content looks news-worthy. 

Then -- and I'm not sure -- but it looks like there is a schooling of sorts dedicated to this kind of journalism. Either way, it has a domain name with a .com, and therefore, this movement is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

My competition is good. But there still isn't a huge awareness of this journalism yet. I might still have a chance… 

Market Research: An attempt to answer

For my last post, I attempted to identify a certain demographic by asking specific questions in order to sell my product better. Now, it's time to try to answer some of those questions.

How many comic journalists are there?

Well, so far I know of one. Joe Sacco. He's technically the pioneer in the medium. But there are other people who are starting to catch on as well. At this website, a man describes what he would like to see for the future of comics journalism. And how he doesn't like the term "comic journalism" in order to describe the comics news industry. About specific numbers, though, I'm not sure what my competition looks like. 

How many people buy comics?

According to the same website above, comic books sales may have hit a slump after 1993, but recently hit a high. My only sources for actual comic sales are not completely trustworthy, but Wikipedia says Marvel made $125 million in 2007. Then Disney bought it. If Disney wants a company like Marvel, who is to say that a large corporation like Disney would not want journalism in comic form at a later date? 

How many people consume news on a yearly basis?

According to a People-Press article, news consumption is going down for television, radio and print. But hey look at that! Just as we talked about in class, online and mobile news is going up. That could be good news for my company, which could sell printed comics journalism as more of a novelty and an extra revenue than a main source. 

What ages consume news? Is it all ages?

According to this article about Twitter, young adults find a good source of their news on the social site. I think, then, it is safe to assume that older generations, like my sweet grandmother, still have not taken to the social media, or even online, forms of news. This is not true for all, certainly, but the older generation folks I've talked to have deemed the internet confusing except for occasionally checking an email.  So if I want to target my business only at young people, I can use social media, like Twitter and Facebook, as a means to spread awareness about my product. 

How much time do people dedicate to news?

While I couldn't find the numbers to this question specifically, I did find one one business article that talks about how we are always online. If we're always online, an online news source would have some luck. However grabbing and holding attention would be the trick with that method. That's why I would want to print some of my news, as well, so that people know what it means and what it stands for both on and off a screen.