(Some of) What it Takes to Start a Business

Scott T. Janney here. I’m a passionate entrepreneur with 20 years of experience spanning industries. Welcome to my newsletter!

In each of my newsletters you’ll find:?

• Tips on what I think it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur based on experience gained, lessons learned, and things I’ve read over the years.
• Takes on business, industry news, entrepreneurship, and anything else relevant to my experience/knowledge.?
• Stories about my current work as CEO of Magazine Jukebox that I hope will be useful for budding entrepreneurs and interesting for others.
• Valuable content that’s also entertaining. As my newsletter name suggests, I’ll aim to offer a good mix of business and entertainment.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll talk about my business goals, obstacles, founding Magazine Jukebox, and what it takes to start a business. Finally, I’ll end with this month’s tips and takes.

Founding Magazine Jukebox, Inc.

For those who don’t know, I’m the CEO of Magazine Jukebox , a leading digital magazine distributor for commercial spaces. Our platform utilizes QR codes and geo-fencing to offer customers access to digital magazines while they wait in businesses such as hospitals, hotels, car dealerships, salons, coffee shops, and anywhere else with stationary customers. It’s the first digital magazine platform to be enjoyed in commercial spaces without having to download an app. We’re really proud of what we’ve built and how much we’ve grown since we launched.

What Does it Take to Start a Business?

In my last newsletter , I talked about how the idea for Magazine Jukebox (MJB) came about and a little bit about the company. I’m sure many of you are wondering what actually went into starting this business, though…

I leaned heavily on my entrepreneurial experience gained over the years. I knew I needed a website, had to have the business incorporated, get insurance… But before doing all that, I thought, let me see if there’s actually any interest in what I’m doing. If there was interest, I was confident I could knock out all it takes to build a company. But I also knew there’d be no point in building the company if there wasn’t any interest. I know it sounds obvious, but it’s very important not to let your ideas get ahead of you - make sure there’s genuine interest before moving forward with a business plan. This is commonly known as product-market fit (for more info about this, check out the articles linked at the bottom).

To see if there was interest for MJB, I linked up with a company called Statista to find out if people were even reading digital magazines. I was so oblivious. I knew nothing about the publishing industry… except that I enjoyed reading magazines. I learned as much as I could about publishers, publisher distribution, and digital magazines (and what keeps them relevant in today’s digital world). I spent countless hours researching and chatting with knowledgeable people in the industry.?

Once I gauged enough interest and knew it was a viable idea, that’s when I started thinking about what Magazine Jukebox would actually look and feel like. I envisioned the platform and how a customer would use it. I planned out how I thought things would work in a simple sketch. My original idea was to prepare a poster for businesses including 24 pictures of magazines with 24 individual QR codes. But then I thought, but if we change the magazines, who would change out the posters in individual businesses? I had to think through all these little details and logistics and spend a lot of time researching.?

This eventually led to a more solid idea of how Magazine Jukebox would work and how customers would use it. Today, we prepare 1 QR code per business that contains their unique digital magazine rack (containing 12 magazines). We offer signage on our print shop and some guidance for deployment. It’s much smoother than what I originally imagined.?

Obstacles are Inevitable

From the start, I knew we’d face many obstacles. I knew we weren’t going to be selling and delivering right away. Instead of a product, we had to deliver a concept, which was our first obstacle. It’s much harder to sell a concept than a tangible product. I think of JFK saying, ‘hey we’re gonna put someone on the moon’. This idea was unimaginable at that time. But the U.S. had that vision to see it through, which was half the battle. With Magazine Jukebox, I also had the vision to see it through. Yes I know, I know - I just compared the concept of Magazine Jukebox to landing on the moon… But Magazine Jukebox is pretty out of this world if I do say so myself. ??

There were two other really big obstacles in the beginning - publishers and investors. Nobody ever wants to be the first to give a new business a shot (which is understandable, because they don’t know anything about you). But don’t give up, it’s always possible to get people to back your business when you have credibility and a really cool idea (not necessarily for something sexy, but something that’s needed). In Magazine Jukebox’s beginnings, potential investors were worried about getting their money back. Publishers didn’t know who we were and if we were capable of doing what we said we would do. So how did we get first adopters??

You know the saying, fake it til you make it? I don’t really like that saying, but it holds some truth. In order to get some first adopters for MJB, I used that saying as a guideline. I didn’t really fake anything, but I did use my previous 20 years of entrepreneurial experience as my flex to get people on board (does that count as faking it?). I demonstrated my understanding of business to publishers and investors - my experience starting and running many businesses, along with my knowledge of how business works and the importance of staffing helped me entice some first adopters. It’s important to be transparent with anyone trusting you and your business. With the first MJB adopters, I told them that I couldn’t guarantee success, but I would certainly give it my all.

Stay on Point with Business Goals

Having business goals helps you stay focused. But it’s important to remember that those goals are living and breathing - they can change or must change depending on your business’ circumstances and direction. Below, I’ll share a few of my goals for Magazine Jukebox.

Launching My Podcast?

As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, I’m currently a podcast host for Biztainment Weekly (which inspired the name of this LinkedIn newsletter). It became a goal of mine to create a podcast shortly after launching MJB.?

When we first started Magazine Jukebox, I knew that we weren’t going to get onto big news outlets, so I decided that podcasts would be a good route to get the word out and grow our following. I went on a handful of podcast shows as a guest and realized I was really good at it. My strength is talking to people, having inflection in my voice. I also have the face for radio, so that works out pretty well. ??

We launched a podcast called MJB.live, which was very successful out of the gate. We eventually rebranded and renamed the podcast Biztainment Weekly , sponsored by Magazine Jukebox. This is a goal I’ll continue developing and channeling energy into for a while. It’s a great way to organically create content (free content from our guests is the best content).

Feel free to check out the Biztainment Weekly website , and follow us on Facebook and Instagram !?

Becoming Ubiquitous

It’s important to dream big for your business. Have longterm goals that seem lofty. My biggest goal is to become ubiquitous - to be known all over, to be overwhelmingly popular in the business world. I learned that word from my father-in-law (an extremely intelligent retired Army Colonel with a Doctorate and 3 Masters Degrees). My dream is to see Magazine Jukebox making a big difference for businesses and their customers around the world.

My Monthly Tip

Seek legal advice early-on in your business. Legal advice is like a tree. The deeper the roots and the longer the relationship, the more likely you are to withstand a storm. Think like this - deep roots can withstand a storm, wide roots can’t. The deeper the roots with your legal team, the more likely you are to prevent future headaches and hardships. Plus, more success leads to more legal problems. So having a well-formed relationship with a lawyer will prove to be very beneficial when your business is successful.

Also, attorneys have a great ability to tell it to you straight. The Magazine Jukebox attorney J. Britton Williston at Kaufman & Canoles said to me, "Most startups fail. I hope this works out for you." Nothing more sincere or true… As your business grows it will thank you for protecting it.

My Monthly Take

Live today like others won’t so later you can live like others can’t. I got this idea from Dave Ramsey, well-known author and radio host who offers financial advice. What I took from this quote is that you must work harder now in order to really reap the benefits in the future when you’re retired. I don’t want to get to 65 and retire on limited income. I want to get to 50 years old and retire with an abundance of income. That’s different for everybody. I know I can do a lot of good with money, give a lot to charity. If you put $100 in some people’s hands, it’ll be squandered. In my hands, I’ll try to turn it into $1000 - doing more for me, my family, and my employees.?

I think this idea of working harder now in order to live better later is especially relatable for entrepreneurs. It helps answer the question of why you’re doing what you’re doing, even though it’s really hard to keep up with everything sometimes.

What’s Next??

Check out these articles about product-market fit

• What is Product-Market fit? ?( Intuit Mailchimp )
• How to Determine Product Market Fit in Your Industry ( HubSpot )

Keep an eye out for next month’s newsletter to discover more about my experience with Magazine Jukebox , along with new entrepreneurial tips and takes. I hope you found this newsletter to be valuable and entertaining.?

Please subscribe and share my newsletter if you enjoyed it. Also, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or comment below with any feedback - tell me what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you’d like to see more of.?

By the way, we’ve recently launched a newsletter for Magazine Jukebox. Feel free to subscribe to the Magazine Jukebox monthly newsletter if you’re interested!

Thanks for reading!?

Interested in investing in Magazine Jukebox? Feel free to email me at [email protected]

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