For some time – like several years – I’ve had an idea floating around my mind along the lines of “wouldn’t it be cool to have a magazine where all my amazing clients and other business people in my networks could share their journey and their knowledge and other business owners could read about them and connect if they want to”. Sure there are business magazines around, but they are all very serious and don’t really cater to the super small or micro business person.
Every now and again I’d write down some thoughts on how to make it happen and formulate a loose kind of plan. Then life and work would get busy or I’d hit a roadblock, decide it was too hard and put it to the side.
But the truth is I was scared – I was scared it wouldn’t be taken seriously, I wouldn’t be able to get anyone interested in contributing, let alone reading it. Then I was scared about having to commit to putting together a regular project when I was the driver – I have no problem committing when someone else is driving, but when I have to do the hard mental and physical work it’s a different story. Excuses, excuses!
However, this idea just wouldn’t go away and at the beginning of every year I’d put it on the list of things I’d like to achieve and tell myself . . . one day.
Then Covid-19 happened – well that was never in the plan - and as lockdown looked to be inevitable, I decided that if not now then it would be never and I’d have to let this idea go. Still I sat on it and made excuses until I mentioned it very quietly during an online networking meeting with my BoB group who are hugely supportive and energetic and they wanted to contribute. But what do you know, I procrastinated again until finally biting the bullet and contacting a few other clients and business people I know asking for an article.
Before I knew it, I had enough articles to make up a magazine and because people had put their time and energy into writing me an article, I absolutely had to stop making excuses and just get it done. Then the race was on to get the magazine produced and out to the world before lockdown finished and people got busy with getting their businesses and lives back up and running. If there was ever a time for me to embrace Imperfect Action then this was it. The perfectionist in me would have kept fiddling and changing and checking everything that sending it out to the world would possibly never happen.
I called the magazine “Unika” for no reason other than I had to name it something and didn’t want the fact that it didn’t have a name to hold me up anymore. A quick Google search told me it meant unique, shine and united which seem to sum up business owners and my vision for the magazine. While the name is used by others, there didn’t seem to be a clash of interests. And it’s also the name of a favourite font – the one used on the cover for the masthead.
April 17, I nervously shared a link for Unika on the She Owns It members Facebook group and the support was overwhelming. Then I shared it on my own Facebook and LinkedIn pages and in some other groups to more overwhelming support. I had Facebook notifications from all the comments and a notification every time the magazine was downloaded – the day was crazy and I was buzzing.
Loads of people wanted to be involved and contribute and all the support is really heartening with several people commenting about how such a publication is really needed and there is a gap in the market for something like this. I’m actually struggling to keep up and contact everyone who has shown interest in contributing, so if you haven’t heard back then do get in touch again. Issue two has just been released and I’m just as excited about this one. A long term plan is formulating and it’s looking fantastic.
Join me for the ride. Unika can be downloaded for free from my website on the Freebies page.
