@Jammo; did you know that nearly all the editors of Business Daily were poached from the Standard? No wonder!

If this thing was not enjoying support from a tall uncle (NMG),it would have closed after two months!

First point: don't think of a daily business publication; go weekly or monthly. If weekly,don't sell on Monday (blues!),Tuesday (Smart co. & Fin Std),Thursday (Money),Friday (members day!),or the week-end (tricky logistics - people stay at home). That leaves only Wednesday....

Second point: get started with three editors-cum-staff writers,paid by piece-work (i.e.,for articles written and published). Allow about sh400 to sh500 per hundred words. If you allow 1,000 words per page,a 20-page paper will cost sh90k in writing/editorial fees.
Third point: don't go buying your own press! Use existing printers. People and Times have decent presses and will charge you at most 20-bob per newspaper (all the 20 pages). A print run of,say 5,000 copies will cost you sh100,000.

Fourth point: get a sh1m insurance bond (you will need some property to secure it) for registration purposes.

Finally: 200 - 300 sq ft of office space and you are ready to go...

All in all; sh3m should be enough to get started and get moving without any hick-ups. Of course you will start with about 500k,but make sure you have a reserve tank with 3m... readers don't like to miss their 'favorite' copy - a lesson that (some)People and (some)Times are yet to learn!

PS: Don't chase advertiser at the beginning. Establish some foothold in readership - a clearly-defined category of regular readers who would do anything to buy your paper...then the advertisers will start chasing you and you can call the shorts.

@Eli;

Don't discourage Jammo...you don't have to set up an operation the size of NMG all at once! You don't need all those overpaid under-worked editors who cannot write a proper English sentence,let alone make sense of finance and investment!

I have worked with (not for!!) NMG and other smaller publications and I can tell you there is too much wastage at the giant. Afterall,big brother will bail them out.

Secondly,you don't have to sell outside Nairobi. Two-thirds of the Daily Nation (150,000 copies) is sold withinh a 50km ranius of Nation Centre. BD sells less than 1,000 copies outside CBD Nairobi!!!

Small business have to think smart,not big...imagine if you sold your weekly newspaper only at the major bus termini within the CBD (Muthurua,KBS Station,Railways,Globe,Old Nation etc). You would need about 15 vendors only to sell over 20,000 copies (assuming the content is good)

Those tests and retests can be a waste of time and money....read about the 'New Coke' fiasco of 1986 and see how Coca Cola wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on tests and re-tests,only to return to the old formula in a matter of weeks.

@Jammo,put sh3m (max) on the side and you are ready to get started in less than a month.

@jammo; you are onto something big here. I even have a name for you publication: The Independent Investment Adviser.

Distributed mainly by subscription to Stockbrokers and agents. Also available with street vendors....

Print-run - 5,000 copies tops. Small,but targets a clearly defined market segment.

Target for advertising: stockbrokers and agents.

etc

etc

etc

If you do your number carefully,you can give it out for free and still make money from ads...

Any legal process?..licensing..registration bla bla bla? @megatron..... No. Internet penetration is an impediment Plus we hav more than enough websites on stocks..issue is reachin all those investors who appear at AGMs and broker offices who's only source of info is the neighbour who made a killin in kengen!

The race is not always to the swift..nor the battle always to the strong..nor food always to the wise..nor riches always to the intelligent..favor is not always to the skilled..or learned..but time and chance happens to all. Ecl9:5..

@jammo - To break news you do it on SK in minutes,instant on radio,hours for TV,next day for newspaper. How about making your publicaation e-based?

Its cheaper,faster,unhindered and best of all you get to know your readers better if its distributed via registration 1st. My two pence

Good Ideas are like buses,behold another one comes

Thats a good plan you have Jammo.

Just a note: Most of the stuff you (and other good contributors) post here is sort of like 'hot news' which are usually romours known by afew in the market,and I must say its helpful here as we get to know stuff before they hit the market (read print media). Would your newspaper / magazine contain such content,coz am thinking of some quarters coming up with legal actions,you know,in the name of suing for insider trading/knowledge stuff.

Thanx all. @tonistark... hadn't seen it that way... @tonicasert..only insider info i got would b about me n my galfriend!! LoL! Anyway..that's not a concern.

The race is not always to the swift..nor the battle always to the strong..nor food always to the wise..nor riches always to the intelligent..favor is not always to the skilled..or learned..but time and chance happens to all. Ecl9:5..

@mukiha

i liked your articles in the standard if ur other name is waweru could you kindly share on setting up a magazine on a shoe string budget . what are the publishing companies around i would like to start with 1000 copies with a bit of colur


jnn

Jammo,

Assuming the product is good,you could make quite a killing with a Diaspora plan. This could be a part of your online distribution strategy - the capital costs are fairly low. I know the DN experience selling newspapers online has been disappointing. But like others have said,think smart not big. Talk to me when you are ready.

okay my bad there was a writer by the name gakiha or mukiha waweru who used to write for the standard all the same could you propose where to print the magazines and cost involved

jnn