For my mentorship course at UCLA Extension, I chose to design a magazine focused on the small business community of Orlando. As a member of this community myself, this is something that I'm really passionate about.
First, I brainstormed all about what I wanted this magazine to be about, and who it was for. My ultimate goal with this magazine is to highlight incredible makers here in Orlando.
I reached out to half a dozen local businesses, and met up with the owners to interview. Every business owner I interviewed raved about the small business community in Orlando, and Orlando in general. The consensus (and this is something I agree with) is that there is much more to Orlando than the theme parks - there is a big community that is diverse, welcoming, supportive & loves shipping small. Pop-up markets are always big successes and local stores are often extremely crowded.
A lot of these business owners do struggle with getting their name out there. I want my magazine to be a way to showcase as many small businesses as I can, and distribute the magazine to local stores at printing cost.
