Challenges and Obstacles
Alan’s challenges with Mecklermedia are an ongoing concern. “As an entrepreneur what hurt me until I hit something that was so powerful was not focusing. I could have been successful as a baseball publisher or in library technology or straight history books, but we were always in five or six different areas. You can’t get the full force of all your promotions.” A situation a lot of small companies experience, as they work to become successful. What was it like having so many disparate efforts and limited resources? “It was tough. Most weeks I didn’t know if I could make payroll. For many years until February of 1994 there was a period of five consecutive years where about every seven to ten weeks I had a crisis of being able to make payroll. It’s 90% perseverance and hard work.”
Other problems have occurred since the company’s recent success with the Internet, due to management’s inexperience handling the operations of a larger and more demanding company. “Sometimes handling personnel has been a challenge. It’s always from a naive viewpoint of just not having had the experience with the growth.” Overall, Alan feels good about his company and the decision they have made in their operations, “Since 1994 we really haven’t made a mistake. All the product moves have been right on the button.”
The Future
What has Alan’s reaction been to his success after a long career in more modest circumstances? “It’s never a lack of amazement on a daily basis. It’s like the greatest dream you could ever have wanting something as a kid like a toy that appeared in your head and in the morning you woke up and it was there. It’s one of those great experiences that unfortunately a lot of people don’t have. I’ve been very lucky. I’m appreciative of it every day, I think I’ve earned it but it’s one of the most amazing stories. I think it’s a great example of what can happen in America. Compared to where I am and where I was it’s just a miraculous story.” This appreciation augments the company’s strategy of integration. “The company is now set up in a very effective way that there’s nothing that doesn’t sell something else. If you are interested in our publications you are interested in our web site and our trade shows. Everything sells something else and there is no wasted time or effort. There is no spinning of the wheels.”
Mecklermedia’s rise to success, in spite of its skeptical competitors, is a great source of satisfaction to Alan and he considers it a competitive advantage. “There is still an air of arrogance with the larger media companies that we don’t belong where we are…but we got it. It’s always wonderful to compete with people who are angry at you because it distorts their judgment. The various managers are all in place who turned me down between 1990-1994 and are making judgments that I don’t feel are rational and their thinking is distorted. They think they are working to replace us when we won the hearts and minds of the industry with quality and aggressiveness. As long as we continue this we are not afraid of what the competitors will do. It’s not a question of being taken out but of how big we’re going to get. That’s all we’ll worry about.”
With the momentum that Mecklermedia has established, Alan intends to expand the company’s media publications and trade show venues with the same speed and aggressiveness. “With the Internet I have something that is good at least into the 21st century although I’m not saying I’m not looking for anything else.” As for his other ideas, we will have to wait and see. “I have some things that I think will be effective ideas in 2005 to 2010 but can’t discuss them and that it’s not the right time to start them either independently or with Mecklermedia. I’m not going to be a baseball player like I always wanted to be, but I can’t think of a better position to be than where I am now.” – ###