Dynamic Business

DB: How do you differentiate yourself from competitors?
SM: Surprisingly, our competitors are not the newsagents or the larger book chains which also stock magazines. Mag Nation has many niche publisher relationships that these other retailers are not able to replicate, and a brand that communicates to consumers through innovation, change and a sense of irreverence.

For example, we state on our website in the “About Us” section that: “All the girls who work at Mag Nation are gorgeous … all the boys have big schlongs.” A number of people have told us that we can’t say this. But we do. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We know how to laugh. And yet, our technical capabilities are better than anyone else in the industry. Publishers especially are slowly starting to recognise this.

What makes us unique is that people genuinely enjoy spending time in our physical environment. It’s not just about the purchase, nor just the products (many of which you can only find at Mag Nation), but the way people feel when at Mag Nation. The number of times I have heard people say they feel like a kid in a candy shop defies belief. Engendering that feeling keeps people coming back. They have lots of other choices and therefore, it has to be an experience that rates up there with their other lifestyle choices.

DB: What lessons have you learned?
SM: That it’s all about people. Get the right team working for you and they will find all the solutions. We persisted way too long with some people who were not working out for us, and that delayed our progress.

DB: What do you enjoy most, and least, about being an entrepreneur?
SM: I feel immensely proud that my partner and I have built something from scratch. That feeling of building and the creativity that comes with it is perhaps what I love the most. Undoubtedly, the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is the hours and the invasion on your family life. I have three young children and I have to constantly remind myself why it is I am working so damn hard.

DB: At what point did you know you had made it as a business owner?
SM: I am hoping that I will get to experience this feeling. It hasn’t happened yet.

Mag Nation
www.magnation.com.au
88 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000


Remember…
- Very little works out how you think it will in the beginning. You need to be willing and able to adapt and learn quickly.

- Not everyone is built to be an entrepreneur, just as not everyone is built to be a banker or a doctor. People think it’s a sexy and glamorous path but it’s unbelievably hard work.

- You really need to feel passionate about your business, because it will consume you and you will resent it unless it evokes your passions.