My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

Transform underperforming magazine into profitable commerce platform

Media entrepreneurs targeting enthusiast communities

12-24 months for turnaround, 3-5 years for full commerce buildout

What Success Looks Like

Magazine becomes break-even on media operations while generating 80%+ profits from commerce businesses built on the audience

Steps to Execute

Acquire magazine at 3-5x EBITDA in enthusiast category

Audit subscription pricing and eliminate money-losing subscribers

Raise prices significantly for true enthusiasts (test $30-40 vs $8)

Invest in editorial quality and upgrade production

Build intent data collection systems

Launch commerce businesses (financing, e-commerce, services)

Hire specialized teams to run each commerce vertical

Cross-sell across portfolio as it grows

Checklist

Verify magazine has survived multiple economic cycles

Confirm audience spends significant money on category

Identify 3-5 commerce opportunities before acquisition

Set up separate P&Ls for media vs commerce

Build editorial team to 3-5x pre-acquisition size

Create digital data collection systems

Inputs Needed

$1-5M acquisition capital
Editorial team with subject matter expertise
Commerce business operators
Customer data and intent signals

Outputs

Break-even media operation
Multiple commerce revenue streams
Audience intent data
Recurring revenue model

Example

“Flying Magazine: Acquired for $3.5M, raised subscription price from $8 to $30-40, subscriber base dropped from 108K to 32K but revenue doubled. Then built aircraft financing, real estate development, and e-commerce on top of engaged audience”

Related Knowledge

Framework

Magazine Portfolio Acquisition Framework

A systematic approach to acquiring undervalued magazines with loyal audiences and converting them into commerce platform

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Framework

Asymmetric Risk Portfolio Theory

An investment approach that takes multiple small bets where maximum loss is capped but upside is potentially unlimited

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Lesson

FL001

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Lesson

FL002

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Playbook

Acquire and consolidate dying magazines into profitable commerce-driven media business

Portfolio of 20+ magazines generating $50M+ revenue with 18%+ EBITDA margins by selling high-value products to engaged a

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Playbook

Pre-sell real estate development using owned media

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