Member Spotlight: Star News

Member Spotlight: Star News

                   

Question: What are your success habits?

• Daily lists: Begin each work morning by reviewing the prior work day’s list. Then write up the new list for that day. Check off accomplished items throughout the workday. I have found this regimen makes me far more efficient; in addition, this practice offers a wonderful sense of calmness on non-work days because I know nothing has been overlooked/left undone.

• Allow yourself “think breaks” during the workday. Stop between big tasks. Sit back; sit quietly. Think, or just rest. Doesn’t matter which. Either you will push forward with new thoughts, or you will begin again with renewed mental energy. Both are wins.

• Be sure you are able to adequately carry out any job in your small business that you are asking/paying someone else to do. The logic then follows that you should never forget at any time during the work week that you are the role model your workers will watch and, hopefully, emulate.

Question: What do you look for in an employee?

• This has changed a bit over the decades. Thirty years ago, I looked specifically for certain job skills, achievements, and how long (stability) an applicant has been at other jobs. Now, I seek signs of maturity, in addition to the skills and stability. Maturity has unfortunately waned in too many employed adults in the past ten years, or longer. These are adults who confuse the definitions of “excuse” and “valid reason”. If you are a manager, you already know what I mean. There are valid reasons for being late to work or not completing a task, and then there are the excuses. Unfortunately, there are adults who want to have a job but do not want to work.

 Question: What is unique about your business?

• My business is newspaper publishing, both traditional print and online. This alone puts us at StarNews and StarNews Online (www.starnewsgaonline.com; to subscribe to print: suehorn.starnews@gmail.com) in a unique position. There are only two newspaper companies in Carroll County, Georgia, and, of the two, we are the one that is locally owned and operated here in Carroll County. Because we are locally owned and located here, all revenue coming into StarNews, whether it is in a paid subscription or paid advertising, stays here in Carroll County to be spent here.

We at StarNews and StarNews Online are also in the unique position of having access to information and people that most others do not. This puts a level of responsibility on us that we embrace. Our goal is the long-range betterment of our citizenry through increased knowledge of their governments, schools, law enforcement, and communities. We keep this in mind with each publication.

 Question: What is non-negotiable for you in business?

• Honesty. There is no room for misinformation in the newspaper industry. We at StarNews have worked diligently to ensure that what is published is the truth, and our reputation for that stands strong.

 Question: How do you use social media?

• StarNews and StarNews Online maintain a Facebook page with the acceptance of its limitations. We have come to realize over the years through our Facebook page and discussions with other businesses, that although Facebook can reach certain markets and get you a percentage of results, the Facebook market has limitations both in numbers and in demographics. You or your business can get exposure and feedback, but, the results peak quickly. This peak occurs due to the simple fact that scrolling and memory recall - for whatever reason - don’t go together well. Scrolling in the morning over coffee can give your business an immediate jog over to your website, or a “feel good” Facebook “Like”, but it doesn’t seem to correlate to the purchase of a product at a later time. Even so, we continue to use Facebook as just one part of the whole component of marketing our newspaper. We know that having a printed newspaper in your hands, at home, or at the office, is far more effective marketing. A newspaper is picked up and read, and re-read.

 Question: What would you do with unlimited resources?

With more resources, StarNews would expand both news coverage and market reach, while adding publication dates. That is an easy - and exciting - prediction. Taxpayers and voters - we citizens -  have a desire and need to know about their community and government. That will never change.  And a newspaper that does it right is here to stay. With community support in the form of an annual subscription or a paid advertisement, StarNews will continue to grow. The more subscriptions and the more advertisements, the faster we can, in turn, expand news coverage, expand market reach, and add publication dates. To subscribe or advertise: suehorn.starnews@gmail.com