In good hands
It’s hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by since a small group of friends and co-workers decided to launch our own company during one of the worst recessions this country has ever faced. Early in 2009, while the global economy struggled to navigate the Great Recession triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble, five of us left our then-employer to form Direct Business Media.
We knew that the odds were not in our favor. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that about 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years, 45% fail within the first five years, and 65% close their doors within the first 10 years. Believing in our longstanding industry relationships and years of experience, we pooled our resources and built a company from the ground up without accumulating any debt.
The gamble paid off. We not only managed to survive those first two years, we also paid ourselves back our initial investment. Before we knew it, we had reached our 10th anniversary.
Linda Scott-McCabe was the first of our founding partners to retire, followed a few years later by Bob Stange. Now it’s my turn to retire.
I look back at what we’ve accomplished with a great deal of pride. I will miss the daily interaction with readers, advertisers, vendors, employees, and business partners. And I am still betting on DBM to succeed. I have faith in my partners Chris McClimon and Tom Hammel, and the team we have assembled, which includes Lindsey Austin, Peggy Huckabee, Caitlin Kincannon, Amy Klawitter and Patty Wolf.
I also have confidence in the ability of our newest team member, Kim Phelan, who is taking over my editorial responsibilities. A terrific writer and editor, Kim hit the ground running in mid-November, posting stories on our website and overseeing IS Weekly, our email newsletter. She is also responsible for most of the content in this issue of Industrial Supply magazine.
When you give the issue a read, I think you’ll agree that I’m leaving the magazine in good hands.
Rich Vurva
Editor/Publisher
Twitter: @IndSupplyMag
This article originally appeared in the Jan./Feb. 2023 issue of Industrial Supply magazine. Copyright 2023 Direct Business Media.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
