By Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
SVELTE AND elegant, Neysha Soodeen, Editor-in-Chief of Maco Caribbean Living, is a savvy businesswoman with dreams of taking over the publishing world, or at least the Caribbean publishing world. Her mild Trinidadian accent belies her years abroad in Europe. Those years planted the seed for her vision of Maco becoming the magazine that showcases the Caribbean life to the world, "Most Caribbean magazines are about tourism sand and sea. I want to move beyond that and show how we live." Who we are and where we want to be in the Caribbean. And it was the lack of tangible proof that we as West Indians could live a gracious life that gave birth to Maco.
"Living abroad, I always saw my friends and family members reading Architectural Digest and Town & Country. These magazines are fine, but they feature elegant homes in Idaho and gardens in New York. That is not where we are."
Maco covers the gamut of elegant Caribbean lifestyle features home decor, architecture, gardens, restaurants, destinations and personalities. And Maco, which is a French patois verb meaning 'to mind other people's business,' exemplifies fine Caribbean living, in the glossy exclusive manner of North American publications such as Town and Country Living. But it is not an exclusionary publication. According to Ms. Soodeen, "Maco is not for the elite at all. It is for the aspiring elite, it is for those who dream of living in the houses we feature and eating at the restaurants we profile." Currently, Ms. Soodeen is in Jamaica, seeking advertisers for Maco and scouting locations for a feature on Jamaica to be produced in January of 2004.
BRAND RECOGNITION
Enjoying the hard-won brand recognition of the magazine, financially, starting Maco was about defying convention. In her mind, the decision on how to finance Maco was an act of rebellion on Soodeen's part. She tells the Financial Gleaner that she shunned family money, refused to bring in investors or partner with established publishing houses because, "I wanted to show the world what I could do. And I didn't want to share Maco with anyone."
Instead, she relied on the workhorse of small businesses the overdraft facility. "I started Maco at the young age of 29 with an overdraft facility of US$50,000 that charged an astronomical rate of 18 per cent." So armed with borrowed money, she set out to implement her plan, both simple and ingenious at the same time and relied solely on advertorial support.
"In the first year, I printed 80,000 copies and gave them away. I placed them in airport lounges, hotels, news-stands within the Caribbean where I knew companies would see it and be compelled to place advertisements. In fact, I still distribute Maco for free in BWIA lounges and some hotels to target advertisers."
She refused to go the failing route of the many forgotten Caribbean publications that relied on subscriptions to survive. Additionally, she learned from their mistakes in terms of content. "The graveyard for failed Caribbean magazines is huge. They fail because the content is poor and the photo quality is poor." But creating a beautiful magazine costs.
"It costs US$500 for every photo shoot and there are about 25 shoots in each issue. Plus I have to pay good writers and good editors. I want people to read Maco from cover to cover." Soodeen tells the Financial Gleaner that per issue the production costs are around US$200,000 to US$250,000.
PROFITABILITY
Nevertheless, Soodeen's determination to have the best has steered Maco into profitability in its fourth year. For 2002, the company made a profit of around 8-12 per cent. The first year experienced a small loss, with year 2 and 3 breaking even. Soodeen states that in its fourth year, Maco brings in US$450,000 in advertising, with full-page ads costing US$3,000 per issue. Subscription sales bring in an additional US$90,000. In the Caribbean, Maco sells about 35,000 copies per issue with Christmas sales at about 50,000 copies. This is bolstered by over 20,000 copies of Maco currently distributed to 63 countries worldwide. The magazine is published three times per year.
"We are the first Caribbean magazine to be distributed overseas." Soodeen is a true believer in Caribbean integration. Maco is printed in Trinidad and Tobago and scanned in Barbados. "It is a true Caribbean product. The quality in the Caribbean is extremely high." Her staff complement is made up of 6 permanent staff members plus 20 freelance photographers and writers based throughout the Caribbean. But with the challenges of producing a high-end magazine with reliance on advertiser support, the need to diversify became apparent.
"With a magazine, the advertisers do not pay until they see their ads published. And then they pay in 60 to 90 days. So the cash flow is uneven and when you collect money you have already paid your creative team." Thus, Soodeen created the publishing house, Toutebagai Publishing, with the mission to create publications that target specific industries. Currently, she publishes four additional magazines that help manage the ebb and flow of income. Profits on her speciality magazines run at 25 to 30 per cent. Unlike Maco, these magazines are given to readers freely and are completely supported by advertisers.
Business Trinidad and Tobago a magazine that specialises in showcasing the T&T business landscape for potential investors.
The Energy Guide a publication for the oil and gas trade.
Mass a pictorial magazine for Carnival lovers
The Contact a magazine published for the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce.
FORMAL TRAINING
When questioned as to why such a diverse line of publications, Soodeen states, "As a publisher, you get people to write about what people want to know about. I have no formal training in any of the areas I publish, (her formal training is in Criminology) but publishing is an exciting industry. There is so much to publish about the Caribbean. We are a hidden gem." She intends to deepen her foray into business publications with the soon to be launched, Caribbean Financial Review. She tells the Financial Gleaner that it will focus on what business transactions are taking place in the Caribbean and it will be distributed to readers for free, again relying on advertisers for support.
But Maco is Soodeen's flagship publication. Thus, spin-offs from this brand were inevitable. Coming in 2004 is Maco's Caribbean Interior Sourcebook, a financial success even though the first issue has not been published. "Next year we will be launching the source book. It is a sister publication of Maco. We have booked US$500,000 in ads for the first issue. It features what is available in the Caribbean in terms of interior design. Furniture, linens, craft, and the like, sold or made in the Caribbean will be displayed in a magazine with tabs down the side segmenting each area. It will contain everything for the home and distributed for free. So advertisers wishing to sell to the Caribbean will have to be a part of this." The idea came from a trip to a home store in North America.
"I was in a home decor store in Florida and saw a T&T couple purchasing a rattan living room set that was made in Guyana. It came to me that no one really knows the interior design products and services available within the Caribbean. Everybody goes to Miami to shop because they don't know what is here. This will promote inter-Caribbean trade and that is what CARICOM is about." But Soodeen is not finished. Following the footsteps of interior decor grande dame Martha Stewart, there will be a Maco line of home decor accessories. "My new project will be a Maco line of paint. We will create colours that a manufacturer will distribute for us. Additionally, we will have a line of affordable, high quality, luxurious bed linens, curtains and bath accessories that will be retailed in boutiques all over the Caribbean and complement our paints."
The energetic Neysha Soodeen, Editor-in-Chief of Maco magazine is proud of her successes.
