26 There was an office, a
desk and a telephone ... No computer, no email, no Internet
Mobile phones were almost non- existent and, if you had one, the signal dropped off any time you went near a tall building.
There was teletext, so you could read the news headlines on television, but you didn’t really want to read them anyway – as they were dominated by a bleak economy and the ever-present threat of IRA bombings.
The year was 1993, and the Reading Festival had just taken place – headlined by Blur, New Order, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The summer had been cool (as in chilly) and the autumn was dull and wet.
All in all, as good a time as any to form a company, and to launch The Business Magazine.
The very first issue of The Business Magazine was produced on an Apple Macintosh II. The screen was tiny and the processor went at 16
KHz flat-out. We just kept at it and got the first edition out, on time, and then mailed to 25,000 Thames Valley readers.
We had bought a database from Dun & Bradstreet and, when the mountain of returns came back a week after our mailing, we learned one of many lessons that experience teaches you – before you use a mailing list, get it cleaned up.
Another lesson was: just because the first prospect you go and see signs off £6,000 of advertising, it doesn’t mean the next 10 are going to do so.
But what the business community did give us was encouragement – many looked at the dummy pages and said that the area could do with a quality regional business publication. Because, up to then, none had existed.
It was a different world, then. If
you wanted business, you had to pick up the phone or wear out some shoe leather. If you wanted to send a prospect a sample you had to rely on the Royal Mail.
Business was more local than global. The Channel Tunnel still hadn’t opened. The web hadn’t opened our eyes to what was possible.
The average price of a house was £67,856. But then the average wage was £20,817. There wasn’t a lot of workforce mobility. If anything, ambitions were quite restrained.
But it was possible to see that the area was changing – the concept of Thames Valley was just beginning; new companies were arriving from the US; and technology was creating opportunities and providing workflow solutions that previously had been impossible.
Twenty years on and The Business Magazine stands as an established, respected brand – and a nameplate on a door behind which you’ll find the Thames Valley 250, SME 100, Solent 250, Southern Tech 100, the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards, the Deals Awards, Women in Business Awards, Thames Valley Property Awards, Roundtable events, Business Breakfasts, an ever-expanding website, and now a new Tablet Edition.
Looking forward, we have lots of great ideas and new services we plan to introduce to you, the readers and advertisers who have supported us so well.
So, finally, the spotlight should be not on us, but on you. Many thanks for being part of our success, and here’s to the next 20 years.
David Murray Publisher
Win dinner and overnight stay at five-star The Vineyard
To celebrate The Business Magazine’s 20th anniversary, The Vineyard has kindly offered a great prize for our readers.
The winner of our competition will stay overnight in one of the five-star hotel’s luxurious suites and dine from the five-course tasting menu in the elegant restaurant.
The prize, for two, includes a delicious breakfast the next morning and full use of The Vineyard’s award-winning spa.
The competition is open to all our readers and details appear below.
In addition, The Vineyard, which is located at Stockcross, near Newbury, is offering companies in our Thames Valley 250, the chance to enjoy a complimentary bubbles wine flight with every four-course discovery lunch at the restaurant Monday to Friday.
The wine flight is a great way to sample a variety of wines from The Vineyard’s extensive list
in one go. Three 50ml glasses of wine are served together with an explanation of their common theme and differences. Champagne is associated with celebrations, but can you tell it from English fizz or Napa sparklers? Here’s your chance to find out.
The four-course discovery lunch with matching wines costs £84 per person.
The Vineyard is one of the Thames Valley’s finest hotels. Privately
owned by the Sir Peter Michael family since 1996, who also owns the highly regarded Peter Michael Winery in California, The Vineyard has been awarded five AA Red Stars.
It has 32 suites and 17 bedrooms, has more than 30,000 wine bottles in its cellars and can offer 100 wines to taste and enjoy by the glass.
The Vineyard is featured in our Dining & Your Business section: page 82.
Competition Open to all readers. Closing date: September 30, 2013.
Question: In which American state is the Peter Michael Winery?
Send your answer by email to
competitions@elcot.co.uk – include your name, job title, company name, business address and phone number.
All entries will be judged in October and the winner will be notified. No correspondence will be entered into and the judges decision is final.
www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2013
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