You can’t keep an old hack from being an old hack, apparently…

Silver Magazine back in print, you say? Well yes! And not only am I doing this because I love it, but apparently so do hundreds of thousands of other people. I kid you not.

Friends and followers on social media will have seen me crowing about this already recently. It’s vulgar to crow, I know. But I don’t care, because something good happened the other day that was worth having a little crow about. Something that felt like a proper ‘sign’ from the Universe, you know?

This was my slightly cocky social media post:

“Today I crunched some Silver Magazine numbers as we’re going back into print (whoop!) and we need a new media pack. And I’ve managed to get hold of a bunch of media packs from competitors to have a nose, natch.

“And we are actually killing it. We’re blowing at least two of the biggies absolutely out of the water! Our reach is higher, our follower numbers are higher. I had no idea, until I actually worked it all out. So yay for us!

“Now I know this I’ve got my swagger right on. Look out!”

So yes, I have a bit more swagger again. And yes excitingly, Silver Magazine is coming back in print format. And while comparisons are odious, and probably odorous too, it was really encouraging to see that not only are we – as a very small business – fighting our corner with not inconsiderable zeal… we’re actually outshining publishers and magazines with budgets and manpower that I can only dream of. Little us!

Some of you will have had a print issue of Silver before. And many of you subscribed, and have been insanely patient, waiting for the print issues to be relaunched. God, I love you guys. Literally about two people have asked for a refund, which is extraordinary. The faith people have in Silver Magazine is humbling.

But I digress. Print! We’re back! Hurrah for print, print, print. With its lovely feel, and it’s new-print stinky inky smell. And as someone commented on my crowing post, that feeling of “thumbing through the pages.” I can’t wait to get into it again. Print will always be my first and biggest love.

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So why print and why now?

Every Christmas I take two weeks off. It’s a set-in-stone sabbatical, and usually the longest break I take all year. I tend to crawl towards the finishing line in December, absolutely shattered from another year of ALL THE THINGS.

I’m really scrupulous about distancing myself from work at this time. As any business owner knows, it’s virtually impossible to do this. My holidays and long weekends are always punctuated by emails and phone calls and texts. Even if I’m in a beach bar sinking a cold one, I’m still connected. I’m never ‘off the clock’.

But I can do it at Christmastime because everyone else is kinda in the same place. People don’t care if I don’t reply – in fact they’re probably relieved. So I can let go. And that’s when I’m truly able to stand back and look at what’s going on objectively. And after about three days something magic happens. I start to see things clearly again.

Over this Christmas I realised that I wasn’t happy

2023 was filled with the excitement of bringing new things into the Silver arena. I created a truly wonderful little Silver Skincare range, that I’m so, so proud of. And we launched our Silver Retreats, which I am also really excited about. But this meant learning a whole new set of skills, and delving into the world of ecommerce. And if I’m honest, I don’t find that stuff very sexy.

What I DO find sexy is making magazines. And after about a week of R&R, I realised this was where I needed to refocus in 2024. I didn’t care if it was hard to do, or if it didn’t make me rich. I just wanted to do more of the thing I love.

And so when I crunched those numbers, and discovered that we genuinely, honestly stand proud in our given arena, more than head and shoulder above many bigger brands, it was actually quite an emotional moment.

It also helps that one of my younger team members came back from Christmas and before I’d even said about print, told me we should be back in print. Apparently it’s what all the cool kids are doing because it’s trustworthy, and seen as classy. Print is BACK baby.

And so here we are

I’ve put literally everything I have – energy, heart, money, and soul – into making Silver Magazine work. There have been days – so many days – where I’ve felt like I’m banging my head against a brick wall. I’ve seen other startups in the silver sector moving faster than us, and felt inadequate. I’ve wept with frustration as global events have knocked us down, repeatedly. On a personal level I’ve soldiered on through the loss of my parents, the menopause, the end of my longest relationship ever… you get the picture. It’s been hard work.

But through it all I kept feeling like Silver was a good thing. And people kept telling me it was a good thing. And the other day was really wondering if I should keep going. “Give me a sign, please!” I asked the Universe. And I got a sign.