20th Anniversary Stories

Publishing 20 years of Business NH Magazine
By Matthew J. Mowry

For Dennis R. Jolicoeur, starting Business NH Magazine seems like a lifetime ago. From his office at Natrol, a publicly-traded vitamin company in California where he serves as CFO, Jolicoeur reflects on starting a new business magazine 20 years ago.

"We thought there was an opportunity in the market for an in-depth monthly business publication with statewide advertising," Jolicoeur says.

However, it was not initially an easy sell to advertisers, who were used to advertising in local markets. "Often times it was tough to convince people there was a statewide market for them," Jolicoeur says. "We received accolades but had to fight for every stitch of advertising." His dedication, however, would eventually pay off, resulting in a magazine that now reaches 15,000 readers monthly and attracts some of the biggest advertisers in the state. Jolicoeur also says the magazine's regional approach to the state helped to "unify people's thinking to seeing New Hampshire as a state rather than a series of cities."

Jolicoeur oversaw the magazine for five years, when he attempted to launch a second magazine, New England Living. He was able to raise $5 million in venture capital to start the magazine but the angel investors had a proviso - that he divest himself of Business NH Magazine and concentrate solely on the new publication.

A New Direction

At about the same time, as fate would have it, a Midwestern woman who had built a career in publishing met a Canadian publishing magnate at a conference and learned both were interested in finding a new business publication to run. B.J. Eckardt was ready to be her own boss and Michael Atkins was looking for a publishing investment.

During their search for the right publication, Eckardt and Atkins came upon Business NH Magazine. "It was a good publication in a good location with lots of opportunity for growth. That's what we looked at," says Eckardt. She and Atkins bought the magazine in 1989 under the parent company Laurentian Business Publishing (named after the Laurentian mountain range in Canada), with Eckardt running the magazine as publisher.

Soon after acquiring Business NH Magazine, the economy spiraled into one of the deepest recessions in decades. Eckardt combined her years of publishing experience and business savvy to pull the magazine through the economic challenges that saw other businesses fail. Eckardt started cutting expenses immediately and making investments that would save the company money. The magazine experienced lean days during the recession in 1991 and 1992 that saw sales drop by half and times when Eckardt put her own paycheck in a drawer so other expenses could be met.

One of the keys to the magazine's survival at the time, and its continuing success, was a dedication to being involved in NH's communities through business groups and nonprofits. "It's one of the biggest reasons for succeeding," she says, adding the staff is also a major driver of BNH's success.

Eckardt felt it was important, particularly during that bleak economic period, to celebrate the great companies that were still succeeding in NH. To that end, she started the Business of the Year program with the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives that continues to annually honor businesses in eight industry categories and a business leader of the year. Eckardt also started the Made in NH, Try It & Buy It Expo, which promotes products made in the Granite State."When New Hampshire needed a cheerleader, we stepped up to the plate and gave people a sense of pride," says Eckardt, who now runs her own events management company, Walnut Street Productions, LLC, based in the Lakes Region.

An Evolving Company

The magazine's current publisher, Sean Mahoney, a businessman from Portsmouth, bought the company in March 2003. His mission is to retain the magazine's many successful elements, including its Business of the Year and Best Companies to Work For competitions, while evolving the magazine and company, now known as Millyard Communications. He moved the company to the Jefferson Mill Building on North Commercial Street and invested in new technology to streamline the magazine's production.

"I saw it as a terrific brand that's adding value to the business community by providing stories that are pertinent to small business people," Mahoney says. "I want to build on a publication with a tremendous amount of integrity and respect and bring it to the next level." As for the future, Mahoney says the magazine is revamping its web site to be a more effective resource. He also hopes to develop more events for the business community and introduce other publications.

"By spotlighting issues that have affected the state during the past 20 years, I think we've been able to provide thoughtful analysis that has become a real resource for the business people of New Hampshire," Mahoney says. "I would like to see us build on our core values and core competencies to be a thoughtful media leader, to grow our circulation and pages and become an even more important analyst and news leader on trends and personalities that are evolving in the state."