What do you want the world to know you for? In a business sense, my “world” encompasses the communities Current serves and the advertising partners that make it possible for Current to do so. I want to be known for helping to bring what I call local-local news and information to each community, content it normally otherwise would not get anywhere else. I also want to be known for moving heaven and earth – “walking through a wall of fire” – to accommodate our advertising partners at every turn; it’s my job to make them money and further their various successes. Additionally, I want to be known for contributing to Current’s corporate citizenship with respect to not-for-profits. Current, which launched in 2006, recently exceeded $2.5 million in donated advertising space to various NFPs across our communities. That is a major point of pride for a small company like ours, and it’s absolutely the right thing to do.
In a business sense, my “world” encompasses the communities Current serves and the advertising partners that make it possible for Current to do so. I want to be known for helping to bring what I call local-local news and information to each community, content it normally otherwise would not get anywhere else. I also want to be known for moving heaven and earth – “walking through a wall of fire” – to accommodate our advertising partners at every turn; it’s my job to make them money and further their various successes. Additionally, I want to be known for contributing to Current’s corporate citizenship with respect to not-for-profits. Current, which launched in 2006, recently exceeded $2.5 million in donated advertising space to various NFPs across our communities. That is a major point of pride for a small company like ours, and it’s absolutely the right thing to do.

What problem are you most passionate about solving? On the business front, it is making sure I am able to present relevant solutions to businesses that need to advertise but for whatever reason are struggling on the budget front. Those are the enterprises that MUST advertise in order to survive, so isolating their “pain” and finding a way to solve it is of paramount importance to me.

How do you define success? With business, for me it comes down to three questions: (1) Have I improved myself and at least one customer today? (2) Have I distinguished myself with my customer(s) by presenting relevant solutions as opposed to just reeling in a sale (I never go “fishing for dollars.” That solves nothing for my customer!)? (3) Is my business at least one step ahead of where it was last year at this point and serving partners with distinction? For me to be successful, the answers to each of those questions had best be “yes,” “yes” and “yes.” If there is a “no” somewhere in there, it’s time to take a look, determine the shortcoming and fix it so it never repeats.

Greatest piece of advice? If for some reason you believe you “can’t,” I urge you to immediately set forth to prove yourself wrong, because, actually, you “can.” Barriers to success can be knocked down or otherwise navigated. Current is proof of that. We were told by a former publisher at a major metropolitan newspaper, that Current would be “chewed up and spit out” inside of six weeks after our launch. Not to gloat, but here we are in our 14th year. Nothing is impossible as long as you’re packing steely determination and smart solutions. As the late actor, Meredith Burgess, told Sylvester Stallone in the first “Rocky” film, “There ain’t no can’t!”

Most impactful quote? “Nothing that comes easy is worth a dime.” – Woody Hayes, the late Ohio State University football coach.

What is your “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”? I don’t have an audacious goal, per se, as the definition indicates “foolhardy” or “risky.” At this stage of my career and with my company, there is no need to be impudent with anything. On a straight-line basis, though, my goal is to grow the company by approximately 20 percent and then personally ease off the throttle. I’ll never retire, but I will take time for “personal hours” for enjoyment of family in general – the “next generation,” specifically – and some more sailing, some more writing and some more travel.