As we roll through the holiday season, it’s a great time to reflect on what has been accomplished in 2014 and look ahead to what 2015 will bring.
Next week, instead of the usual Las Vegas Business Press magazine, we‘ll bring our readers the annual Book of Lists. It’s a reference volume that updates the lists we’ve published this year, providing a snapshot of who’s grown … and who hasn’t. It can serve as a source when shopping for professional services or for prospecting new business or a way to find contact information for that interesting person you met at that networking event or …
The possibilities are endless.
The following week, we’ll kick off the new year with something quite special. Through the summer and fall, we’ve been talking with our audience. We’ve conducted a readership survey and convened several focus groups. The readers we’ve spoken with have told us they want a newsier publication with more of everything.
So that’s exactly what we’ve designed.
Starting with the Jan. 5 edition, we’ll break from the glossy cover and the square magazine format. Instead, the Business Press will come to you in a larger tabloid format that looks and feels more like a newspaper.
And, it’ll have new features inside:
■ Each week, our Focus section will look at a specific industry in a combination of stories and columns from guest experts.
■ A page called Learning Curve will help readers get better at what they do. Jim Pawlak’s BizBooks column will be a recurring theme and he’ll be joined by a mix of stories and columns offering business tips.
■ People are the universal driver of business and we’ll be doing more profiles of business men and women. Some will be C-suite executives; some will be startup innovators; others will be small-business owners and entrepreneurs.
■ The first week of each month, we’ll take a closer look at one of our area’s distinct neighborhoods. We’ll open with a look at hospitality and the Strip. In subsequent months, we’ll focus on Summerlin and Henderson, North Las Vegas and downtown.
■ We’re also adding a mix of guest columns. We’re inviting experts from across the valley — and sometimes beyond — to share their thoughts. The Talking Points series will look at broad subjects that cross industry lines. In ‘Expert corner,’ we’ll deliver topical information specific to an industry, often in combination with our Focus topic.
■ We’re overhauling our list-gathering processes with new software and a renewed emphasis on accuracy, thoroughness and credibility. It’s a process that relies on the willingness of companies — mostly private companies — to share the data willingly. So help us help you. When you get a survey request, fill it out and get it back to us by the stated deadline.
■ We’ll add a commentary page, where we hope to produce a lively discussion of issues affecting our communities. We’ll have guest columns and from time to time we’ll arrange pro and con debates.
■ Of course, we’ll have a mix of the features readers tell us they like — insider columns, 5Q interviews, Snapshot.
That first week in January also will see the launch of our new website — businesspress.vegas. We expect to produce a daily stream of local news of interest to the business community. And we’ll be sending it straight to your computer as a daily e-newsletter as well as in Twitter and Facebook postings.
It’s an exciting time and all the changes are designed to meet the needs of the Las Vegas business community. Take a look and tell us what you think. You can reach me at nbell@bizpress.vegas.
