15 January 2012

New York State of Mind

I look forward to traveling to New York, it's one of my favourite places to visit in the entire world. I love the energy, the pace, the fact that everyone is going somewhere. I love the fact that every time you turn around you see something familiar, so many movies and television shows are set in New York City, something you really notice after visiting.

I visited New York for the first time ever in May of 2010, been there several times since and will be back again and again. New York is always moving at the speed of light and I feel right at home with the hustle and bustle. It's I'm now accustomed to, in a weird way the pace is almost calming, relaxing in that everyone is moving at the speed I've been operating at these days.

Digital Book World in January is what's brought me here this time. Aside from the conference, I will be meeting with several publishing houses to acquire content for Enthrill's exciting new ebook retail program. Looking forward to this, the publishing industry is filled with many smart and passionate people.

So, two for two. I get to go to New York and meet with people I really enjoy and respect, circumstance and luck has put me in front of some of the most important people in the industry.

The past year has been one of complete focus. Laser focus. I began working on Enthrill Distribution full time, after months of planning, researching and exploration into the market we are to disrupt.

What provided some complication was the fact that I already had a full time job running Francomedia, my digital/creative firm. But, I wasn't too worried about taking time away from the company I built over the past 8 years, my staff is fantastic and fully capable of creating great work without me standing over their shoulders. I'm very proud of my team, they have been so patient with this change in our operation, I'm thankful for this.

So, for the last 8 months I went from being busy to being so busy that mere words can't describe it. This short-term pain is necessary though, and as unpleasant as it is at times - coming home after the kids have gone to bed, working weekends and holidays - we are introducing something to the market that will benefit a great many people. Our program is important and timely, in fact, some in the industry have called it 'necessary' some have called us 'white knights' and 'game changers'. I suppose these types of comments set a certain expectation, this drives me even further to ensure its success.

The next few weeks are going to be critical, we've got a new office, we're scaling up on staff, we're going a million miles an hour getting ready for launch. If you've ever done a retail launch, you know what's involved, if you haven't just know it's a lot of work. We've got a good team, we have to. And, I'm confident in our team, in our concept and in our product.

My next posting on Enthrill will include some details on our product, how we're launching and maybe even some pictures. These are exciting times for everyone involved with Enthrill.

Perhaps when this is all over and I'm visiting New York purely for pleasure, I will find the pace unsettling. Nah, I doubt it. I'll always love New York, as is.

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