Alberta Venture: 10 years covering the boom and being part of it

Alberta Venture, Alberta’s only province-wide business magazine, marks its 10th anniversary in April with a special issue that looks back at the first 10 years and forward to the province's next 10.

As part of the special issue, publisher Ruth Kelly reflects on the challenges of starting a magazine that has grown to an audited circulation of 32,000 -- 25% paid and 75% largely qualified controlled -- with a claimed audience of 168,000.

“That first year is a blur…We threw parties in both [Edmonton and Calgary], to introduce the magazine and ourselves. To save money, we catered the party ourselves…And we hit the streets to talk up the magazine to every possible potential advertiser…Amidst the exhilaration were some brutal rejections. One agency owner in Calgary told [advertising sales director] Sharma Christie he would never buy advertising in Alberta Venture because, as he elegantly put it, “What do girls know about business anyways?”

Over the decade, Venture Publishing has grown from a staff of five to more than 30, increased frequency to 12 times per year, added a contract publishing division producing six different magazines (Tracks& Treads, Food for Thought, Your Health, Grip, Open Mind and Alberta Innovators) as well as corporate magazines for clients such as Syncrude, Epcor and Nait.