2013 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award Finalist: 417 Magazine

When publishers Gary and Joan Whitaker made an 11th-hour decision to acquire the insolvent 417 Magazine in 2001, broadcast journalist Gary Whitaker was looking for a life change. “I had made my career out of delivering the bad news each weeknight at 10 p.m.,” he says. “I wanted a chance to showcase all the good things going on in our community.”

But the purchase seemed an unlikely showcase for anything. With a mere 400 subscribers, the publication was hemorrhaging $15,000 a month and preparing for its final issue. But within six months, the Whitakers had balanced its books, returning 417 Magazine to profitability via a 500 percent first-year subscriber increase.

In the dozen years since, the publication has delivered a monthly collection of lifestyle stories and features. Boasting a regular readership of 130,000 and an advertiser-friendly six-month shelf life, the magazine is widely distributed with recruiting materials by area employers who want to highlight the best the Ozarks have to offer.  

The magazine also bucks current media trends.

“We really broke the code by allowing print to continue driving the other elements of our business,” he says. “Readers are connected to us via our websites and events, but our readership numbers show that few of our consumers ever miss a print issue.”

As the area economy returns to speed, 417 Magazine is keeping pace by fine-tuning its offerings, most recently with the successful launch of the Health & Wellness expo.

The publication also garnered top industry association honors in 2011, besting larger metro-area publications from Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. After leaning on the experience of other industry publications when starting out, Whitaker says today many of those same colleagues approach him looking to 417 for best practices.

“In the beginning, we had to learn everything about the business,” he says. “It was a little like drinking from a firehouse. But we have remained nimble and responsive enough to try things that bigger organizations can’t figure out, until they see someone like us pull it off. It’s gratifying when we can offer that kind of advice.”

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