How getting fired led to starting a business newspaper

John Lohman, president and chief executive officer of the Corridor Business Journal, writes about the Iowa business newspaper’s start.

Lohman writes, “To be clear, we don’t think about being a legacy media company because we continue to have a startup ethos — which is important as the media landscape continues to shift and evolve. That’s probably why we’ve lasted and thrived over these 20 years. We are constantly innovating with new online and print products and events every year, and created the Quad Cities Regional
Business Journal (QCBJ) in 2021.

“We didn’t start the CBJ in 2004 to get rich or create a legacy media company, we simply started it with the mission of publishing local and regional business news and information, and hosting events to business and community leaders in the market; and with the unstated goal of never getting fired again.

“Years before starting the CBJ, I was ‘fired’ or ‘laid off’ or ‘terminated’ — however you want to characterize it. It was the defining moment in my career — what Peter Drucker calls a ‘crucible’ moment. Quite simply, I didn’t like getting ‘fired’ and wanted to do whatever I could to never let that happen again. The only answer to that question is to be your own boss and start your own business.”

Read more here.