Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in publication but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jan & Erin Johnson, founders of Trailblazher Co. Inc., located in Crossfield, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our business is Trailblazher Co, and we serve enterprising, rural women in Canada and the US. We do this through our wildly successful quarterly print publication - Trailblazher magazine, and our Trailblazher Collective membership. We share the stories, lifestyles, and businesses of rural women while also providing a gathering place to learn, support, and share with each other.

Tell us about yourself

We are a mother/daughter partnership. We first began our business offerings in 2000, over 21 years ago, as a creative design business with a line of print-produced hand-painted greeting cards. That evolved over time to provide many different services (website development/design, branding, marketing collateral, course development) to clients that utilized our individual skills and talents – Jan has always developed the written content and messages, and Erin has the graphic design talent to convey and translate the story. Trailblazher Co is our latest evolution that began in 2020, around the same time COVID started.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Well, probably the fact that we still love working together after all these years. Trailblazher magazine and all that we are building through this brand are our biggest accomplishments to date. We still have other plans we are building in the background as well, and we have the intention to make a big impact in helping rural women be successful in and through their businesses.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

With all that we are managing, we are finding that getting systems and processes in place so we can better manage our time is our current biggest challenge.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Take a deep look at yourself to understand what you are passionate about and how you can leverage that to provide value to a niche client.
  2. Think big, but start small so you can adjust and tweak as you begin; there will always be things the market will tell you.
  3. Surround yourself with other entrepreneurial women - give and get support.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Although the economic climate is ever-changing right now... there are plenty of opportunities to start and grow an amazing business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://trailblazherco.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trailblazherco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailblazherco/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.