An entrepreneur’s tale: A wild ride, soft landing
By Bill Settlemyer
President and CEO, Setcom Media
As most Business Journal readers know by now, I recently sold my business to Brown Publishing Co. Early reactions from friends and readers have ranged from a hearty “Congratulations!” to cautious concern about whether I had sold the business under duress instead of by choice.
Happily, this was not the case. Having long passed the age where I qualified for senior citizen discounts, I saw this as the right opportunity at the right time for me personally as well as for the business. The buyer, Brown Publishing Co., has been in the community and daily newspaper publishing business in Ohio for many years, and last year they made a strategic decision to diversify their business geographically and into the business publishing niche. That combination meant to me that they were likely to support our traditional mission of serving the business community with top-notch business journalism.
On the personnel front, I’m especially pleased to congratulate our publisher, Grady Johnson, now promoted to CEO and publisher, for his contribution to our success over the years. His leadership and management skills played a big role in getting us to this point, and I look forward to being “chief cheerleader” for Grady and our staff as they continue to grow the business.
Roy Brown, CEO of Brown Publishing Co., has asked me to continue to represent the company in the community. I look forward to doing so, bearing the venerable title of “Founder, Charleston Regional Business Journal.” As I put it to staff writer Dan McCue a few weeks ago, I’ve “sold the worry and kept the fun,” and that suits me just fine.
In the future, look for the occasional column from me on the pages of the Business Journal, but don’t expect to be entertained, inspired or outraged by my punditry in every issue.
A wild ride…
My history as an entrepreneur started after my wife and I moved to Charleston in 1982. Prior careers included five years as an Army JAG officer during the Vietnam War and eight years as corporate counsel for Colonial Penn Group in Philadelphia.
Throwing caution to the winds, I arrived in Charleston with no job and no idea of what might be next career-wise. I started out my first gig with a phone and a desk and the title “business broker.” Before that short six-month career ended, I had brokered the sale of a motorcycle dealership. Next up was taking a shot at private practice as an attorney. One failed partnership later, I was invited by the late Robert Hollings to join his practice on Broad Street, and we were later joined by Truett Nettles, who continues to practice at the same location.
I must say that practicing on Broad Street was like working on a movie set, a Charleston tradition at its very best, and working with Mr. Hollings (Fritz Hollings’ older brother) was a privilege and a pleasure. But my “media gene” kept intruding on my day job as a lawyer. I began writing occasional guest columns for The Post and Courier, and in 1987, I produced a video, “Bill Settlemyer’s Touring Charleston.” With marketing help from my wife, we managed to sell more than 30,000 videos over a period of years.
In 1988, I left the law practice and soon found myself partnering with several people in the video production business, during which time we managed to parlay my “Touring Charleston” credentials into a video program playing in most of the major hotels in the area.
A point came where I parted company with the partners in the video production business (are you beginning to see a pattern here?). The second bedroom in our small townhouse became my home office, and I soon began pursuing a career in dispute resolution. The highlight of that chapter in my life was being selected as a federal mediator in a free speech battle between street preachers and merchants in downtown Beaufort. Many of the merchants and the preachers were ex-Marines, which made it really interesting (backing down was not a familiar concept to any of the parties).
And a soft landing…
My brief fling at dispute resolution showed no evidence of gainful employment, however.
So…what could a 51-year-old entrepreneur with no gainful employment do? Well, duh! Start another business, right? In the fall of 1994, I spotted an article in The Wall Street Journal about how local business journals were being launched in major cities around the country to fill the demand for news for and about the business community. Eureka!
I incorporated my new business on Jan. 9, 1995, and went to work. The first issue of the Business Journal was published in June of that year and the rest, as they say, is history. It certainly wasn’t easy to go from an unfunded startup with no staff to where our company is today, but in the end, it has worked out well. A soft landing, to be sure.
Thank you!
There is a very long list of people in the Charleston region and beyond who deserve my thanks for their advice and support over the years. You know who you are, and while I will personally thank as many people as possible, please know that I deeply appreciate your personal contribution to our success.
Well, that’s a wrap, for now. Our region is a hotbed for entrepreneurship, and I feel privileged to have participated in the great adventure of starting and growing a successful business. I wish you all continued success in your businesses and careers. See you around!
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