Leisa: Hello, I’m Leisa Holland Nelson and welcome to another edition of Women Mean Business, where we’re going to take you up close and personal with extraordinary women doing extraordinary things. My guest today is Ruchi Mukherjee, the Founder of Lights, Camera, Action Houston, a digital, online magazine that’s going to print; Ruchi, welcome to Women Mean Business.
Ruchi: Thank you Leisa.
Leisa: I want you to tell us how you got all the way to the print edition of Lights, Camera, Action; tell us about your journey building your business.
Ruchi: Well, can I go back real quick about my life?
Leisa: Yes, of course, of course.
Ruchi: It started with print; it started with print. So I was a crime beat report way back in India for Times of India, a daily national English newspaper. Which I saw, of course, you know how you have those crazy – and you see the brunt of daily newspaper and I was a crime beat reporter so it was a love/hate like that; it was like “Oh my God, I can’t do this.” Yet loved it so much that deep inside I had the desire to eventually one day launch the print magazine. But we saw how the internet and online presence is so valuable. Even though you have the print magazine this is the day where people want to see it instantly. So I have the online magazine but we cannot forget I wanted to make it life and have the magazine in print, so this year that’s the reason I felt I was ready to have my journey of my over 10 years in Houston stories, stories almost like LCA Houston International Society Book, so this is what it is.
Leisa: So what’s been the greatest challenge getting to today; getting to launching this magazine?
Ruchi: Small business – very small business – doing everything myself; sponsorship to – but I’m very lucky to have people value the South Asian community; all the mainstream community have valued me and women owned businesses. Not just women owned businesses, businesses all over and they have come and said Ruchi we are behind you. So I had the support to be sponsored, so that – sponsorship is always a challenge, advertising’s always a challenge. Especially while being an editor, writer, being the creative person; Sales is hard but I do it. I feel I fairly do it well; for now I do it all by myself so that has been the biggest challenge because I’m so creative driven. When I look at you I don’t think of oh, how can Leisa be a sponsor, but I think of a story. So someone I feel has to handle the business side and I’m always that soft, creative person in me where I get a thrill of a story idea.
Leisa: Sounds like there’s an opportunity out there for a great Salesperson with Lights, Camera, Action Houston. Thank you for being here.
Ruchi: Thank you.
Leisa: There you have it, another extraordinary woman doing extraordinary things. I’m Leisa Holland Nelson, President and Co-founder of ContentActive, Houston’s leading web and mobile technology company. You can find me at ContactActive.com or follow me on Twitter @LHNelson. We’ll be back again next week with another edition of Women Mean Business.
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