From the Publishers
A message from two local business people who saw a need for a
local business-to-business publication in Rockland County.

Silence can be deafening and a sure sign that your business is not on the right track. Fortunately, that’s not the case here at Rockland Business Digest. We hear you!

We received a lot of calls and e-mails concerning last issue’s feature article: Putting the Pieces Together. Many readers recognized the fact that Scott Vanderhoef and the County have a great influence on business. Simply put, ‘Rockland is open for business’!

The same is true for Rockland Business Digest. This is our third issue and through steady circulation gains, word-of-mouth and good marketing, we’re growing our business. We do this with timely editorial on subjects that matter to you, presented in a format that you can use. For instance, a regular feature, “How’d They Do That,” provides solid advice to business owners from some of the county’s most successful business people.

In this issue we have an interview that looks squarely at what is perhaps the greatest growth of any company in Rockland’s history. Find out how Tom Hales, the CEO of Union State Bank took a small community lender and grew it from $27 million in customer assets to nearly $3 billion in assets today. As a business owner, pay close attention to his words of wisdom. Tom Hales has given you, the reader, actionable ideas that you can implement for immediate benefits.

Finally, it is difficult sometimes to quantify the success of The Rockland Business Digest — the magazine offers a number of quality writers focusing on many topics in Rockland. We really want to focus on quality. But, it was nice to learn of a ‘quantity’ that helps illustrate the quality and impact of the magazine.

We now have had over 72,000 hits on our web site, www.RBDigest.com. Visitors are reading current and archived content, checking out our stock quotes (updated daily), and learning about our advertisers and all they have to offer. That is something that we are both proud of from a ‘quality’ and ‘quantity’ standpoint.

Ken Mahoney

 

Hard to believe this is the third issue of our new publication. Actually, our limited edition Exhibitors Guide for the RBA’s recent Business-to-Business Expo qualified as issue #3 - so in one sense, this might be considered our fourth. Something like that.
Why should you care?

Because the Rockland Business Digest is a small business just like you. In addition to building and managing our own independent firms, Ken and I serve as the foundation for this publication. Our sales, graphics and administrative staff members function on numerous levels and in numerous ways and everyone involved wears a multitude of hats.

We know the special trials that belong to the small business person alone; cash flow, finding and keeping good employees, convincing others to buy into your dream, making sure your employees get paid. How many networking events can you squeeze in this month? How many new sales can you make this week? Next week? Every week in the foreseeable future? Forever? And after that? Woof.

Feedback for The Digest has been overwhelmingly positive and we couldn’t be happier with the reception we’ve received from the business community.

Now that we’ve proven that our magazine is a viable communications vehicle for the county, it’s time to take it to that next step. Thanks largely to your acceptance of The Digest, we’re on the path of stability and growth and looking for a select person or two to join our ranks.

Think you can sell media advertising? Join our dynamic team and prove it. Got an idea for a special ad campaign but not sure how to pull it off? Call and talk.

Rockland business? Revenues are the focus of our cover story offering a clear picture of the tourism industry and the revenue it brings into the county. Like all of you, we benefit from the tourism industry—even if we don’t sell to them directly.

Last word? Check out the last couple of pages—we call it PR Patter. Every day, every week they come. More and more notices about what you’re doing and how that affects others in the county. We love it — don’t stop.

From one small business person to another, I proudly urge you once again, “bon appétit!”

Steve Powell