Volume 2, Issue 2 Featuring FuelBelt
Happy Anniversary to the Rhode Island Small Business Journal! This issue marks the one year anniversary of our first publication date. What started out as an idea in July 2011, hit the stands in February 2012 and one year later we’ve lived to tell our story. Just like a wedding day, I remember the day our first issue went to press. It began with anxiety and stress, that lead up to the ultimate moment of excitement, the “I do”. That was the moment Jim sent the files off for production. We followed that up with our post ceremony “reception” at a favorite Providence bar. That night marked a celebration of eight months of hard work we had put into building the concept and the brand, and RISBJ was finally now going to be a reality.
Unfortunately for us, unlike a wedding there was no honeymoon after. I recall waking up the next morning after a long night out and thinking to myself “Do I really have to start on our next issue NOW”? The world of publishing was new to me and the thought of having to do this all over again was a bit overwhelming. Not only did we start on the next issue right away, but we’ve done it 10 more times since. With 12 issues scheduled for 2013, RISBJ has become the voice of entrepreneurship in Rhode Island, supporting our small business community, and we are here to stay.
This anniversary issue is one of our best yet. Our featured cover story is on FuelBelt, a Rhode Island company that has been on the Inc. 5000 list 6 years in a row. Founder Vinu Malik turned a lifelong passion of his into a thriving business. I truly believe that to be successful in business you need to have passion for what you do. Malik’s story shows us that if a market for your product exists, we can combine our passion with hard work and determination to be successful.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us turn our passion into a reality. We enjoy bringing you each and every issue of RISBJ and hope to continue to do so for a very long time. The traditional gift for a one year anniversary is paper and I couldn’t think of a more fitting gift to give than volume 2 issue 2 of RISBJ. If we make it to 50 years, Ralph promises a gold plated magazine. We’ll see how that turns out. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this anniversary issue!
