From the Publisher

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Early hustles foretold a career in business

When I was a teenager, my best friend Ned and I conspired most every Saturday to find ways to earn extra money so we could live large at the movie theater. I came up with our schemes, and Ned helped me execute the plans and keep track of our earnings.

During the holiday season, he and I would gather mistletoe, package it and sell it for a buck a bunch while standing in front of a Publix grocery store. During the summer, we would canvas the neighborhood looking for folks who would pay us $3 to mow their lawn or $2 to wash their car. Always, we were collecting soft drink bottles and turning them in for the 2-cent deposit on each.

Given those income streams, we went to the movies most every weekend and enjoyed whatever we wanted from the concession counter. At the time, I had no awareness that I was a businessman and entrepreneur in the making.

There was a time when I had my sights set on becoming a doctor. Ned’s grandmother was a retired small-business owner from Chicago. She always supported our entrepreneurial inclinations. When I shared with her my interest in going into medicine, she responded immediately by telling me that I would find my future in sales.

Ned became a certified public accountant. Meanwhile, my med school ambitions were derailed by a course in organic chemistry. I just wasn’t wired to think in three dimensions.

Flash forward a decade or so. I had discovered a passion for media development and, as Ned’s grandma had predicted, for sales. I seized an opportunity to acquire Tallahassee Magazine and to establish Rowland Publishing. Over the last 30 years, RPI has grown to become the publisher of 30 titles and has produced dozens of book projects. I am pleased to be part of a team of publishing professionals who massage and polish all that we do, ensuring that it meets the highest standards of writing and design work.

Our business continues to discover and embrace opportunities.

In the past year, Steve Roden, the CEO of Guy Harvey Enterprises, approached me. He was looking for someone to take over Guy Harvey Magazine and develop a marketing campaign to attract global businesses willing to align their brands with his.

That relationship has stoked my entrepreneurial fire, and I find myself back on the front lines of sales again. When RPI got involved with Guy Harvey Magazine, we had a sales goal of $ı5,000 to hit for our first edition. We sailed past that figure to $ıı5,000.

Now, we are developing a new program that will yield significant dollars in support of the Guy Harvey Foundation’s marine research and ocean conservation efforts, and we’re having a lot of fun doing so.

Ned’s grandmother was right. She saw a serial entrepreneur in the making, someone whose biggest compulsion is developing success and whose biggest phobia is failure. I am happy doing what I love to do, and with Guy Harvey on the line, I have lots of spectacular fishing trips to look forward to.

Thanks, Ned, for having been a great partner.

And thank you, Rowland Publishing team, for your commitment to excellence.

Dream big,

BRIAN ROWLAND

browland@rowlandpublishing.com

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at Tropic Star Lodge

Twenty-five anglers will have the opportunity to join Guy and Jessica Harvey on a 5 day/5 night VIP experience at the world famous Tropic Star Lodge in Piñas Bay, Panama.

Proceeds from this singular event will go to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation to support its marine conservation and research initiatives. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning that the cost of participation in the adventure will be tax deductible to you.

■ Five day/five night all-inclusive stay at Tropic Star Lodge. ■ Five people each day will fish with Guy Harvey. ■ Four people each day will fish with Jessica Harvey and with a scientist from Guy Harvey Enterprises. ■ Additional fishing days will be standard trips on a Tropic Star boat with captain and a mate. ■ A personalized Guy Harvey print for each angler. ■ Welcome bag with Guy Harvey Tropic Star clothing and souvenir items. ■ Lifetime subscription to Guy Harvey Magazine. ■ Lifetime membership in the Guy Harvey Ocean

Foundation Hammerhead Club. ■ Private dinners each night with Guy,

Jessica Harvey and a scientist from

Guy Harvey Enterprises. ■ Two drinks per day and wine at dinner. ■ Personalized 30-minute video of your adventure. ■ Breakfast/lunch and happy hour snacks. ■ Lodging at Tropic Star, double occupancy. ■ During the week, Guy will paint an original piece to be auctioned off on the last night. ■ Two private “arrival” and “departure” cocktail parties at Tropic Star’s mountaintop Palace. ■ Round trip air charter from Panama City to Piñas Bay. ■ Ground transportation from airport to hotel and domestic/international airport. ■ VIP greeting by Tropic Star representative as you depart your flight and personal support while going through customs. While waiting for transfer, admission to airport VIP lounge pending COVID restrictions.

Total Cost: $6,800

For available expedition dates, contact browland@GuyHarvey.com