Alyssa Martina: Metro Parent in a Year

I thought Alyssa’s comments in regards to her one year goal were an interesting alternative to what you typically hear entrepreneurs say. All too often I think that people, especially driven individuals, have too much focus on their goals. While I think that you always have to be working on your goals, your longer term goals should not be so specific that it does not allow you to try some of the opportunities that arise along the way. The company that I currently work for used to make the Argus camera back in the 1940’s. At that time, it was the world’s largest selling 35mm camera in the world. After World War II, the Japanese started developing 35mm cameras that surpassed the Argus in quality at a much lower price. Needless to say, they lost almost all the market share they had held. The CEO determined a way to get the company back on course. Along they way, an individual proposed a new technology to the CEO. The CEO said that it didn’t work into his vision for where the company was going. The person with the new idea took it to Polaroid and everyone knows how big the instant camera made Polaroid. I’m sure many companies have stories such as this, and some may be true and some may be myth, but the point is to not be so focused that you miss out on what could be a great opportunity. Regards, Jeremy Ward

Metro Parent has been around for over 20 years and is around to help parents raise their kids. Alyssa Martina, who started in Law, is a true entrepreneur. My favorite section of these interviews was when she was describing how she attacked a new business idea. She and Bud described her focus as "tenacious" when it came to looking at an entrepreneurial venture. She said she was a risk taker by nature but her risks were never "leaps of faith" meaning that although she is willing to try something new or somewhat risky she will only take calculated risks. She said she will evaluate anything that seems of interest and a potentially viable business opportunity. This is a great piece of advice for future entrepreneurs and this is something that I plan on putting to practice. I also thought i twas interesting how she described her distribution model. She described her publication as free controlled quality. The free part being the most intriguing. Most of the money made from any publication is from advertising and not from subscriptions or newsstand sales. Alyssa is always looking to explore new segments in her market but at the same time offered some good advice when she said to "stay loyal to your market". This is also a great piece of advice for all businesses. Spreading yourself to thin over different markets can cripple a business. It is more important to be a leader in the field as apposed to being involved in many different fields.

Metro Parent really has the ball in its court. I think that Alyssa is able to do what some entreprenuers find difficult and that is to continue to serve its target market through change. It is very apparent that Metro Parent is established in it's niche, which Alyssa menitons in the beginning of this interivew and recognizes that the future plans are ones that invovled expanding the company and possible going onto the Internet. Well, I checked out the Metro Parent site and they did a wonderful job. As Alyssa states their main objective is to keep the connectivity levels with their customers high. I feel that Metro Parent is a company that has constant evaluation of their market to make sure they are not falling behind or failing to give their customers what they want. One of Alyssa's characteristic of passion and vision is something that I believe is what makes Metro Parent so successful. By passionately loving what she is doing there is little room left for her to get caught up in multiple business ventures that may not relate to her vision. In the interview she admits that she is a risk taker through exploration, but if it is not the right fit she will not jump into it because she has a clear vision. By having a clear vision to growth of the company benefits by not having random changes made all the time, instead it appeard that Alyssa entertains many ideas all the time but only selects the best fit for the company and the idea that will enable to company to grow in the visionary direction.