I've had an idea...

Every day at work I skip read the Financial Times. I edit a weekly newspaper for the business car and van industry and one of my first jobs each day is to scan the FT for relevant stories to follow-up.

On December 11, 2007, this story caught my eye: US publisher in Manchester business magazine launch.

As I read the article an idea started to take shape and that idea seemed to represent the coming together of several trains of thought and a set of circumstances.

My idea was to create a multimedia brand called Peterborough Business, based initially around a website and high quality business-to-business magazine but ultimately incorporating podcasts, online radio and TV and possibly events.

Some of my spare time during December was spent thinking about the idea and trying to find out if anything like it existed already. I did some online research and sent an email to an accountant/business advisor that, so far hasn’t received a response.

Over the Christmas holidays I got a stinking cold, so confined to the house I decided to put together a simple website to give some shape to the idea. Halfway through creating the website I got a crisis of confidence. Maybe the idea isn’t very good, perhaps nobody is interested...

As the cold improved (I drank more scotch) I stuck at it and completed the modest website just before the new year. I took a short break and, feeling much better, I resolved to press ahead with the idea from the very start of 2008.

And now it’s January 1 and my first positive step has been to create this blog – an account of my endeavours. I started by writing a 400-word explanation of why I think it’s such a good idea. I wrote about those several trains of thought and the set of circumstances I referred to above.

It read very well and I felt very positive.

Then I pressed the ‘Publish’ button and it all disappeared, lost in some black hole in cyberspace. Damn.

So now I’m fed up. Not at all positive. Maybe it’s not such a good idea after all... and it’s too early for a scotch.