So you want to start a business? I have pretty much lived my dream ... perhaps I can help you do the same.

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: On MANAGEMENT - Conference news

In the early '80s, things got tough for the Wiesner family. I was working for a medium-sized publishing company. A pretty good company. I was its president, doing well, but I wasn't happy.

I don't remember exactly why, but looking back it was probably because underneath it all I didn't like the way I was being president. I was looking for trouble, and I got in an argument with the chairman about money. Specifically my pay (which really wasn't that bad looking back on it now). It escalated into a stand-up shouting match in which he fired me and I quit at almost the same instant.

So much for my good job. Quitting was an incredibly positive rush for about a day. At the same time we were in a national recession, I was 44 years old, we had four kids in college and a 2-year-old, we lived in a nice area in Columbine, and we were slowly running out of money while I tried to be a publishing consultant.

With my back sort of at the wall and $3,000 in my pocket, I convinced two other very capable people to come into business with me, Jim Fahenstock and Phil Cook. They each took some stock (worth nothing obviously) in the company and modest pay, to enjoy the experience and perhaps make our own success.

They were very good at their jobs, and we were very lucky because we hit a home run with the very first magazine we tried, Mobile Radio Technology. We were able to borrow enough money to keep going and keep growing. We started a lot of new magazines and brought on a lot of good people. We published at one time or another around 40 different magazines, founded a half dozen profitable trade shows, had five offices around the country in major cities and had a blast doing it. I think our organization took most pride in growing our own people to move up in our company.

Nearly 25 years later I retired. It was a great run. I did a lot, and I learned a lot. Now I'd like to...