We've put together a toolkit for your business

We think you will find our new publication a compelling read, loaded with useful and actionable information. The editors of the Wisconsin State Journal and I have spoken with dozens of business decision makers from all kinds of capital region businesses to assess the need for this new publication and to learn what you and your colleagues want to know and read about.

We found that you didn't think any newspaper or periodical gave you the news, background and market data you are looking for in a business publication. We found that you do business regionally, not just in Madison, and you wanted a business publication with regional information and a regional perspective. We found your tolerance for puffery and "advertorials" to be as low as we expected it to be, and that no local business publication measured up to your standards.

Your ideas and requests formed the framework around which we built the Capital Region Business Journal. We honed and sharpened it in intensive discussions with our advisory board, drawn from the major business sectors in the region. We are lucky to work in a market rich with smart, talented business people, and we have tapped into their ideas and suggestions, and also their columns and articles.

You'll read about business strategy from local consultant and strategic guru Kay Plantes. You'll get legal advice from the top legal experts in the market, as well as business suggestions on topics such as human resources, business travel and how to take your business to the next level. And our writers are working hard to identify and analyze regional business trends.

My favorite part of the new Capital Region Business Journal is the regional business indicators. Along with my colleagues at Capital Newspapers, I run a good-sized business. As I think about the kind of information we need to manage our business, the questions we ask most often are: What's going on out there? How are other businesses performing? Is the market shrinking or growing? What are the trends in the key sectors that drive the regional economy? Working with some of the region's leading business thinkers and economists, our editors have compiled a set of regional business climate metrics and indicators that can answer those questions, and we are presenting them to you in an efficient and readable package.

Since you are a businessperson, too, I trust you'll indulge me a concluding sales pitch. One of the reasons we are launching the Capital Region Business Journal is because we think it will be a good, profitable business.

Our optimism has been validated by the response for advertising. We believed that our new publication would be a terrific business-to-business advertising medium, and we are finding that many of you agree with us.

We have the commitments from advertisers to ensure that our new venture will be successful, and that we can be assured of the resources needed to give you the quality publication you expect from us. We hope that you will find the Capital Region Business Journal an important source of information to manage your business, and that you'll use it to advertise your goods and services to other business people in the region.

Enjoy our new publication. And don't hesitate to give me your suggestions and criticisms so that we can make the Capital Region Business Journal work for you and your business.

Sincerely,

James W. Hopson
Publisher

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