by Ken Gornstein, VermontBiz Before Bernie Sanders rode a populist wave into the Burlington mayor’s office, before Ben and Jerry dished out their first scoop of ice cream from a renovated Burlington gas station, before Trey Anastasio and Phish played their first gig at UVM’s Harris Millis cafeteria, there was Vermont Business Magazine.
And this year, we turn 50.
For the dozen or so writers and editors and graphic designers and sales reps and event coordinators who toil to bring you Vermont Business Magazine each month (and since the advent of the web, every day), that’s something worth celebrating, pandemic be damned. And so, we lift our coffee mugs and toast not just our talented and dedicated staff, past and present, but also you, our loyal readers and advertisers.
Thank you for joining us in this labor of love we now call VermontBiz.
—
Like so many Vermonters of a certain age, VBM came from humble beginnings, a scant page or two of business news tucked away in founder Oliver RB Salter’s daily Springfield Times-Reporter. But what it lacked in quantity, the new business page more than made up for in quality, and the state’s growing and maturing business community ate it up.
Capitalizing on this early success, Salter, with Times-Reporter editor David Tillman at his side, launched Vermont Business World, the first stand-alone business publication in the state, in February 1973. The banner story in that first edition dealt with the depletion of Vermont’s unemployment fund. Also on the cover was a story on the sparkling new Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
With a struggling economy and the Vietnam War still in progress, perhaps this wasn’t the best possible time to launch a new business after all.
But the magazine endured, even as it changed hands (and names) a few times over the next two decades, before VBM editor Timothy McQuiston and advertising director John Boutin took ownership of the publication in 1993.
—
McQuiston, an anthropologist by training who cut his teeth in journalism at a chain of Massachusetts weeklies and, later, the daily Brattleboro Reformer, and Boutin, an accountant with a strong background in sales and finance, were ideally situated to lead VBM into the next decade.
With McQuiston handling editorial duties and Boutin overseeing business operations, the magazine finally achieved the stability and continuity it needed to not only survive but thrive.
It would not be an understatement to say that in their 29 years of ownership, McQuiston and Boutin have completely transformed the Vermont Business Magazine model.
In the earliest days of their ownership, McQuiston and Boutin introduced annual issues of VBM.
The turn of the century brought a turn toward the future.
In the early 2000s, a companion website was launched (vermontbiz.com), which instantly transformed the magazine from a monthly to a daily “publication.” The site now receives more than 1.3 million visits per year.
In 2006, e-newsletters were added to the menu of offerings — the first daily e-news from any source in the state. Today, subscribers have the option to receive an e-newsletter literally every day of the week.
“We now have the ability to publish breaking news, company press releases, more commentary and features — even crime news,” McQuiston said. “People want to know what’s going on, and they want to know it right away. And why not?”
Perhaps the most noteworthy addition to VBM’s business model is the suite of seven business-focused events that have grown into one of the company’s most reliable sources of revenue.
These include the Deane C Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award, Small Business Person of the Year Award, Vermont Business Growth Awards, Best Places to Work in Vermont Awards, Rising Stars Awards, Best of Business Awards (BOB) and the Made in Vermont Marketplace, a two-day showcase of Vermont-made products that annually attracts about 5,000 visitors.
Each of these innovations have built on the other to solidify Vermont Business Magazine’s place as the most comprehensive source for business news in the state.
“Until recently,” Boutin said, “we had many competitors in Vermont for business news coverage. Today, we are the only business publication remaining (in the state), which says a lot about the work we publish and the great crew we have here at VBM.”
—
So, what’s next? In the near term, you might be better off consulting Dr. Fauci than a media expert as the pandemic threatens to lay waste to every business in its path. But having successfully weathered the ups and downs of the past 30 years, McQuiston and Boutin are confident the best is yet to come.
“My biggest hope is that the business community in Vermont thrives in the years ahead,” Boutin said, “and that we continue to communicate their stories to business and political people throughout Vermont in print, online and at future VermontBiz events.”
