Making Headlines The money to pay the staff was a maybe. Her partner left her alone in the eats-entrepreneurs-alive magazine industry. Could Pat Means survive, much less succeed? You better believe it.

There is a turning point in each of our lives, a moment wheneverything changes either for better or worse. For Pat Means, herswas for the better, and it happened to be Turning Point.It's a magazine, a point of view--and for the 49-year-old,it's a career, a dream fulfilled and a way of life.

Means spent most of her adulthood in product marketing andconsumer promotions. She started her own marketing and promotionalservices company in Dallas in 1983 and then continued that line ofwork as a consultant when she moved to Los Angeles in 1990.

The initial idea for Turning Point came during the riotsin Los Angeles in 1992, when, for a couple weeks, the world thoughtfor sure the city would slip into the sea without help from anearthquake. Means was affected by the crisis and talked with KarenHixson, a college friend who also had moved to Los Angeles, aboutwhat they were seeing on TV. Means says much of what they saw inthe news was negative. "We wanted to look at what was rightwith L.A.," she says, "the positive things going on, andthe proactive people."

The two started to think about putting out a newsletter aimed atmiddle- and upper-class African Americans--it would focus onpositive things going on in African American culture. Leave thenegativity to CNN, NBC, The Washington Post and the rest ofthe media masses, they thought.

The newsletter idea evolved into a full-fledged magazine, withMeans and Hixson each contributing approximately $1,000 to theirnew project.

Soon, they began immersing themselves in the world ofperiodicals, buying "a ton of magazines to see the layouts andtrends," says Means, who was also studying the concept'sfeasibility. She felt there weren't any existing magazinesdoing what they wanted to do: "a four-color, glossy localmagazine with a positive focus that would speak on issues ofinterest to middle- and upper-income African Americans."

According to Folio, the magazine-industry tradepublication, 400 to 500 magazines begin every year, and every year,three out of four magazines fail. But that didn't deter Meansand Hixson. They determined Turning Point would be publishedquarterly and given away for free.

The magazine debuted in 1993 with a circulation of 50,000 andbrought in $100,000 that year. The first issue, Means admits,"was a pretty crude little thing." But nobody'ssaying that now. By 1998, the circulation hadn't changed, butthe advertising dollars had: The revenue was up to $600,000. Thisyear, Turning Point expects to make $1 million.

Turning Point can't be found on the newsstands;it's distributed through churches, social and professionalorganizations, and some retail stores. "We were [and stillare] trying to play a positive role in the development of AfricanAmericans," says Means, which is one reason her magazineisn't carried in liquor stores and doesn't acceptadvertisements promoting alcohol or tobacco products.

You Want Me To Work For What?

Means and Hixson worked tirelessly to keep Turning Pointfrom becoming one of those depressing magazine-industry statistics.To pay for living expenses, Means didn't give up her publicrelations company until 1995, and Hixson kept up her forays intopolitics and the public sector. And the partners worked hard to cutcosts: For the first issue of Turning Point, they initiallyworked out of their homes, and they searched for writers, designersand photographers who were willing to work on"speculation"--which meant, possibly...for free?

"If the issue was profitable, we would pay them,"Means recalls. "And if it wasn't, they wouldn't billus. They agreed because they believed in the concept. Fortunately,we did make money on the first issue--until we paid them. [We hadjust] enough money left over from that to work on the secondissue."

And then the two publishers worked on the third issue, and thenthe fourth. It wasn't long before their Turning Pointwas being distributed throughout Southern California--a larger areathan Means and Hixson had ever envisioned their magazine wouldreach. Northern California came next.

"You have to grow, or you perish," Means notes. AndMeans and Hixson were doing everything they could to helpTurning Point grow. They launched a local radio show in 1994called Turning Point Live. In 1995, they put up a Web site,an almost revolutionary move back then. But it was exhausting work,and the long hours eventually led to Hixson's departure in1996. Turning Point seemed destined to finally become one ofthose annual three out of four this time.

"I think she was just burned out," Means says."We were working very hard, 60 to 80 hours a week, and so shedecided, given her skills and background, she could make more moneyand work less hard. And she was right."

Pick-Me-Ups

Hixson had been handling much of the editing and production ofthe magazine, while Means had managed the marketing and businessend. "Even though we were four years into it, I didn'thave the editing experience [to go it alone]," Means says."I didn't know if I was going to be able to find areplacement for the things my partner did."

But Means could and did. She hired someone to take overHixson's editing duties, and as the sole publisher, Meanscontinued to immerse herself in the magazine. And by 1997, Meansherself was almost burned out. "I went to dinner with a friendwho always gives me clearheaded, rational advice--a very goodbusinessperson. And I was sitting there sobbing, `I'm sotired.' He looked at me and said, `You don't have the timeto be tired. You've got to decide what you want and how toachieve that.'"

It was Means' second turning point in her life, at leastconcerning Turning Point. Her friend's words made animpact. She pushed forward and didn't give up."[Publishing the magazine solo] made me look seriously atwhether it was worth staying in the business," she says."But it taught me something about myself. Yes, I have a strongwill to do what's necessary to accomplish my goals. It taughtme to accept help from people, because a lot of people steppedforward to provide help and advice. It taught me to say `Yes,thanks so much,' rather than `No.' Now, when people say,`How can I help?' I have a list, and I say `What on the listcan you do?'"

Mostly, Means says, the magazine has become so successfulbecause "Turning Point hasn't been a singulareffort; it's been a community effort [of people saying] `Webelieve in what you're doing.'"

And Means insists, "I haven't done anything by myself.Every time I turned around, there was someone there to give me ahand or advice, or to make some phone calls for me. The people whowork here aren't employees; they're all partners.Turning Point is more than a magazine."

Now It's Her Turn

Growing up in Henderson, Texas, a tiny town of approximately10,000, Means never thought she'd someday be the editor of herown magazine, and writing wasn't something she pursued. But ifthere were any clues to her future career, it was that she washabitually on the receiving end of writing. "Reading was myescape. I was reading early on," says Means. "By reading,I could be anywhere, I could be anybody, and I could do anything.It was my way of seeing the broader world."

And now she has, and she's helping her readers see it, too.Means has been to Europe and back, and spends some of her time inWashington, DC, when the call arises, but mostly she's in LosAngeles, where Turning Point is based, still toiling 60 orso hours per week.

With every issue, Means has met, either personally or throughthe words of her writers, African Americans with inspiring tales totell, from Dr. Kenneth L. Black, a prominent neurosurgeon who toldreaders, "I view life as being a real balance; you get whatyou give," to actor/director/writer/producer Miguel A. Nunez,whom Turning Point quoted in a profile as saying, "Evenwhen I was eating out of trash cans, I knew 100 percent then that Iwould be where I am today."

Means has also befriended Congressman and civil-rights activistJohn Lewis, and she's had Rosa Parks over for Easter dinner."I get goose bumps when I think of them," Means says.

For both Means and her readers, the African American communityhas become a little smaller, a little tighter, a little closer--andthat's just what she wants. Something else has also happenedover the years, something you wouldn't expect the editor of ayoung magazine to say: "I am indeed rich. Richer than I couldever imagine." These were her words in a letter to herreaders, and Means wasn't talking about money. "I amrich," she observed, "because Turning Point hashelped me grow tremendously as a human being. I am rich because Ihave the dream job."

Contact Source

Turning Point, (310) 821-6910, turningp@aol.com

Elaine W. Teague contributed to this article.