Featured Business: Holl & Lane Magazine
Check out Holl & Lane Magazine at:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Please check out Holl & Lane’s FREE mini magazine issue to learn more about who they are at www.hollandlanemag.com/signup.
Sarah Hartley, Editor-in-Chief at Holl & Lane Magazine
Lets get personal. Tell us about you.
Do you have kids? Where are you from? What is your career history? What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
My name is Sarah and I’m the creator and Editor in Chief of a magazine called Holl & Lane, but I’m also a wife to a man named Brandon, a mom to a 2 year old son named Henry, and I work full-time for an architecture firm. We currently live near Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve loved to write since I was a little girl and that eventually turned into blogging, having my own newspaper column, and now, the magazine. You might be surprised to know that I have a fashion degree as well as a master’s in business. I’ve worked in several different industries from fashion buying to health insurance and now architecture!
What inspired you to go into your line of business?
Is there an interesting story behind how you ended up where you are?
I’ve had three big goals for my life; write a novel, open a boutique, and start a magazine. Shortly after my son was born, I started thinking about these options more and more, wondering what might work so that I could stay home with him and still have this side business (as I always need something else to do). In 2015, I decided it was time to take a leap and pursue one of these passions. A boutique was too expensive, and I had no idea what to write about for a novel so I decided that a magazine was the goal. In April 2015, I started working on the magazine and on June 1st I published my very first issue.
I had no idea what I was doing (and still often don’t), but it’s been such a fun ride to learn all about it and see it grow.
Tell us about your business.
How long have you been in business? What do you sell/offer? What makes you unique?
Holl & Lane Magazine has been around since June 1, 2015, so just over a year. We are a bimonthly magazine that is starting the movement for more honest media. When I was a blogger, I saw a desperate need from readers to see more truthful stories and that turned into Holl & Lane. We share the stories that people don’t often talk about in the hopes of starting a conversation. We’ve had stories on infertility and miscarriage, adoption and addiction, divorce and new motherhood, PTSD and medical emergencies, eating disorders and recovery and so, so much more. We are doing something different than any other magazine by giving everyday women a voice and a platform to share their honest lives.
Tell us about your product.
What excites you the most about your item? What are the benefits of your product? What makes it unique? What is your favorite feature?
By reading Holl & Lane Magazine, you’re able to see that you are not alone in this great big world, that someone else has gone through a similar experience. We’re hoping to inspire you to know that you will come out on the other side. I love that the magazine is bringing people together over their common experiences.
Describe what your brand stands for.
Ex: honesty, quirky, adaptable, smart …
Holl & Lane is honest, welcoming, and inspiring.
What is your mission statement?
Why does your business exist? And for whom?
At Holl & Lane, we believe that everyone has a story. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone has the power to help others by sharing a portion of their lives. We want to be the platform to allow women to open up, to connect with one another, to help each other, and to start a real conversation. Each time you open up and share your story, you have the power to allow someone else to say, “Me, too”. We are starting a movement for more honest media.
What was/is your biggest struggle in business?
We all know running a business is not a bed of roses. What was/is your biggest thorn in the side? …
Getting the word out about the magazine is tough. We rely completely on word of mouth and luckily that is getting a bit easier now but at the beginning, of course, it’s much more difficult. Also, trying to stand out in a sea of other beautiful magazines is hard!
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Could be reaching a sales goal, working with a particular company, business growth, etc…
Every time I get an email from a reader who tells me how much an article means to her, it feels amazing. It goes right into my sunshine folder to remind me for the days when it feels too hard to keep going. The reason I do this is because I want to help women and so those emails are what keep me going.
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