People often express envy when they learn you own your business. I frequently heard, “Gosh, it must be nice to be your own boss, work when you want, no one tells you what to do.” Folks don’t realize how tough and exhausting it can be. The entrepreneur works harder, runs faster, and takes big risks to make her dream come true. But sometimes the dream is impossible and to survive, she needs to cut her losses, suffer the consequences, and stand down. Learning, regrouping, and starting anew tests her resilience. My wise woman friend, Vicki DeArmon, courageously, generously shares her story of making a gut-wrenching choice.
The Lure of Early Luck
Timing punched Vicki and her soon-to-be ex-husband’s lucky number. He finished his San Francisco 49ers history book right after the team won the 1985 Super Bowl. With the advent of the personal computer, Foghorn and a number of other small presses were launched in the Bay area. Vicki was 28, full of optimism, big plans, and unlimited energy. She played a pivotal role in the San Francisco Book Festival which drew 35,000 attendees. Suddenly, the Bay area small presses were the poster children of the burgeoning west coast publishing industry. Vicki’s brother, Dave, joined Foghorn Press as soon as she was divorced. Armed with contracts for two sports books and an outdoor guidebook, Vicki convinced Publishers Group West (PGW), the biggest distributor of independent presses, to represent them. Foghorn was off and running, armed with Vicki’s tremendous self-confidence, Dave’s concern for detail, and a bucketful of ideas.
Risky Marketing
Sitting in their tiny trade show booth, hawking the last few copies of the football guide, Vicki dreamed of being a “player.” She wanted to be on the trade show floor with “the big guys” and have huge banners hanging from the ceiling, displaying god-sized pictures of authors’ faces at the American Booksellers Association (ABA) show. Convinced relationships drive sales, she rallied other small publishers to co-host a free event for retailers, media, and distributors, The Booked for Adventure Travel Party. The large turnout fueled her “we can do anything” optimism and event marketing became her strategy.
Vicki’s event concepts grew bigger as Foghorn expanded. She and her crew were featured on radio and TV as hosts of the Presidio’s 25th annual Earth Day. Unfortunately when the big day arrived, over 50% of the attendees snuck in for free. Foghorn was on the hook for the entertainment and printing costs and the financial loss fell on Vicki.
Working capital depleted, Foghorn was unable to cover the time lag between paying the printer and collecting revenue for the upcoming season’s guidebooks. Vicki solved the problem by asking their distributor, PGW, for a loan against future sales, enough to pay the printers and hire more people. Deal done – PGW suddenly owned 25% of Foghorn and a seat on the Board of Directors.
In 1991, Costco placed a trial order for guidebooks with Foghorn. The PGW rep mentioned if 3,000 books were sold during the first week, Costco would dedicate significant shelf-space for anticipated demand. Vicki decided to make sure it happened. Tirelessly, she visited all the Costco stores in the Bay area. With a guidebook in one hand and a $20 bill in the other, she convinced shoppers to buy the books. A year later, returns started flooding in. Foghorn accumulated more debt -- printing and associated production costs of the returned books were due.
No Ballast. No Guardrails. Out-of-Control
After five years of trying to temper their runaway growth, Dave left the company. By 1995, Vicki had grown Foghorn to $2,100,000 in sales, employed 20 people, and was publishing 20 books a year. Without the ballast of her brother’s common sense, Vicki’s big ideas and optimism had no guardrails. Risks grew bigger as the industry changed and distribution became more complicated. Working capital evaporated. Vicki’s emotional and personal strain escalated. Foghorn was vulnerable.
Gut-Wrenching Choices
Vicki personally carried much of Foghorn’s debt and deducted the losses from her income tax. The year after she remarried, decision time arrived when a big refund check landed in the mailbox. Pay down company debt or make a downpayment on a family house. Staring at that check, Vicki felt a stirring of resentment, a separating tear from Foghorn. She wondered how life might look without the financial pressure of the business. She imagined the satisfaction of handing a nice check to her brother, other family members and investors. Vicki made a gut-wrenching choice and opted for the house. Her yearning to become a mom won. She set the wheels in motion to sell the company.
Shortly after moving into the new house, Vicki was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She called Dave and begged him to take over the business. By 1997, Dave had trimmed Foghorn to five volunteers, all family members, including Vicki’s in-laws, his wife, and their parents. He got production and distribution under control. He asked Vicki to handle sales, but she was burned out and no longer had the energy. She was done with Foghorn. She and her husband had decided to adopt three foster children, siblings.
The Pain of Divergent Paths
By 1999, Dave had stabilized Foghorn. An outstanding lawsuit was settled, overhead was reduced, and debt was manageable. The business volume was down, but profitable when he heard rumors Vicki was selling Foghorn to PGW. He was furious and felt betrayed. The sizable checks he and his family members received did not ease the pain. The family fractured.
For the next twenty odd years, Vicki focused her formidable energy on being the best mom possible while juggling various jobs in the publishing industry. She admits thriving on taking risks. She took a risk starting Foghorn Press, a risk adopting three foster children. She acknowledges that for years she lived a life governed less by logic and more by emotion, less of practicality and more of service, less of saving and more of spending. Optimism fueled her stamina. She learned to forgive herself and move on from mistakes, tossing them into her learning bucket. Her mistakes buoy her up and make her stronger. She is determined to be honest and open about her choices.
Leveraging Lessons Learned
In 2022, at age 62, Vicki and three colleagues founded Sibylline Press whose mission is to publish the brilliant work of women over 50. Things are much different this time. Vicki is leveraging over forty years of publishing experience and a lifetime of learning. She understands the importance of self-care. Having space and time to reflect is a priority. Her go-to questions are “where am I going and how am I going?”
Vicki has fine-tuned her process of navigating through problems. If the answer is not apparent, she sits with the issue, giving time for ideas to percolate, to sort out. She no longer tries to wrestle the problem to the ground, forcing an immediate solution. She is comfortable backing off, researching pertinent information, ruminating and allowing the solution to manifest itself.
Yes, she’s still a risk-taker, but guardrails are in place. Vicki listens, reflects, and collaborates with her team. In two years, Sibylline surpassed Foghorn’s five-year revenue mark.
Love the story! Thanks for sharing.
As the owner of my own law firm for over 20 years