Partnerships are sometimes like marriages – some make it; some don’t.
Over the summer my business partnership split up, and I am happily publishing Bella on my own now. Getting this first solo issue out has been difficult, but at the same time it has exceeded my expectations. Once again I have received an overwhelming amount of support from the community with comments like “You got this!” to “Let me know if there is ANYTHING I can do to help you out.” Bella has been everything I thought it would be, and I have been connecting with the community just as I hoped I would! That partnership is working!
Back to Basics
For quite some time, inside me, there has been a “pull” to this magazine, something I needed to do. When faced with multiple challenges over the summer, it took everything I had in the way of perseverance and tenacity to get this issue out. I had a pure love of Aiken behind my efforts and at every crossroads, I chose Bella.
I had a vision that I had to go back to basics. First, I had to define those basics, and keep them in front of me as my warrior shield for every challenge I took on. It turned out to be very simple:
God is good. He shows up, right on time.
I love my four daughters.
I love Aiken.
And right now, that’s enough.
During the summer, I also learned something about accomplishment. For my father, now deceased, I knew it was all about status and money. However, I just found out that for my mother, it means setting a goal and attaining it. I am following my mother’s example, and that’s why you’re reading this column right now.
Back to the Future
Publishing a magazine means always looking to the future one issue at a time and also looking at the big picture. I want Bella to have a multimedia presence – print, online, blogging, social media, and even YouTube. I want to expand distribution beyond that invisible 50-mile radius to draw more people into Aiken, so we can share this wonderful place we have.
Of course, there are lots of other things and experiences in life I want to add as I go along – for Bella and for myself. I have a feeling those will happen naturally.
Thanks to my Bella “Backers”
I want to thank the many people who have supported me in pursuing this dream and making it come true. I feel very accomplished right now, and I couldn’t have done it without you. There are too many to mention here, but the following were my heavy hitters, the ones that helped keep the game going:
Kathy and Rob Cunningham
Chris Austin, Kevin Pethick, and Curt Hanna
Thomas Herlong and Andrew Doran
Martha Rivers
Joshua Booth
Samantha Bodie
Eva Jackson
Tony, Leslie, and Catherine Gouge
Christine McKeel and Susanna King
Caroline Wade, Amber Ham, and Josie Keith
Dana Rideout
Joy Trammell
Robin Warren
Philly Sorensen
Barbara Morgan
Jane Page Thompson
Betty Ryberg
Lyddie Hansen
Tracy Seconi, Kayla Hitchcock,
Caroline Gwinn
Susie Ferrara and the Aiken Civic Ballet board
Keyatta Priester
Katy Lipscomb
Woody Malone
Brooks Reid Brown
Eleanor Togneri
Jeff Siler
John McMichael
Jonathan Larry & Byron Bush
Zoom Heaton
Martha Wise
Haley Knight and Bekah Muir
Marti Healy
Chunky, Krispy, and Moose
All the writers and advertisers who have contributed to my first solo issue.
And my four amazing daughters – Anaya, Sophia, Vanessa, and Liyla
Thanks to you and all Bella readers, I’m BACK!
Ladonna Armstrong
