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Ladonna Armstrong

September 11, 2019

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:

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

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