Neysha Soodeen - Contributed

Ten years ago, Neysha Soodeen had youth on her side. She had nothing to lose, no track record to defend, and wanted to prove everyone wrong.

"I could not comprehend the fact that if I produced a magazine which had strong editorial content, stunning photo-graphy and a sexy design, people living in the Caribbean would not want to see what's inside or buy it," Soodeen told Flair.

She decided to publish the magazine when she returned home from a two-year modelling contract in Italy.

"I realised that friends and family here in the Caribbean were emulating everything foreign. In Europe, everything Caribbean was coveted - our music and food. I wanted to bring the appreciation of what we had home to the people who lived here. If they saw our homes beautifully featured in a glossy magazine, they would look at Caribbean design differently!

"I also had an innate desire to show the world that we were so much more than an archipelago of rocks dotted with resorts. I wanted to showcase the beauty of how we lived to an international audience."

Ten years later

She achieved this, and on Saturday, November 14 at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston, MACO magazine celebrated its 10th anniversary.

"Youth is an amazing thing!" she told Flair in an email interview. "Everyone, including my bank manager, told me that publishing a regional magazine for retail would never survive."

MACO magazine is now distributed in 53 countries, with the largest markets (besides the Caribbean) being the United States, Canada and Australia.

MACO started out as an architectural magazine but, by the third issue, grew to include a cuisine and travel section. By 2004, the magazine grew to more than 200 pages. Soodeen then decided to remove the travel section and launch Destinations Magazine.

In 2004, Moving Magazines, a magazine- and book-distribution company, was launched to help other budding publishers distribute and market their products.

"We now produce seven magazines and a number of books, including our first children's book, Brown Sugar & Spice, a book for the tween market to be launched in December," she told Flair.

Cancer

Her success did not come easy. "After I graduated from university, I was lucky to get a modelling contract with Elite in Milan, Italy. I was there for two years before I found out I had cancer. I was 23 years old and had to have surgery, a full thyroidectomy, which meant a scar across my neck. So it was bye-bye modelling and I underwent three years of treatment until I was finally in remission," she recalled.

"The whole situation did nothing but catapult my determination in life to make it. I started MACO soon thereafter. I guess this is the perfect example of 'when life gives you a lime, go ahead and make lemonade'!"

Soodeen has much to be proud of as her determination and hard work have paid off after a financial loss in the first year. She was never deterred. Being business-smart also helped.

"I had budgeted for an operational loss in the first year and knew the company would recover once we were able to become cash-flow positive. If you are a young entrepreneur and your company is losing money, you'd better find the drive to get out of the hole fast."

Soodeen is not ready to relax. The work continues. "I expect MACO to grow even further. There are still people out there who do not know the magazine and advertisers who have not yet spent their money with us. I am satisfied with its growth and proud of the barriers that we have pushed down, but I am still not fully happy with where we are and believe we need to push the magazine to its full potential."

All this from a criminologist who just woke up one day and decided to publish a magazine.

"Besides, there was not a lot of money to be made working with the Ministry of Justice on prison reform," she added.

The years have made her stronger.

"What used to affect me before is water off a duck's back now. My role in the company over the years has changed. When I started MACO, it was a one-man show and throughout the years my role has changed from managing editor (more creative) to managing director, with 13 full-time staff and over 30 freelance writers and photographers."

nashauna.drummond@gleanerjm.com