A former journalism professor of Dave Leathers once told him journalism is not for him (Dave), he better choose another career for his future. Fifty years later, Dave is a very successful journalist, publisher and CEO of Showcase Publishing, Inc. based in Kansas City.  After dropping out of college, Dave started working for his father’s weekly newspaper in 1974 and enjoyed the work in what were “the great days” for weekly newspapers.  In 1984, he saw the signs of what was happening in the newspaper world, and being the “drop-out” kid from college, he opted to head into magazines, “niche” magazines to be more specific.

His first magazine Kansas City Homes and Gardens made money from its very first issue.  What started as a one title grew into many specialized publications dealing with niche topics from shelter titles to relocating titles to help their audience find their ways in a new location.

Showcase Publishing Inc. now publishes three main titles: Cabo Living, Lake of the Ozarks Second Home Living, and Lake Relo.

In addition to the aforementioned titles the company publishes many other special issues and one shots dealing with shelter and relocation topics.

When I asked Dave about his secret for thriving over the last 40 years, his answer was one word, “Passion.”  And this passionate man has proven without any doubt that following your passion, identifying the correct market, and knowing your competition will lead to success.  A firm believer in ink on paper, Dave Leathers is a joy to chat with and to learn from.

So without any further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Dave Leathers, CEO and Publisher at Showcase Publishing, Inc., but first for the sound bites:

On his secret for success: “Well, I would say passion.”

More on his secret for success: “I learned hard work and persistence from my father. I did not graduate from college.”

On his publishing team: “I do not have an employee working for me that has not been with me at least 15 years. So we don’t have turnover.”

On how he chooses his publications’ markets: “Just felt that they were a ripe market that was underserved, basically.”

On his advice to someone wanting to start a new magazine: “I would say the first thing would be what market, what are the competitors and what is your background?”

On the role of print in a digital age: “When you pick up a niche magazine… and you’re looking through it, the last thing on your mind is fake news. It’s there in front of you.”

On his 40 years marker: “I still enjoy every day and I enjoy the people I work with.”

On what keeps him up at night: “The environment we’re living in today and the future for our children.”

And now for the lightly edited interview with Dave Leathers, CEO and Publisher at Showcase Publishing, Inc.

Samir Husni: My first question to you,  you’ve been at this for 40 years. You never gave up on print and you still publish several magazines on a regular basis in ink on paper. What’s your secret? What’s your affinity to print and how did you survive all those 40 years?

Dave Leathers: Well, I would say passion. I’ll never forget a seminar at Folio in New York City.

It was probably 15 years ago and those were pretty big deals at the time. A New York Times speaker declared that within the next two years, print would be obsolete and gone.

I don’t know where that speaker is today. He’s probably gone. But, so many people declare so many things.

The newspaper business has been drastically affected. And so is the national magazines.

You go to the magazine racks in the airport now, you can barely find a magazine. So there are certain ones that have.

I decided that I’d get into the magazine in 1985. I was working for my father from 1974 to 1984. He had a weekly newspaper and weeklies back then were going very well.  I believed in a niche market that continues to stay relevant and I believed a niche magazine will be successful. The fact that, you know, Ryan Dohrn had 370 publishers at The Niche Media Conference in Las Vegas last week really says it all.

The niche magazines here in Kansas City today, there’s probably 12 to 15 magazines just in the Kansas City metro market, which is,  3 to 4 million people. And so are all of them doing well? I’d say they’re all doing good. Some are doing very well.

And a lot of them are ex-employees. I learned hard work and persistence from my father. I did not graduate from college.

Actually, my reporting teacher at Kansas State, my journalism year, told me that I would never make it in journalism and find another career. So, I found a career and continue to believe in it. And the people that I work with, I do not have an employee working for me that has not been with me at least 15 years. So we don’t have turnover.

Samir Husni: So tell me, how do you pick the markets where you publish?

Dave Leathers: Well, when we started, we started a magazine called Kansas City Homes and Gardens in 1985.

I was in a Delta Crown room in Atlanta and I saw Austin Homes and Gardens. And I said, you know what, I think Kansas City could do that as well. So I called the publisher, Hazel Gulley, and she said, come on down and see me.

So my wife and I drove. She loaded my car up with three boxes of her magazines. Spent two days with her and came back to Kansas City and used her magazine as the template for what I said I would do.

And so I did that. We were profitable from day one. First magazine was profitable.

And so we were in Kansas City. We did a relocating magazine, a visitor guide to ancillary publications. And from there, decided that we could do other markets.

And so we did St. Louis. We did Vail, Colorado. We did Las Vegas.

We felt that those markets could use a publication. Most of those were relocation magazines. People that were moving to there, they did not have a magazine that we thought was appropriate.

How did we choose those? Just felt that they were a ripe market that was underserved, basically. Cabo Living Magazine was started because a graduate from Kansas University came to me for a job. She spoke fluent Spanish. I had been to Cabo 96 and she said she thought it would be a good market.

So we started that one in Mexico. That’s a whole other podcast about doing business in Mexico. And so we started that and found a publisher in Los Angeles who’s still with us today.

He just turned 80 years old. And same crew, same people, all from Los Angeles are still working on Cabo Living Magazine.

Samir Husni: So you were doing remote publishing before remote publishing was in vogue?

Dave Leathers: I would say yes.

It’s kind of interesting, Samir. The City & Regional Magazine Association (CRMA), which is a great organization, when we first got into it in the late 80s, we were the ugly stepchild.

They didn’t really think we were real. Philadelphia, Boston Magazine, Washingtonian, they were the kings. So they let us hang around.

And then all of a sudden they discovered in the 90s that everybody wanted a magazine that had to do with shelter. It had to do with the home and the garden. Then they started a subsidiary of CRMA called the Regional Shelter Magazine Association.

Myself and Gina Schreiber from Atlanta and some other people, we were kind of the original people. Norm Tomlinson Jr. from New Jersey. That became a huge part of their business model and still is today.

D Magazine,  was another one that had a home and garden magazine. That changed quite a bit. But today it’s still a very, very solid market.

Samir Husni: You’re a great believer in ink on paper for those titles. If somebody comes to you and said, Mr. Leathers, I want to start a new magazine, what would you tell them?

Dave Leathers: Well, I would say the first thing would be what market, what are the competitors and what is your background? Those basically would be the first three things that I would ask them. Does money factor into it? To some degree.

But I would say that’s basically it. It’s kind of interesting. I was in the Scottsdale, Phoenix area a few weeks ago. There are a couple of magazines, and I looked at who the owners were. It was a lady who I met at one of the first CRMA back in the 80s that said they were looking to start a magazine in that area. And so I helped them.

She’s still plowing forward.  But what they had back then was an incredible market. They had a great background, and they were certainly passionate about what they were going to do. So, if you don’t have the work ethic, I think you need not apply.

Samir Husni: How do you define the role of print in this digital age?

Dave Leathers: Well, I would say first thing is,  print today, especially this year, we’re barraged with fake news.

I think it’s kind of gone full circle. When you pick up a niche magazine, I guess not any magazine, but you pick it up and you’re looking through it, the last thing on your mind is fake news. It’s there in front of you.

The story has been done, written. It’s been edited, probably looked over by several people. And it’s believable.

We’ve always tried to edit to female readership, specifically upscale female readership. And today, whether it’s my daughter at 35 or my wife who’s 65, they loves magazines. They love the quality.

We’ve seen, and you know better than anyone, we’ve seen people try to cut back on the quality of their publication. And many times that is not going to go well. We have never cut back, even through the financial crisis, which was, you know, awful for all of us.

We never cut back or thought about it. And I said, if I have to, it’s not a product I’m proud of. And so it’s that feel of the publication, whether it’s on the coffee table or wherever it is, still today is relevant.

People like to continue to sing the praises of it, it’s inspiring. It really is.

Samir Husni: Is there any question that I should ask you, I did not ask you?

Dave Leathers: Well, no, not really. I would say, you know, as far as our 40 years, it’s gone by quick, actually.

And do I still enjoy it today? Yeah, I do still enjoy it today. Inflation, you know, the cost of production, obviously, has continued to spiral upward. And that has made it harder.

It’s not like we’re Target or Whole Foods or wherever that is. If we get a price increase, we can’t add it on to the cost of goods or, negotiate a tremendous deal. We work with printers and they’ve been a great partner.

But the cost of doing business, it wears on you. But I still enjoy every day and I enjoy the people I work with. And so, as long as my health holds out, I have no interest in, you know, going to Florida and playing golf five days a week and jump aboard the other two days.

So I’m just going to stay here and do my thing.

Samir Husni: So here are my last two typical questions. If I come uninvited to your house one evening, what do I catch Dave doing? Reading a book, watching TV, having a glass of wine? What do you do to unwind at the end of the day?

Dave Leathers: Well,  my wife and I would be listening to jazz. I would be drinking tequila, Topo Chico with a lime.

And she would have a glass of wine. That would be our typical end of the day.

Samir Husni: And what keeps Dave up at night these days?

Dave Leathers: I really would prefer not to get political. So just the environment we’re living in today and the future for our children. I think about it a lot. But I’m going to stay positive and hoping for the best, Samir. Hoping for the best.

We’ve been blessed and I’m thankful to have people like you around that support our industry. Because without that, you know, we couldn’t pay the bills.

Samir Husni: Thank you.