I have been a business owner for less than a year now and I was kind of thrown in the deep end, being handed a torch that has gone from owner to owner of this paper for 115 years. I have managed to keep the boat afloat for this long but still, I understand how easily this paper could be lost with a few bad months. I would like to lie (and reserve the right in the future to do so) about being a great businessman, but I won’t. It has been really difficult at times for me to navigate the piles of paperwork that come with owning a business while figuring out the other parts of my job like attracting advertising and being a publisher.

But amid the sleepless nights and the mountain of forms, I’ve also discovered a sense of purpose that didn’t fully register when I first stepped in. I’ve learned that the cost of doing business extends beyond balance sheets and bills. It includes personal sacrifices; missed outings with friends, mental fatigue, and the nagging fear that one wrong decision could jeopardize everything. Yet every time I feel overwhelmed by the weight of it all, a supportive comment from a reader in the grocery store or a kind word from a member of my team reminds me why this work is worth doing. It’s not about turning a profit, it’s about documenting the triumphs and stumbles of our great communities for the common good.

I’m still learning each day how to strike a balance between passion and pragmatism; things I thought I’d be able to radically change have turned into a series of gentle nudges in the right direction. As we expand and I can slowly unload my workload to more and more staff I can see my everyday life becoming less hectic (another lie I reserve the right to tell). There will undoubtedly be more rocky weeks or months ahead and I may even stumble along the way. However, I would never have stepped into this role if I was not ready to shoulder the cost of doing business.