I started The Insider in December 1990 single handed. I had left The Chronicle in April of that year and had started writing for overseas publications most of which were not available in Zimbabwe. I was paid quite a handsome fee but a colleague asked me, what my intention in writing those stories was. When I said it was to inform the people, he bluntly told me that I was not informing the average Zimbabwean but the rich and those who could afford to buy, or subscribe to, overseas publications. It was then that I decided to start The Insider, to inform the Zimbabwean public.
As a journalist my aim was to inform but I forgot that there had to be a business side to this venture. After two years I was about to close down because I had run out of money when another friend told me that this was a worthwhile project but I had to change the business model and cater only for those who really wanted the newsletter and were prepared to buy it at any cost.
It was then that The Insider became a subscription only newsletter. I had, however, already made the fatal mistake. I could not turn The Insider around. I had to continue publishing but at the same time get a full-time job. I got one using The Insider as my reference and from then I have had to carry The Insider on my back with every new job that I got. I published the newsletter for the next eleven years until 2003 when I found I could not continue because of inflation which had wiped out the entire year's subscription revenue in just two months.
I decided to forge ahead, this time on the internet and that is where we are today.
As a business venture, The Insider has been a disaster, but personally it has been a tremendous success because it has brought me jobs from everywhere. It has put me on the map and that is why I continue to publish. The Insider is not about making money. It is about pursuing a passion.
Would I want it to make money? Yes, of course! Any suggestions on how I can do so are welcome.