8 Questions With Creator of Rethink Monthly, Bo Lane
Bo Lane is the creative mind behind the magazine Rethink Monthly. Rethink Monthly is an online mag…wait a minute — I’ll just let him tell you:
Give us the nuts and bolts of Rethink Monthly. What is it? And why is it?
Rethink Monthly is a grassroots magazine that my wife and I started a little over one year ago. Honestly we had no idea what the outcome would look like, but knowing it was something we were supposed* to do, we went ahead and went for it. I’d be lying if I said it’s all been easy.
In addition to our print magazine, we operate RethinkMonthly.com and, with the help of some close friends, we started the Rethink Podcast. Our whole goal is to cause people to rethink the idea of God in their culture, talk about topics that may be taboo or foreign to the churched community, and bring to light that not all Christians suck.
What inspired you to start Rethink?
Well, truthfully, Christians that suck inspired me. That sounds a bit harsh but it’s one hundred percent true. I got very tired of the way Christian media was (and still is, mind you) pushing a ridiculous agenda that’s comprised mostly of abortion and homosexuality, or rather the hatred for. Instead of loving our neighbor, the church (and primarily Christian media) has pushed them away. To me, that is simply not acceptable. Don’t get me wrong, we need to stand up for what is right. We need to help others find freedom through their struggles. But with a negative Christ-less tone and a “turn or burn” foundation, they are simply pushing people away.
I started Rethink to go against the grain – to talk about something different – to push a different agenda. And I hope we’re starting to make a difference.
What is your vision for Rethink Monthly 5 years from now?
To make little Rethink babies. Actually clones would be a better description.
As soon as we’ve perfected the way Rethink operates in our community (growing and sustaining financially, etc), we plan to clone what we’re doing here and take it to other communities. Hopefully in 5 years, we’ll be distributing the magazine all throughout Oregon and beyond, with each community fully supporting itself. As with any business, we’re hoping to grow financially but we also hope to make an impact with our community. If someone takes a minute and picks up a magazine, it’s our hope that they’ll start rethinking God right along with us.
How has the recent recession affected you?
Businesses are really holding back on advertising, even though that’s not the smartest thing to do. We should always market our businesses, regardless of the economy. So, since the business owner is our client, you can imagine what struggles we face. At the same time, however, people are still making money and spending money. We just have to work harder to make sure we stay in the loop.
What struggles do you face with running the magazine?
I’d say the biggest struggle would be the lack of a sufficient staff. Again, we’re a small business so we can’t afford several employees at this time. We rely on a large percentage of volunteers and, though I am forever indebted to them, it poses a lot of challenges. That, and the economy.
What are the three most important tools you use for your business? Why?
Social media and email marketing is one tool we use – mostly because that’s where everyone is spending their time. I assume it will fade quite a bit as the social media bug dies away but for now, we promote our business quite heavily using those mediums.
Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition is another tool we use – because it’s easy and free. Since we are a small business, we always need to make sure we are wise when using our resources. This is one area where we’ve saved money and, though it has less features as the full version accounting software, it is more than what we need.
Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer…
You have a wife and a couple kids. How do you balance your work and personal life?
That’s always been a tough area for me because I’d consider myself a workaholic. But lately I’ve been trying to prioritize my time by cutting back on things that are not essential to my family or my business. This has been a process but I’m hoping to get a better handle on it sooner than later.
You are a visionary and always have something new on the horizon. Do you have anything up your sleeve that you’re working on?
Why as a matter of fact, I do. We’re teaming up with a women-centered podcast called ChickChat. It was started a few months ago and after talking to the podcast’s creator, I thought it would make a good partnership for both of us. Basically, they will be joining Rethink as an extension of our family – kind of like the redheaded stepchild that no one likes … except for the fact that we like them … and they’re not redheaded. Joking aside, it’s going to be pretty cool.
In addition to that, we’ll be printing another special newspaper this September called Rethink Women. I’d go into detail of how this all came about but it would take too much time. We just saw the need and we’re trying to meet it.
Bonus Questions: If Alf and ET got in a fist fight, who would win? Why?
I’m not sure who would actually win but I’d totally love to see ALF leave with a busted jaw. Not only was he annoying, he kind of weirded me out.
Be sure to follow Bo on Twitter, and check out Rethink Monthly on the web.
One Response to “8 Questions With Creator of Rethink Monthly, Bo Lane”
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I think ET would win, hands down. The stretchy-necked fellow would float Alf into the air and throw him up against a wall.