In 2001, I launched and ran my own free magazine for local parents and carers of children aged 0 to 12 in northeast Cheshire and south Manchester. While I juggled life with two small children and not enough sleep, Little Tigers grew into a 48-page publication full of information, inspiration and loyal advertisers. It had a robust distribution network, a local reputation to be proud of and a decent bottom line. I sold the business in 2007, but I must have missed it because I sat back down in the editor’s chair again nine years later and stayed there until 2022.
As editor of Little Tigers, I researched, wrote and edited the hyper-local content, built marketing partnerships with advertisers, commissioned editorial contributors, curated images, laid out the pages with Adobe InDesign, and organised distribution of the printed and digital editions. Teams of health visitors used to take copies of Little Tigers on their home visits, to give to parents with newborn babies. For 21 years, the magazine was freely available in day nurseries, primary schools, playgroups, libraries, community centres, toddler groups and soft play areas, and was read by many thousands of parents and carers across the local area.