December 7, 2009

Dan McGovern

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 345)

Dan McGovern established an online seafood news letter a few years ago.  It’s been so successful that now he’s looking to expand his business.  A resident of the Hill, Dan has lived all over the world including the west end of Portland, but moved to the east end several months ago.

His daily newsletter is distributed to the food industry all over the country; that includes supermarkets, restaurants, food producers, non-governmental organizations and state and federal regulatory bodies.  Dan’s newsletter goes out to 4,500 addresses daily and he receives 70,000 page views a month.  About 15 of his subscribers are companies that purchase “site licenses” from him.  That’s so that all of their employees can read his newsletter at their convenience.   One such company is US Food Service, the second largest food distributor in the country with 28,000 employees.  All of the computer and telephone work required to keep pace with food industry news, keeps Dan pretty well tied to his desk on the Hill.  “I’m a one man show,” he said recently at the Hilltop Coffee Shop.  Please visit www.sustainablefoodnews.com for more information.

But Dan doesn’t want to remain a “one man show.”  That’s why he’s actively looking for an investor for his online newsletter.  That would allow him to hire editorial and sales staff.  He wants a reporter who knows all of the rules of being a reporter.  “My role has been the same for the past 2 – 3 years.  Now I want to grow the business,” he said last week.  Because he’s the only reporter, he’s faced with unavoidable “conflict of interest” rules.  He doesn’t solicit potential advertisers because of the possibility of the appearance of a conflict of interest  that he could favor his advertisers in his articles.   He doesn’t solicit for subscriptions either, which cost $299. a year.

With a qualified reporter, Dan would be free to develop deeper relationships with his clients;  a must in business today.  He already travels to conferences, trade shows, meets with CEOs and speaks at some of these conferences.  His expanding role in his business would create additional jobs as well as free him up to grow the business.  In an economic environment in which entrepreneurial activity is expected to play a large role in our economy’s recovery rather than revitalizing old industries, the affable Dan is on track for a role in that process.

Dan also has a website called Sustainable Tourism Today at www.sustainabletourismtoday.com which is still being developed.

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By Carol McCracken  (Post # 344)

If you didn’t already receive the memo, the public should be forewarned that the city ban on parking cars on city streets will start earlier this year than in previous years; the ban begins at 6:00 p.m. and continues until 6:00 a.m. the next morning.  In previous years, the parking ban has not begun until  10:00 p.m.

Failure to get your car off the city streets by 6:00 p.m. will result in towing and all the costs resulting in that including impound fee, ticket cost and all outstanding tickets must be paid before the car is released back to the owner.  Vehicles will be towed to the city’s impound lot located at the Ocean Gateway Internatioal Marine Terminal at 14 Ocean Gateway Pier.  The phone number is 774-3025. 

In order to receive the latest on the parking ban, the public is encouraged to sign up online at www.portlandmaine.gov. to receivfe email notices from the city when a city-wide parking ban is implemented.  This year people can also get updates through www.facebook.com or receiving tweets from www.twiwtter.com.  People can call the parkinf ban hotline at 879-0300 or check the time and temperature sign for up-to-date postings.

For Hill residents, one of the closest off street parking locations are the Cutter Street lots (off the Eastern Promenade).

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