Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Brennan.
Sara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
December 2010 feels like a good starting point to the story. My husband and I packed up our (then) three children and Great Dane in the minivan and drove the 12-hour drive from Atlanta Georgia to Northlake Texas.
We arrived at our temporary living quarters that happened to be on the third story and remained there for 10 months until the new “pad” was ready. All good things come with patients, right? October 2011 rolled around and, Ahhhh, hello Roanoke Texas! A mere 2 mile move around the corner. Shortly after settling in, we learned that we didn’t reside in Roanoke, but in fact, Fort Worth!
It took some time to let that news marinate, but there you have it. We were Roanoke-wannabes stuck with the higher tax rates and no free library access.
Fast forward past the settling-in phase to summer 2015. We are now up to 4 kids and life was in full swing with school, sports, and work (my kids are all under 12 years old). Over the past 3 1/2 years, we were still Roanoke-wannabes, but I notice an emerging problem with my family always struggling to stay informed. Living so close to Roanoke and Trophy Club we identified with that community but didn’t have a good resource to stay “in-the-know”. Why was this a problem? Because the area growing at an incredible rate. Tons of new families were flooding in, new businesses popping up and nothing to keep that small town feel that we all fell in love with, integrated into our growing community.
A platform was needed to connect the Texas transplants to the home-grown folks. The bible teaches us to love our neighbors. In a radius less than six miles the 76262 zip-code touches Roanoke, Trophy Club, Northlake, Westlake, Keller and Fort Worth. This is the area that I considered my “neighbor”.
So, I took a chance, did a lot of research and decided to changed gears from a nursing background to an owner, publisher, and editor of a magazine. I called it, The Unique Guide to Roanoke Living, The UGRL for short, In October of 2016 we produced our first issue, 15,500 copies directly delivered to the whole community.
Now, we operate as Life in 76262 Magazine (more on rebranding later) and we have a wonderful working partnership with all the different cities, school district, charities and businesses in the area. We are a family-friendly publication that looks for opportunities to educate our community the great stories that otherwise lay hidden. And they love it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing you build comes easy. I was told “no” countless times, received very disparaging comments for the entire idea and was even threatened with a lawsuit by one of the Cities shortly after the first issue was published.
If I can give advice to anyone starting their journey, it would be to dig your heels in the ground and DO NOT give up. Every “no” will slowly point your compass north. Just keep smiling during the process.
That lawsuit was the reason why I decided to rebrand after the inaugural issue. We became Life in 76262 Magazine because of that door being slammed in my face. And it was the best thing that could have happened to this publication.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Life in 76262 Magazine – what should we know?
Now, how is Life in 76262 different from the rest?
We Educate: We have partnered with NISD, local teachers, surrounding municipalities, non-profits and charities to keep the community in “the know”. We focus on finding ways to make our editorial content educational and helpful to the community and always family-friendly.
We Grow: “The grass is greener where you water it” according to Neil Barringham. So, let’s do just that. Support our local businesses more, support the kids, schools, charities, and athletes. Share the great stories our community has to offer, and we can all reap the benefits of having a great place to call home.
We are a small publication, made up of moms, teachers and awesome members of society who have an aligned perspective on the value of this community. Many people think we are a much larger publication and miss the fact that this is a locally owned and operated kitchen table publication, created by a few great women.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
Perspective is such a powerful thing. I hope that every person can look at a challenging situation and find the opportunity in it. If you can do that, you’re one step closer to achieving what you want.
Contact Info:
- Website: 76262magazine.com
- Email: info@lifein76262@gmail.com
- Facebook: @lifein76262
Image Credit:
Jeremy Spears, Melissa Fullmer, Brian Guilliaux
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
