3 years of taming horsepower and slaying doubts
I love cars so much I moved from a profitable agency job to one in a newspaper, planning an automotive supplement that nobody in the industry wanted or few understood. All because I wanted work that I loved. Bad idea?
See, auto publications have come and gone despite there being a healthy growth of enthusiasts. In the beginning I tried to convince my boss, Mahfuz Anam that this sector had latent demand that could generate revenue. He wondered if I was just trying to feed my hobby. Luckily he was convinced enough to let me have a go while everyone else thought I would run out of content, money and patience.
Three years on and it is amazing to see all the doubters wrong. It is easy to start something but difficult to thrive for an extended period of time. I started with one trusty and often trying cohort, Shaer Reaz. We headed out with my camera to shoot AND conduct test-drives. Navana and DHS Motors were most accommodating at the start. They pretty much gave us the keys, understanding how beneficial it was for both parties. Our friends at Car House provided us with the occasional fun stuff like an Integra DC5 to drive around.
First year was killer. By the second year we received a new marketing head and team and finally we were able to market our content. We now have multiple writers and photographers so I don't have to run around with a camera anymore. Shift has the highest amount of unique Bangladeshi automotive content. In retrospect, wasn't such a bad idea to do this.
Where do we go from here? Watch this space and thanks a million for staying with us.
~Ehsanur Raza Ronny, Editor of Shift
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