Purpose Before Profit: Michael Jenet Of Journey Institute Press On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Passion. It all begins with passion. Like any new venture, things are typically tough in the beginning. Without a passion for the purpose of the purpose-driven business, it will be far easier to give up early.
In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Jenet.
Michael Jenet is the publisher of Journey Institute Press and author. An eight-year Air Force veteran, immigrant from Belgium who has lived in the US since age seven. He now works full time helping other authors share their voices. His mission is to disrupt the publishing industry with a model that actually places the author over the publisher, gives the author full control over the process, all without sacrificing quality in an industry that has been constantly evolving.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I’m an immigrant who was born in Belgium and moved to the United States when I was seven years old. I joined the Air Force out of high school, spent eight years and served during Operation Desert Storm. Got naturalized and entered the workforce as soon as I got out of the military. I worked my way up the proverbial corporate ladder, eventually becoming CEO of three companies. Throughout my career, whether writing reports or performance reviews, or what have you, I was always told that I was a good writer. So, after jumping off the corporate cliff and becoming what I call a “recovering corporate CEO”, I wrote my first book. Then my second. Unfortunately, I was a victim of a predatory publisher who then extorted both me and my wife for our published book rights. That’s when I decided I needed to do something to keep other authors from falling prey to the same fate. Now, I’m on a mission to disrupt the publishing industry and give artists (authors) the ability to get the resources and support of a traditional publisher without losing their work in the process.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
Actually, with our first signed author, we sent them our contract, not realizing that their background was in law and that they knew a contract lawyer. It wouldn’t have mattered, but we were young at that point and our publishing contract has undergone many revisions since then because we are always open to improving it and as changes in the world and in publishing happen, we believe we need to be flexible.
Anyway, the contract lawyer suggested two modifications, which we thought were excellent additions, and made them right away, thinking that was the end of it.
At the book’s launch, we were approached by a gentleman who identified himself as that contract lawyer. He wanted to say that he had never seen a more author-friendly contract in all his years of practice and wanted to commend us on it.
That was huge confirmation for us that we were on the right path.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
Speaking of contracts. One of the stipulations we put in our contract at the behest of one of our authors is that the author (not the publisher) gets the final approval of their book cover. (This is heresy in the book publishing world since the all-knowing publisher knows best).
This has come back to bite us more than once. Not because of the final product and whether we think it was the right one; our belief is that the author needs to feel good about their cover since much of the marketing and publicity surrounding the book will be done by them. The issue has been that we learned that authors don’t always know what they want for their book cover and given them final approval without guard rails meant that we sometimes had twenty, thirty, and more versions of covers going trying to satisfy them.
So, now, we still give them the ability to have the final say, but we put guard rails on the number of versions we are willing to do. This forces them to drill down quicker and be more specific minded in what they’re looking for.
As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?
I firmly believe in honor and integrity. The difference being that honor is your word, doing what you say you will do; and integrity is keeping your word and doing what you say you will do, even when no one will know whether you do so or not.
Another principle I hold on to is helping people. Helping people isn’t about doing something with the expectation of something in return. It’s about helping someone without an expectation of something in return.
Value for things other than money.
Commitment to disrupting business as usual.
What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?
In 2014, I published my first book. My wife then published her first book. We both went on to publish another book each. Then, in 2017, our publisher sold his business to another publishing company. Within four months, the new publisher contacted every author in the catalog to announce he was putting every book out of print and if we wanted the publishing rights, we would have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get them back.
It took years of legal work and thousands of dollars for us to get our publishing rights back, only to have the publisher then go out of business a year later, which had likely been their plan all along.
I was frustrated and also angry that predatory practices such as these existed in publishing. I began researching the publishing industry and found there wasn’t much I liked about it.
Because the margins are infinitesimally small, it is a breeding ground for predatory publishers. It also birthed a new crop of publishing businesses that are known as ‘pay to play’ publishers in which an author pays to have their book published.
Even the large publishing houses were set up to squeeze as much out of the author as possible. This using of writers’ work was just another example of traditional for-profit models of making profit the only goal.
My wife, who has had a career in non-profit, suggested we look at that as a model but distinguish it from the current academic non-profit publishing model that exists.
So, we began asking two questions.
One, what would a publishing house look like if we built one that was what we would have wanted when we wrote our first books and how might a non-profit publishing model help us create it?
Two, what does that model look like if it actually puts the author above the publisher in the equation?
Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?
There is a simple joy in helping other people achieve their dream of writing a book. Being able to work with them through every phase of the publishing process and then see their reaction the first time they hold it in their hands is priceless.
It’s also freeing in a way when you’re not focusing on the ‘bottom line’. Sure, it’s a business and the struggles that come with keeping things going are real, but they no longer become the all-consuming worry that many CEOs have when they reach the ‘top’ of the corporate ladder. Here, there is an almost blind trust that doing the right thing will make things work out in the end. It’s not easy, but when you focus on how to get better at doing the right things instead of how to make more money, it free’s you up to enjoy the process much more along the way.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
I suppose you first must define overall success. If success is merely defined by profit or the bottom line, then we’re still getting there. On the other hand, if you define success by our mission of trying to flip the publishing model on its head and actually put authors above publishers in the publishing process, then I’d say we’re doing quite well. We don’t advertise or market ourselves and yet we continue to have new authors find us and submit their books to us based solely on what they’ve heard about how we operate from our published authors.
In terms of metrics or methods, we’re just beginning to get into this. As a relatively new (having started during COVID) publishing house, much of our first few years were spent on processes and improvement to ensure we were giving our authors the best possible resources and services we could. Now, as we begin looking ahead, our focus is shifting more to ensuring we are doing everything possible to help them achieve their goals as writers.
Having our first multi-category #1 Amazon seller at launch with one of our authors was a great metric for them and us. Signing our first international author was another metric that helped us expand our reach.
Moving forward, we want to find ways to help our authors reach their goals, whatever they are, in ways that are proven and have data behind them. This will help us create the methods and metrics we can then use to help evaluate our ‘success’ in the future.
Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?
It probably sounds cliché, but every book launch has a significant impact on us. Because it’s a significant moment for the author. They have worked so long and so diligently on writing their book and then they go through the arduous process of publishing with all the various steps that entails. It’s not about crossing a finish line, but rather beginning a new journey for them and to be a part of that given our purpose-driven mission is something that is not easily put into words.
As for an example, I struggle to pick one, but if pushed I was very much affected by the book launch of a seventeen-year-old who wrote a book of poetry that included going through the pandemic. For me, this was more than just the raw vulnerable poems expressed in the book, it was also a snapshot of history. To see the author’s face as the door opened again and again as friends, family, peers, and strangers came in to share in the book launch was priceless. The book is out in the world and undoubtedly that day will live on in the author’s memory for a long time. I know it will be in mine.
Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
There isn’t a model for what we’re trying to do. Most, if not all, of the non-profit publishing models that exist are supported either by academia or by a pay-to-play model. Ours is neither and so, yes, virtually every day of this journey has been a clash between our purpose and profitability and one that we continue to struggle through.
Our advisory board has challenged us to be more like the pay-to-play model because from a business standpoint, they can’t understand what we’re trying to do. It takes a commitment to the unknown and a dream to take on a behemoth like the publishing industry. When you’re working at it every day, it’s personal. When you’re looking at it from a distance and your job is to advise all you have to go on is what you know and so it made sense that this was their approach. I get it. I just don’t agree with it.
There really isn’t an ‘address and reconcile’ issue. Their job is to advise. Our job is to execute. Sometimes we don’t agree and that’s okay.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business?
My advice would be that you must have a passion for the purpose. Capitalism and much of the entrepreneurial spirit are centered around profit. So much of the business’ focus is on the bottom line that when someone comes along that tries something different, they are often scoffed at at best, and belittled at worst. And because so many businesses fail within the first five years, it’s easy for this culture to point their fingers at a purpose-driven effort that fails and say ‘see, it doesn’t work’. It takes a long-term thinking approach and a plan that can withstand the inevitable slow start and sometimes missteps that will occur. Focus on your passion. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Be committed.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Passion
It all begins with passion. Like any new venture, things are typically tough in the beginning. Without a passion for the purpose of the purpose-driven business, it will be far easier to give up early.
This is especially true from a financial perspective. When your startup capital runs dry and you find yourself investing everything you have left to try to keep things running, the only thing that will drive you is your passion. We continue to invest every profit we make as a publisher back in the company and our new authors. It’s difficult running a company basically for free year after year and the only thing that keeps me going is the passion I have for our purpose and mission and the belief that eventually, we will become not only self-sustaining, but profitable as well. Until then, I fall back on the ‘why’ of what we are doing and that all comes down to passion.
2 . Commitment
As I previously stated in the first number, things aren’t always easy, especially at the beginning. When no one knows who you are and once they find out they don’t understand why you’re doing what you do. When the struggles, financial and otherwise, mount up and begin to seem insurmountable, you need more than simply the passion you began with; you need a commitment to seeing things through. To stay the course and not give up. A commitment to the purpose because it is your belief in it, your commitment to the passion that formed it, your never-ending faith in that purpose that will carry you through the hard times. So many tales have been told of people who give up just when success was around the corner. In fact, it is always those who never give up who succeed, somehow, some way, just because they refused to stop. To do that, you have to be all in. Completely committed to the realization of your purpose and goal.
We started our publishing house three weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Once it began, we knew we weren’t going to be able to start publishing the way we had hoped. It would have been easy to give up, focus on the fear that surrounded us, maybe even do something else altogether. Instead, we doubled down on our commitment and were determined to keep going, to find a way to make it work. Four years later, we’re still here.
3 . Vision
Most entrepreneurial ventures are started to solve a problem. A purpose-driven venture, however, solves a problem in a way most people have a hard time seeing. You must have that vision. It’s your job to see what other people cannot yet see. It’s always easy to look back at someone who succeeds and say, wow, look at what they did. It’s much more challenging to be the person who see’s that future when no one else can.
You must get very clear on what your outcome is. What your vision of the purpose-driven success looks like. It’s not about being able to explain it to others. The reason for the vision is to help you keep that commitment and to always align your vision with your passion.
When we started this publishing company, my vision was simply to help first-time authors and ensure what happened to us with our predatory publisher didn’t happen to them. As time went on, however, the clarity of what we were trying to accomplish became clearer day by day until the vision became something much bigger than ourselves. Now, we envision a future where publishing is in the business of helping authors succeed, not using authors to ensure their own success. Our vision has now changed to one that seeks to upend the entire publishing industry.
4 . Curiosity
When you begin any venture, you begin with that dream. Hopefully, it becomes a vision, and you use that to propel and keep you committed along the way. The biggest challenge most entrepreneurs have, and one which is doubly important to the purpose-driven one, is being curious. It doesn’t matter how much of a subject matter expert you are, or become, on your journey, being curious is something that should be ever-present.
Being curious is admitting that you don’t have all the answers. This is, in part, because in today’s world, things are changing more rapidly than ever before and thus where you started, what your vision was originally, may not be the vision you need to succeed.
As I mentioned previously, my initial vision for this publishing house was much simpler. It was out of curiosity and listening to others, especially my wife, who kept saying why don’t you think bigger that I began to see that what we were doing is much bigger than me. It’s also interesting that the more curious I became, the more the vision and dream expanded. And lest you think I have it all figured out, I don’t. As the saying goes, I’m taking it one step at a time, but by being open and curious to ‘what if’ and ‘what else is possible’ I find that we’re attracting the things we need to succeed. And sometimes that’s what it takes, being curious without knowing all the answers and being open to what you see and hear and get in return.
5 . Flexibility
It probably won’t come as much of a surprise after the first four points that flexibility is the final key. The oft-used phrase that the only thing that’s constant is change, as it turns out, is true. In the publishing industry, this truth seems to be on overdrive as the world of writing, publishing, and reading seemingly changes from week to week.
Technological advances are both powerful and frightening at the same time, but either way, they are empowering changes for everyone involved. Being flexible, willing to adapt as the situation calls for, is vital in almost every industry. In a purpose-driven one, it may seem counterintuitive to say you need to be flexible and able to pivot.
Being flexible isn’t about abandoning your passion or your purpose. It’s about adapting and pivoting, being flexible in your journey towards achieving the success you hope to achieve.
As I said, when we started, it was three weeks before the pandemic hit. Everything we were hoping to achieve changed, like it did for so many, in the blink of an eye. One of the things we wanted to do was hold writing retreats. We’re based in Colorado, USA and it’s beautiful here, so we thought it was the perfect place to bring people together and hold writing retreats. Until the world told us that coming together could kill us.
So, we pivoted. We began to create an online writing course. Our initial purpose was simply to give people an alternative to the constant fear of the news about COVID-19. We wanted to help people write and get out of the ‘world’ for a little while. As we formulated this plan, it grew into a year long course, beginning with a 28-day boot camp, to help people not only get out of their heads but also actually begin, work on, and finish their manuscripts.
We have continued to offer this course yearly to help writers who have an idea but need help in the structure and framework, as well as the resources and support to write. We might never have come up with this amazing course had it not been for our need to pivot and be flexible in the face of a global pandemic. Today, writers from our course have become some of our most amazing published authors.
I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?
Our team is still small at this point, so it’s not an easy question to answer. Part of nurturing a culture is being transparent about that culture. So much in ‘traditional’ business is seemingly all about the ‘need to know’ depending upon what level in the hierarchy you are.
If you want buy-in, if you want to change the business culture that exists into one that is based on nurturing and connection, you must throw out the old ideas.
It’s always baffled me how many business leaders think that because of their title they know everything, forgetting that those who do the work, day in and day out, have a wealth of knowledge that the leader does not.
Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
Well, in two years we will be half-way towards publishing 100 books, which is our first big milestone goal.
I would like to see us having some real data about what is and isn’t working from a marketing/pr perspective with our authors’ launches and subsequent book movement.
In terms of more specific accomplishments, I would like to see our profitability include some salary rather than simply covering expenses.
I’d like to see at minimum a part-time editing position if not full time.
I’d also like to see us having just completed our first full year of marketing/pr support for new authors.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My goal in this purpose-driven endeavor is not to become one of the behemoth publishing houses. I’m not looking to replace the big 5 publishers with my company. What I would like, however, is to prove that this model works and begin a movement where others take up the same approach, perhaps focusing on a specific genre, and collectively we change the world of publishing, giving back to the authors what they’ve always deserved, which is the full control and benefits of their work. I would love to inspire a movement among those interested in publishing to actually help authors succeed rather than make profit off of their endeavors.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
We are easy to find: www.journeyinstitutepress.org or www.journeyinstitute.org as well as on social media as JourneyInstitutePress (Facebook) or j_i_press (Instagram)
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Purpose Before Profit: Michael Jenet Of Journey Institute Press On The Benefits Of Running A… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.