I spend most mornings at the Coffee Zone and once or twice a week, my old friend Clyde Lear stops by to chat. Golden years indeed.
Tag Archives: Clyde Lear
Clyde’s first business plan
It’s pretty easy to come up with an idea for a new business. It’s really hard to write good business plan for a new business. In 1972, 28-year-old Clyde Lear put together a proposal for regional radio network. He showed it to a half dozen local businessmen who invested in him and his idea. Last year Clyde’s company was valued at more than one billion dollars. It’s not really his company anymore, he sold it a few years ago.
Clyde kept that first business plan and it’s interesting reading. I worked for Clyde for 30 years and have known him for 40 so it might be more interesting to me than you. He’s graciously allowed me to share some of it here. It begins with the concept, his “big idea.” An excerpt:
Regional news and farm networks have been especially lucrative. The growing farm economy required quick dissemination of farm information. Much of this information is a necessity to the agribusinessman. Further, the advertiser wanting to market his good — machinery, seeds, services, fertilizer, feed, chemicals — looks for the way he can get the greatest number of farmers and ranchers to hear his message at the lowest possible cost. The regional farm network is the answer.
Advertising rates, proposed programs, projected expenses, descriptions of other networks. In 1972 there were 113 radio networks in the U. S. and Clyde researched eleven of them. Clyde’s First Business Plan – Other Networks (PDF)
Ohio Farm Network: This is a full-time farm network, but distribution is by tape, and five days late. Programming is entirely morning about 20 minutes in length. It is entirely a pre-sold program, based on a percentage of the rate card of each station. One man handles all the programming and all the selling. The overhead is low, and sales, by comparison to the others, are moderate at best, seldom reaching $10,000 per month.
If you’ve ever thought about starting your own business, or if you started your own business, you might find this bit of history interesting. The company that Clyde and others built from his original idea doesn’t look much like his original dream but that was never a static thing. Clyde’s First Business Plan – Background (PDF)
Another honor for Clyde Lear
Have you seen this man?
History of Learfield: J-School Genesis
Clyde Lear’s latest blog installment of the history of our company is the best yet.
“For two years I worked on my Masters in Journalism. I wrote my thesis on starting a state-wide radio network. Missouri –like a lot of states– had dismal radio coverage from the state capital. Every radio newsroom, big city and small town, depended instead on the two major wire services, the AP and UPI. There wasn’t access to the voices of the news makers. There was a need for a state-wide news service for radio stations.”
The post includes some video of reports he did as part of final exam. These are priceless and make the post. You can’t miss the embedded clip but be sure to hit the text link to a series of his stand-ups. I’ve included my favorite here to give you a taste.
These started out on 16 mm film and Clyde eventually sent them off to be converted to VHS. And now they’re digital and on YouTube for the all the world to see.
Learfield is a pretty big company today and it’s fun to see the germ of the idea that started it all.