Local Business Feature with Forsyth Magazines Associate Editor, Brooke Eagle
We like featuring locals and local small businesses frequently on our website and social feeds, because we love the Lewisville-Clemmons community and supporting those who make it such a great place to live, work, play and shop. Today we are spending some time with Brooke Eagle, the Associate Editor with Forsyth Magazines. Brooke has lived in the Lewisville-Clemmons area all of her life. Is there a secret we know on Brooke? You'll have to watch the video to find out! You can also read the full interview below.
Describe your business
Forsyth Magazines consists of four publications. Forsyth Woman and Forsyth Family began in 2005 and 2007 respectively and come out monthly. These magazines celebrate women and famiy life. We love showcasing local businesses and being a resource for people new to the area and people that have been here forever. We love hosting and sponsoring events and pride ourselves in being more than just a print publication. We are active on social media and launched a podcast in 2020! Our other two publications are FW Engaged (a biannual wedding magazine) and Forsyth Community (an annual magazine that celebrates life in Lewisville and Clemmons).
What made you decide to open this business?
My mom, Keela Johnson, actually started Forsyth Woman! She was laid off at Sara Lee and decided to start a totally new and different venture (She had zero publishing experience). She loves her community—that was the driving force of her starting these magazine(s).
Why did you choose this profession?
I am very close with my mom—and I have watched her passion for these magazines since she started them 15 years ago. I always knew I wanted to work with her and eventually take over whenever she is ready to retire! Like my mom, I love my community and love being able to have a job that celebrates it!
What drives you to do what you do? What motivates you?
Bringing people together through our brand. Whether that’s learning about a new business they didn’t know about and now support, making new friends at one of our events, learning something new on our podcast… the possibility of any /all of that happening is what motivates me!
What has surprised you most when owning a business?
That’s a tough one… I’d say that I’ve learned putting in more hours DOESN’T always equal more productivity / success. Sometimes taking some time for yourself and relaxing is when I have the best business ideas.
What was it like when you first started?
I technically ‘started’ with the magazines when I was in high school when my mom started the business. I wrote a monthly column called ‘Teen Talk’ (please don’t look it up—so embarrassing! Haha!) But back then our page count was WAY less (I think our first issue was only 24 pages?) so it was just a lot simpler I guess. Less page count, less advertising partners, less events, social media didn’t exist back then and that’s such a huge part of my job description these days.
What is something most people don't know about the business?
That we all work from home! We (briefly) had an office… but for over 90% of the time we’ve been in business, our whole team has worked at home. Most people think we have a big building downtown we work at J
What would your customers say they love most about your business?
I would hope that they say they love the relationships they’ve built with us. We love our readers and our customers, and many have been with us for years and years, so they feel like part of our family! So cliché, but so true!
How do you motivate and encourage your staff?
First and foremost—by treating them like I’d want to be treated. The golden rule! And secondly, keeping a positive attitude as much as possible! I feel that people can read your mood in anything from your tone of voice on the phone, the verbiage you use in an email and definitely your body language in person. So keep it upbeat and positive as much as you can! We also offer things like incentives for our writers when they turn in articles early (deadlines are HUGE for us—and come around quickly with monthly publications) and we have a big team party once a year to celebrate our team and periodically do some other team building activities—we did an escape room once, have plans to do a ropes course when things calm down, etc.
What are your goals over the next year?
To continue to grow our brand as a whole—our digital presence, our print presence, our social media presence and our podcast! Also to amp up our events. Going through this time with NO Events has made our team realize how much we love being out in the community and doing these events—so we are excited to step up our event game a bit.
What are your greatest challenges?
Right now—it’s distribution. Our magazines are free to pick up and we have LOTS of locations in and around Forsyth County, but right now, many of those places are closed. So we’re having to really step up our creativity! We still thankfully have our grocery store distribution and we’ve recruited several ‘neighborhood ambassadors’ that are helping get our magazines into the hands of our readers!
How long have you lived in the neighborhood?
I was born in Lewisville… and my family moved to Clemmons West when I was 7 years old. So basically my whole life! …I went to college at High Point University and briefly lived in Davie County, but am now back in Clemmons.
What were the factors that made you choose this neighborhood?
I love that it’s not *too* far from Winston-Salem—and that Clemmons still has plenty of restaurants and things to do. Also love having Tanglewood nearby!
What are your favorite restaurants in the neighborhood?
Chang Thai, Lee’s Chinese (their general tso’s chicken is amazing!!), Villa Grill, breakfasttime, Mossy’s, 2520 Tavern, Mi Pueblo and Ronni’s!
Have you witnessed any significant changes since moving here?
It has definitely grown a TON! The amount of apartment complexes and businesses in Clemmons has skyrocketed!
What do you want to see improve the most in this neighborhood?
I think Clemmons is doing an amazing job with hosting events and building a community that is loving and supportive. I honestly can’t think of anything to improve!
What is something most people don't know about you?
I was a competitive cheerleader all through middle school and most of high school!... but was never super athletic growing up. I feel much stronger and athletic at 30 than I ever have!!
Why do you think it's important for people to shop local?
Oh man, I could go on about this all day. A topic I feel strongly about! Buying local keeps 4x the money in our local economy versus buying at chains. Local businesses support local events, sports teams and charities 250% more than big corporations. And I’ll just leave it with this quote… “When you buy from a local business, an actual person does a little happy dance!”
What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had working with a customer?
One of my very first clients was a boutique / retail store, and they started advertising with us right when they opened their business (And still advertise with us to this day over 7 years later!) They give us a lot of credit for bringing new people into the store each month that have been lifetime customers! It’s super rewarding to hear that our editorial / cover stories and overall relationship has been meaningful for the growth of their business!
Where are your favorite places to go in the neighborhood?
Tanglewood, and our local restaurants and local boutiques!
What are your favorite things to do in the neighborhood?
Take my dog to the dog park at Tanglewood, walk / run at Tanglewood… go out to eat at all of our amazing local restaurants and shop at our local boutiques!
Anything exciting going on that customers should know about?
Check out our new podcast (Forsyth Magazines podcast… available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or at this link… https://www.forsythmags.com/podcast/ ! And check out our Instagram content. We’re trying out lots of new fun stuff with social media right now with all that is going on.
What is the best way for customers to contact you?
email or phone! brooke@forsythmags.com or 336.749.1946 (also text is great!)
Business Website / Blog
www.forsythmags.com is our hub…. And from there you can click on forsythwoman.com or forsythfamilymagazine.com
Business Facebook
Forsyth Woman and Forsyth Family Magazines are one page, and then FW Engaged and Forsyth Community each have separate facebook pages as well.
Business Instagram: @forsythmags
Thanks for hanging out with us Brooke and letting the Lewisville-Clemmons community learn more about you and Forsyth Magazines!
Please contact us if you would like to have your local business featured on our pages. We love supporting our local small businesses!
If you live, work, play or shop in the Lewisville-Clemmons area, and want to keep up with the latest news, events, shopping deals, real estate, and local business features, please connect with us on our social media feeds.
We Love Lewisville-Clemmons facebook page
We Love Lewisville-Clemmons facebook group
We Love Lewisville-Clemmons Instagram: @lvlclemmons
We Love Lewisville-Clemmons Twitter: @lvlclemmons
Green Team Realtors YouTube (where we post the latest local business features like this one)
Lewisville-Clemmons Real Estate
And as always, if you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Lewisville-Clemmons area including Winston-Salem, Kernersville, North Davidson County, Davie County and surrounding areas, please reach out to us. We're here to help!
-Tony
Tony Green, Realtor & Appraiser
Green Haven Realty, Lewisville, NC
