Augustin Naepels holds the position of chief executive officer at the online media outlet Les Jours. As the only co-founder who is not a journalist, he has been responsible for the technical and financial aspects of managing the media since its inception in 2016. From legal proceedings to accounting, including the development of the business plan, Augustin Naepels outlines the essential steps for launching a media outlet, with a focus on management.
What are the first legal and administrative steps to take to launch a media outlet?
If it's a media outlet with professional purpose, one of the first things to do is establish the legal structure, namely: a business or association. Several options are possible. This choice is made based on the project's objectives and the degree of for-profit character. The most common structures found in media are associations and simplified joint-stock companies (SAS). At Jours, we are a SAS, with the particular feature that we chose the status of solidarity press information company (ESPI). This status commits us to reinvesting at least 70% of annual profits back into the company. This then allows shareholders who choose to invest in our capital to benefit from tax reductions.
How to choose your legal status?
The bylaws govern the legal functioning of a company. It's best to work with lawyers or legal experts to choose them. While templates are available, this is a sensitive matter. These bylaws have important consequences for the governance of the media outlet. If there are multiple shareholders, it's worthwhile to carefully review what's in them. A legal advisor or an accountant specializing in business startup support can help you make these choices.
Once the legal procedures have been completed, what is the next step?
We arrive at the most important moment: developing the business plan. This is about defining our business model and asking ourselves how long it will take to reach break-even. How many people, how much money will we need to fulfill our ambition? All of this falls under media management. This process can actually begin before creating the structure, because this step defines the viability of the media.
What is a business plan for?
This is about the ability to answer this question: what assumptions will allow me to make a living from this media someday? Most people who start creating media do so either with initial capital or by giving themselves a certain amount of time. Often, the question that most founders ask themselves is: "how long can I sustain this until I reach a point where I can pay myself?" It's important to perform a consistency check. If the media needs to attract more subscribers than Le Monde in less than a year to be viable, there's surely a problem. You need to ask yourself whether the target you've set is economically realistic.
When you launched Les Jours, what goal did you set for yourself?
In our very first business plan, if I remember correctly, we were aiming for 8,000 subscribers. We ultimately realized that would be a bit short. We had planned to have twenty journalists on the team, which we also had to adjust. When we saw that the trajectory wasn't exactly that, we refined our projections with a smaller team. That's very typical. The best business plans don't necessarily survive contact with reality. What matters is being able to adjust and carry out regular monitoring.
How do I track this?
A business plan is a strategic document that is typically drawn up for a horizon of two or three years. After that, you move on to managing a budget or cash flow plan designed to ensure that each month you will be in a position to cover expenses and pay salaries.
What expenses should you include in your budget?
For an online media outlet, you need to account for staff salaries, freelance contributors, editorial production, and the creation and maintenance of technical tools. Generally, you should plan for an initial investment to develop a website or application. Subsequently, there may be expenses related to the media's evolution, such as hiring external service providers, or new positions for developers or marketing and communications staff. On this latter front, there may also be advertising expenses, or at least subscriber acquisition costs. This could also include a commercial advertising division if you're a B2B media outlet that needs to sell advertising or subscriptions. Finally, there are always general overhead expenses covering rent and IT equipment.
As a journalist, you often imagine that creating a media outlet is primarily about proposing a new way to deliver information. Is all this administrative management really a necessary step?
It's not possible to completely outsource management. A media project is not just an editorial project. It's also and above all an entrepreneurial project. If all the associates are journalists, one of them will necessarily have to take an interest in the management side. There needs to be a discussion among associates to determine who will try to develop expertise in these areas. In the case of Jours, being the only co-founder who isn't a journalist, the division of roles was immediately very clear: I handle all aspects of the media that aren't related to editorial. This doesn't mean the team necessarily needs a specialist trained in these matters. At the feminist media outlet La Déferlante, Marie Barbier chose to handle these aspects, even though she remains a journalist. The basics aren't that complicated to learn. When you want to start a business, normally you also want to engage with all these issues.
Should you still look for an accountant?
It's a must! A good accountant is invaluable. Their role is to help you meet regulatory obligations, declare VAT, and pay any taxes owed. Management, on the other hand, is your responsibility. To find an accountant, the best approach is to ask your peers. You can also reach out to organizations like Spiil [Augustin Naepels is Vice-president of Spiil, in charge of institutional affairs, Editor's note]. This union is there to guide you, offer initial advice, connect you with other independent media, and provide recommendations if needed. When Jours was starting out, their support was invaluable to us.
What tools do you use to simplify accounting processes?
I've been using Spendesk recently, an expense management tool that helps simplify paying supplier invoices. Generally speaking, it's best to adapt to the tools your accounting firm uses to digitalize the submission of supporting documents.
What would you have liked to know when Days launched regarding media management?
I find the most complicated area to be human resources: everything related to payroll is generally very complex, and even more so when it comes to journalists, freelancers, and so on. This aspect must absolutely not be overlooked. You'll never regret getting professional support to get off to a good start.
To go further
- Got a media idea rattling around in your head? Looking to develop an existing project further? This sheet is designed to help you structure your project and bring your idea to fruition, step by step.
- When creating a media outlet, there's sometimes a tendency to push administrative and legal considerations to the back burner, at the risk of waking up one day to a nasty surprise. Here are three actions to get you up to speed, even if you have administrative phobia.
- If you thought you could leave mathematics behind by going into media, think again. Without being a data analyst, a good understanding of your data can prove necessary. It will allow you to set useful objectives for your development and better understand your community's expectations.
- Léry Jicquel is the founder of Concentré Vélo, a newsletter about cycling culture news. He describes the various funding levers for his newsletter, from sponsorships to job board through a Christmas catalog. At the heart of his strategy? A "product" vision.
