Vancouver Blogger Profile: Andrew Morrison of Scout

If you’ve been reading my musings for the past week or so, you would’ve read about Scout Magazine, a new Vancouver start up a la Andrew Morrison.  He’s a local food columnist and online publisher that we all love to read. I wanted to ask him how he got his start online.  I also wanted to see if he could give advice to many aspiring entrepreneurs that might want to start an online magazine or blog and make a living doing it.

Andrew started his now online career with a simple blog– the waiter blog.  He wrote about the local food scene at a time when no one else was doing this and the idea was a hit with loyal followers in the industry and mainstream media. He had no tech training and new nothing about html.  He decided to turn his blog into an online restaurant guide called Urban Diner soon after, which he sold recently because he realized that he wanted to write about things other than just food. Add Scout Magazine to the scene which launched in November of 2008.  And so far, so good.  He says based on his success, he knows that content is king and doesn’t think his platform is medium specific.  He says it comes down to the voice and a unique perspective.

Something he should’ve known before starting up?

…owning 100% is the only way to go.  Taking on investors is a lot of pressure.  Testing your site in different browsers would also be a key must-do pre launch. Things don’t work the same in FF, as they do in Explorer.

What else?

…have your ducks in a row, have a beta site, test and bug fix and be real, honest and provide good content.

How does he make money?

Online ads and membership.

Why should we trust him?

He is a pro.

Anything new happening?

With the help of Scout, the Chef’s Table Society of BC is launching a discussion forum in a few weeks, trying to break down barriers to spark conversations, growing the editorial contributions and looking to bolster food-forward sites.

Who does he read in town?  Foodist, Tiny Bites and Beyond Robson

Why does he love his job? The freedom.

Thanks Andrew and congrats on your success!