Isaac Summers and Adam Husing of Decided Excellence Catholic Media join Joe Coleman to discuss how they built a scalable, mission-driven print media company that mails hyper-local Catholic magazines directly to homes and parish databases. They break down the business model—two magazine tracks, a 1099 commission structure, and a daily three-step sales system—that has allowed independent publishers across the country to build flexible, family-sustaining income.

Main Ideas:

* Decided Excellence runs on a simple daily system—prospect, cold call for one hour, run three meetings—and Adam argues that consistent execution of those three things is sufficient to build a profitable magazine business

* The 1099 structure is a deliberate choice: publishers earn up to 90% commission above the cost of production, with no micromanagement, making it a genuine path to financial and schedule autonomy for entrepreneurs willing to do the hard work

* Cold calling works at scale—roughly one in three decision-makers agrees to a meeting, and the overall close rate lands around 20%—numbers that apply beyond magazine sales to any business built on outbound prospecting

* The most successful publishers aren’t defined by prior industry experience but by whether they want long-term income over a quick base salary and whether they can work without being managed

* Adam traces the business back to Lighthouse Catholic Media and Best Version Media, illustrating how a proven niche-market magazine model was adapted for a Catholic audience—a transferable lesson in spotting and reapplying successful frameworks

Chapters:

* 00:00: Introduction

* 02:12: What Is Decided Excellence Catholic Media?

* 05:59: Inside the Magazine: Format and Content

* 09:00: Why Mail Directly to Homes?

* 12:12: How Recipients Are Identified

* 14:41: Why Print Over Digital?

* 16:26: Two Models: Parish vs. Community Magazines

* 19:11: How Publishers Make Money

* 22:35: The Future of Print Media

* 30:19: Apostolic Obligation and Entrepreneurial Freedom

* 40:15: Who Succeeds as a Publisher?

* 46:26: Daily Habits of Top Performers

Resources Mentioned:

* Decided Excellence Catholic Media

* Parish Magazine Info

* Join the DECM Team

* The Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard

Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios

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