Know who you serveA sustainable community news operation starts with a clear understanding of the people it exists to serve. You don’t need sophisticated audience research, but you should be able to answer a few basic questions.Take a quick lookWho is the community you exist to serve?About how many people regularly read or use your news?Is that audience growing, stable or shrinking?How do people find you: print, website, email, social media or somewhere else?Which parts of your community are you reaching well?Who are you not reaching?What evidence tells you readers value what you produce? Watch forIf you can’t describe your core audience or tell whether it is growing or shrinking, that’s useful information in itself. Pick a few simple measures you can track consistently. Tip: Social media reach can be useful, but it isn’t the same as an audience you can reach directly. Subscribers, email lists and regular direct readers provide a more durable connection to your community.

Know where the money comes fromSustainability depends on more than how much revenue you bring in. It also matters where that money comes from and how vulnerable your operation would be if one source disappeared.Take a quick lookWhat are your major sources of revenue?Roughly what percentage comes from advertising, subscriptions, legal notices, donations, grants or other sources?Is revenue growing, stable or shrinking?How much depends on your five largest advertisers or customers?Are you charging enough for your advertising and subscriptions to cover what they actually cost to provide?Which revenue sources require the most staff time compared with what they produce?Is there a revenue source you rely on today that may be less dependable in the next few years?Watch forHeavy dependence on one advertiser, customer or type of revenue creates risk even when business is currently good. A healthy revenue mix gives you room to absorb change without immediately cutting journalism.Tip: Don’t diversify just for the sake of diversification. A simple revenue stream that works is usually more valuable than five new ideas that consume time and barely pay for themselves.

Make sure the work can actually get doneA sustainable news operation needs systems that work even when things get busy, someone is out or something goes wrong. Small organizations will always depend heavily on a few people, but they shouldn’t depend entirely on what those people carry in their heads.Take a quick lookAre the essential jobs clearly assigned?Are recurring tasks and deadlines documented somewhere?Could someone else produce an issue, update the website, bill advertisers or manage subscriptions if necessary?Are important passwords, accounts, files and vendor contacts accessible to more than one person?Which tasks regularly take more time than they should?Are you paying for tools, software or services you rarely use?What part of your operation would cause the biggest problem if it suddenly stopped working?Watch forThe biggest operational risks are often ordinary things: one person who knows the mailing system, one computer containing critical files or a weekly process nobody has ever written down.Tip: You don’t need a giant operations manual. Start by documenting the handful of things that would leave everyone saying, “Wait, how does that work?” if the person who normally does them were gone.

Know how much room you haveRevenue tells you what comes in. Financial resilience tells you how well your operation can handle the unexpected, from a slow advertising month to a major repair or the loss of an important customer.Take a quick lookDo you know whether the operation is actually profitable?Do you regularly review cash flow, not just the bank balance?How many weeks or months of normal expenses could your available cash cover?Are bills, payroll, taxes and debt payments consistently paid on time?Do you know your largest fixed expenses and when they are likely to increase?Could you absorb a significant unexpected expense without borrowing?Are there expenses you could reduce quickly if revenue suddenly dropped?Watch forA business can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash. Thin reserves, growing debt or routinely using next month’s revenue to pay this month’s bills are signs that there isn’t much room for something to go wrong.Tip: You don’t need complicated financial modeling. Knowing your monthly expenses, typical cash flow and how long your available cash would keep the operation running will tell you a great deal.

Make sure the work can continueCommunity news organizations often depend heavily on a small number of people. Planning for continuity means making sure the publication can keep serving its community when someone leaves, retires, gets sick or simply needs time away.Take a quick lookWho are the people your operation could not easily function without?What knowledge, relationships or responsibilities exist only with them?Could someone else access essential accounts, records, passwords and files?Are important vendor, advertiser and community contacts documented?If the owner or publisher were unexpectedly unavailable, who could keep the operation running?Have you thought about what happens when the current owner eventually wants to step away?Is there anyone who could realistically take on greater responsibility over time?Watch forContinuity problems usually develop long before a transition happens. When essential knowledge, relationships and authority are concentrated in one person, even a temporary absence can become a serious problem.Tip: You don’t need a formal succession plan today. Start by asking a simpler question: If a key person couldn’t come to work tomorrow, what would everyone else need to know?