We’re sitting down to write this with emotion close to the surface — a mix of gratitude, grief, and deep pride in what we’ve created over these past five years.

When we launched Trailblazher Magazine, we had no publishing experience — just a dream and a deep belief in the power of rural women’s stories. We bootstrapped everything from the beginning — fueled by passion and hope — and somehow, against the odds, we built something beautiful. Together.

With a tiny team of two or three (often just the two of us — a mother-daughter duo), we did what full publishing teams do: writing, designing, editing, distributing, promoting, selling, packing, and posting. Every issue was a labour of love. Every single page was handcrafted with care.

Our vision was always to grow Trailblazher into something more sustainable — to land on more major retail shelves, reduce printing costs through volume, and bring in larger brand support so that everyone involved could be paid fairly, including ourselves.

We pitched big brands. We explored non-traditional paths. We showed up at events, sponsored what we could, and never stopped believing in what Trailblazher stood for.

But the truth is — this is hard.

Print is incredibly expensive, and as a tiny team, we haven’t had the capacity to promote each issue the way it truly deserved. That’s meant sales often didn’t even cover the cost of producing the magazine. We’ve knocked on countless doors and pitched our hearts out, but the big partnerships and wide-scale traction just didn’t come.

Because we couldn’t consistently increase our print quantities, our per-unit costs stayed high—making it nearly impossible to offer healthy margins to wholesalers. The combination of rising printing costs, limited distribution growth, and the exhaustion of trying to do everything ourselves has made it unsustainable.

We’re burned out. And it’s okay to say that.

So today, we’re letting you — our cherished community — know that Volume 19, our upcoming 5-Year Anniversary Issue, will be our last.

It’s heartbreaking. But there’s also a quiet sense of peace beginning to settle. This has been a monumental effort — and we are incredibly proud of what we’ve made.

As we reflect, we can’t go forward without expressing our deepest gratitude to all the contributors who have trusted us with their words, images, and lived experiences. You’ve brought Trailblazher to life in ways far beyond what we imagined. Thank you for being part of this movement.

Right now, we are focused on making Volume 19 our most powerful issue yet — a celebration of resilience in all its forms.

For our Trailblazher Magazine subscribers who will have outstanding issues after Volume 19, we’ll be in touch in the coming months with an offer.

We also want to share that we are open to Trailblazher continuing — but only in the hands of a bigger, better-resourced brand that shares our values, vision, and heart. It would need to be someone who is as deeply committed to rural women and their stories as we are.

We don’t fully know what comes next. It’s uncomfortable to sit in this space of the unknown — but perhaps you can relate. There’s also a whisper of relief, a breath we haven’t taken in years, as we make space for what might be possible.

Thank you for believing in Trailblazher.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for every issue you’ve purchased, every word you’ve shared, every ounce of love you’ve poured into this community.

We are endlessly grateful.

We wanted to share a deeper view into what a magazine takes, both professionally and personally through a Q&A in an honest effort to share the side beyond the social squares and highlights.

We welcome you to read on…

A Deeper Reflection: Our Journey in Our Own Words

When did the dream of Trailblazher begin?

It began as a quiet dream way back in 2011 — to create a premium, keepsake magazine, just like the ones on our own bookshelves. The defining moment came after we launched a rural women’s directory and felt it in our guts — now was the time.

What do we remember most about the early days?

The excitement. The handwritten thank-you notes in every order. Pinching ourselves when issues sold out. The anticipation, the joy, the thrill of sharing rural women’s voices. We’ll never forget the pure fun and satisfaction of those early days.

How has Trailblazher evolved?

We began with Canadian-only content and quickly expanded to include stories from the U.S. Our content pillars grew beyond entrepreneurship to rural lifestyle. For four years, we were a quarterly publication; we shifted to biannual in our final year.

What has the day-to-day reality been like?

The hardest part? That the content is the product. While most businesses create content to promote a product, our product is a mountain of content, plus the content needed to promote it. The constant switching between internal ops and external outreach was relentless. It demanded long hours at a computer, draining our creative tanks beyond joy. Throughout the five years publishing Trailblazher we also were developing full websites for clients, launched a business membership, a directory all to generate revenue to support the magazine, which only contributed to more burnout.

But what kept us going were the women. The stories. The Zoom calls and connections. The wisdom of rural women across North America — and our bond, as mother and daughter — grew stronger than ever.

What’s the hardest part of the workflow?

It’s not the planning. It’s the juggling — promoting one issue while building the next. It never stops. There’s no pause. No room to catch our breath or celebrate what we’ve just created. It’s such an immense amount of work for 2 people, being in the creation and promotional mode all the time.

When did we know it was time?

Back in January, we started feeling it. Switching to two issues per year helped, but it was a temporary fix. By February, it was clear the numbers didn’t work. And our bodies were calling for change. Saying it out loud brought relief. We have had time to grieve and mourn privately the loss of our dream which has been a gift. We still feel tender but relieved to let our community and readers know.

What has this community meant to us?

The community that built in the momentum of supporting us from the beginning has been an incredible gift. To have friends and acquaintances all over North America has broadened our perspective on life, people and what makes them happy. We have grown our social community from ground zero, 5 years ago, and we feel so blessed to have become a brand that women tell us its their dream to be a part of. It gave us purpose. It rooted us in something real, from scratch.

What are we most proud of?

That we did it. From zero, we created something that was soulful, trusted, and high quality. That we created space for women’s voices to be heard — especially in a world that can make rural women feel invisible. We’ve stayed true to the heart of Trailblazher. Through every hardship, we upheld integrity and storytelling excellence. We are deeply proud of what we’ve built, together.

How are we feeling now?

Jan: Sad. Resigned. Hopeful. Proud. Curious.

Erin: Uncertain. Heartbroken. Relieved. Quiet. A little lost. Burnt out. Hopeful. Grateful. Looking forward to flow, not push. Ready to reconnect with herself and creativity in a new way.

Our thoughts on small business right now…

Many are struggling. Many are closing. Never assume you know the behind-the-scenes of small business. We are all out here doing our absolute best. If you love what a business stands for, support them in any way you know how. Buy their products, share with your friends, like their posts, it all adds up and can make a collective difference.

Could someone else carry the torch?

Yes — if they love rural women as deeply as we do. They’d need the financial support, the reach, and the soul to carry it forward with the same heart and authenticity. It would need to be a brand that aligns deeply with Trailblazher’s values.

What’s next for us?

We’re not sure. We’ve brainstormed and said eureka! more than once — only to have those ideas fade. We miss our podcast and plan to bring it back when we’re ready. But for now, we’re giving ourselves the space to rediscover what calls to us individually. We’ve been in production mode for five years straight — and it’s time to listen again to our inner voices. We have run through next ideas, plans and said eureka a couple times wanting to land on whats next for us. But give it a couple days and the ideas feel watered down. there is a huge part of us that wants to name our next dream, its who we are and how we feel grounded in our purpose. but what we’ve learned is that the cost of pursuing work that is tied to a deep passion within, means that if it doesn’t work out as planned, the loss can feel profound. For this reason, we are giving ourselves the space to reconnect with each of our callings, as the busy’ness of the last 5 years has numbed that inner conversation. Plus, we are heads down in creating our last issue. We have incredible content from the last 11 years built around the archetype of Trailblazher but are unsure of what if anything to do with it in this moment.

Our closing thoughts…

Jan: I realize that no matter how passionate or jazzed you feel about a project, you must do some research into the longer term to imagine how daily life will be, who will do what, and what the project will require of you. After the initial enthusiasm the daily work will come, and you need to be ready for it. Understand that making a commitment to a magazine is deeper than most projects, so ask yourself if you are ready for the longer haul. Be kind to yourself if/when things need to change – life is hard enough. Life is about pivots, so move forward gracefully when the time comes.

Erin: It is our deepest hope that the stories within Trailblazher live on beyond the closing of this chapter. The gold has always been in the wisdom and shared perspective from the collective of women in its pages – showing up bravely, vulnerably and authentically. In a world where shiny objects prevail, let the stories in Trailblazher be the reminder that we all crave – inspiration and hope to live a meaningful life with purpose, alignment and fulfillment. A tall order I know. But it’s a life worth claiming with all that we are. As my heart and mind look ahead to the closing of this 5 year chapter, I can’t help but realize how much of my identity was tied to the magazine, and now, how much of me is waiting to be reclaimed and reacquainted with. Because we each poured so much into Trailblazher, we have been and will continue to mourn the idea of it, the dream of it, the hope of it. I look forward to creating the space in my life to connect with my creativity again. The last 5 years have been a blur of workhorse energy, and I am so excited to approach life differently. I feel incredibly humbled from this experience. The Erin 5 years ago was so naively certain that if a dream on our hearts had enough passion behind it, then there was no way it couldn’t work out. The Erin today believes that timing, costs and growth also have to be aligned with a dream, and that when one dream dies, another one is waiting to be born, if we can get quiet enough to listen.

How can you support us now?

We wanted to give our readers and community plenty of time knowing about our farewell before our last issue goes to print. We would tremendously appreciate your support in this last chapter. While we are busy creating our last issue, there is so much work yet to be done. Here are ways that we can be supported:

🌾 Pre-order Volume 19 when it becomes available — our final, celebratory issue

🌾 Purchase an ad to spotlight your brand or message, email us here

🌾 Book a space in the 2025 Trailblazher Gift Guide, email us

🌾 Help clear out our stock by buying back issues or bundles

🌾 Share this post with someone who might want to carry the Trailblazher torch

We are holding so much right now: grief, pride, exhaustion, and love. While this chapter didn’t end the way we imagined, we still lived the dream. And we are forever changed because of it.

We leave you with our favourite quote:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… Who strives valiantly… Who spends himself in a worthy cause… Who at the best knows the triumph of achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

We dared greatly. And we are endlessly grateful for the ride.

With deep love and respect,

Jan & Erin

PS. ARE YOU A TRAILBLAZHER MAGAZINE READER? We would love to include your appreciation for how our magazine has impacted you in our last issue, rural or not, we’d love to include you. The submission form is here.