He thinks business and dreams golf
Reiman built a publishing empire in Greendale
rowing up on a farm in rural Iowa,
Reiman, who lives in Greendale and is a
longtime member of Tuckaway CC in
Franklin, founded Reiman Publications in
1968, eight years after he moved to the
Milwaukee area. The company headquar-
tered in Greendale earned a unique posi-
tion in the publishing industry through the
development of a no-advertising policy.
“My reasoning was that if you can turn
out a magazine that includes features
people can find no where else, and is in
such demand that enough people are will-
ing to pay a higher subscription price, you
can make it without advertising,” Reiman
said. “And we did that with 14 separate
national magazines.”
“Make it,” he did. At its peak, the
company’s publications were delivered
to one out of every eight homes in the
United States.
Reiman Publications – which some publishing insiders have classified as a direct
G
marketing firm – was also an early leader
in the development of extensive lists of
addresses so the company could reach
would-be subscribers. Reiman began
compiling his lists of addresses in the
1960s while working as a freelance agricultural journalist.
In 2005 Reiman published his life story
in book form. “I Could Write a Book …”
was written, he said, so his kids and
grandchildren could read his story in his
own words. He said he also wanted to
“share the entrepreneurial and manage-
ment ideas that worked well for us.”
The book, which has sold more than
30,000 copies, tells the story of some ini-
tial publishing failures and second mort-
gages on the Reiman home, as well as the
early successes, such as Farm Building
News, which instantly found a niche audi-
ence when it was created in 1967.
Reiman Publications was founded the
next year, and 30 years later Reiman sold
it to a Chicago investment firm. Reader’s
Digest purchased the company in 2002.
Reiman joined Tuckaway CC in 1974 and
currently has a handicap index of 9. 7.
Reiman said he plays only once or twice a
week, usually with a regular group of
Bobbi and Roy Reiman
friends at the club.
Roy REIMAN
are members at Toscana CC in Indian
Wells, Calif., where they spend winters.
When asked what he most enjoys about
golf, Reiman first said it’s the challenge,
especially the manner in which golf skills
come and go from one round to the next.
“I also find golf helps me sleep at
night,” he said. “If I think about business,
my mind just gets busier and busier and I
can’t sleep,” Reiman said. “But if I can
‘re-think’ my last round of golf and picture
exactly where my ball was after each drive
and on each green, I find that relaxing and
I can get back to sleep.” ;;
