Publishers Letter

Ben Malkin, Publisher

The theme of this month’s issue is investing. Since I am not a stock market expert, I will leave that discussion up to the experts at two of our marketing partners, the Lake Avenue Group at Morgan Stanley and Montecito Bank & Trust. Robin and I invested in the Conejo Valley and Santa Rosa Valley communities when we launched Conejo Valley Lifestyle in 2015. Our magazine is a business, and our mission is to communicate with the folks who live here about some of the best our community has to offer. Our focus for the past 11 years and into the future has been primarily on small businesses like ours and the many nonprofits that flourish in the Conejo Valley and throughout Ventura County.

More often than not, starting a small business involves investing your own money. It’s not about investors and “OPM” (that’s Other People’s Money for those who never saw the movie). Whenever I launched a new business (I’ve done more than a few) I never looked down from the tight rope. Aside from having the new “great idea”, I always made certain I had a marketing budget. Every entrepreneur in our community is investing in themselves and the neighborhood, town or city in which they do business. It’s a combination of a “family affair” and the community at large.

In this issue, we feature an honest-to-goodness family affair. SoCal Sleep Dentistry in Westlake Village was recently launched by the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Nina Rastegar and Dr. Daniel Kohanchi. While they are highly qualified and skilled dental health professionals, their practice has a vision that reflects family values and a commitment to health and wellness in the Conejo Valley. You can learn more inside this issue.

There are many more professional practices and businesses like SoCal Sleep Dentistry in Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Oak Park and Agoura Hills. They are excellent examples of what is bestd about our cities and our country.