Simon Payn started out as a journalist, working for daily and national newspapers in the United Kingdom and Canada (The Birmingham Post, The Sunday Telegraph and The Toronto Star). He edited news stories, laid out entire pages, and prepared articles to post on the Web. He rewrote stories, developed catchy headlines, and made every sentence as accurate and readable as possible.

With the advent of the Internet, Simon went to help start up an online publishing company in Amsterdam. Expatica serves people in several European countries by supplying information and community. As editorial director, he created six websites that were updated daily. It was an exciting ride—the team built something from scratch that continues to help thousands of people every day.

Being part of that start-up gave Simon the entrepreneurial bug. To prepare for going it alone, he studied sales and marketing—with an emphasis on direct marketing—because without understanding how to get clients, you can’t have a thriving business.

The happy marriage of his journalism background and marketing skills was Ready to Go Newsletters, which he founded in 2007. Simon found a gap in the market for professionally written newsletters featuring a strong marketing component.