Palmer Higgs Investments – StartupSmart

Palmer Higgs is a publishing services company which provides design, typesetting and all other services required for book publishing or other publishing, such as magazines, online, etc.

In 2012, Palmer Higgs launched an online magazine-style website as a separate area of the business called An Eventful Life.

The site provides in-depth coverage for the “sport of eventing” in Australia and overseas. The Higgs believe many niche printed magazines will be replaced by this sort of online coverage.

“I love eventing and have great contacts, am a journalist and believe that online publishing – be it websites, apps, video coverage – will be the way that people access this type of information in the future,” Debbie Higgs says.

“The equestrian sport of eventing is one of the world’s most demanding and thrilling sports, requiring athleticism, bravery and a special partnership between horse and rider.

“Australia’s eventing riders are admired around the equestrian world. Their medal-winning achievements at multiple Olympic Games and other international competitions are testament to the quality of eventing riders produced in Australia.

“However, there is little coverage of eventing in Australia.

“This website responds to that need for both the Australian and international market wanting to find out more about the events, riders and lifestyle.” The best part of starting the business was the “amazing support” from the eventing community, including from Olympic gold medalists, and the satisfaction in seeing the online statistics grow. While the website concentrates on equestrian events, Higgs says the format and concept could be used as a template for any type of niche sport coverage.