Four years ago, Susan Borison and Stephanie Silverman were regular moms who were struggling to make the right choices while raising their children. Though they found plenty of resources addressing issues regarding young children, they found a void as their children reached adolescence. So the Beachwood-based moms started their own magazine, Your Teen.

"I have five kids and parenting magazines started to be irrelevant when they hit age eight," explains Borison. "I used to say to my husband, 'I want the next magazine,' and he said, 'Just do it.'"

So, with no background in journalism or publishing, the two women set out and launched Your Teen in 2008. The goal was to address the daily struggles of raising a teenager. Today, the magazine is published quarterly and goes out to 20,000 homes and is available at Barnes and Noble bookstores in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The magazine has a staff of five, plus interns.

"We want to empower parents to feel knowledgeable and raise their kids in a way they feel comfortable," says Borison. The mag covers everything from substance abuse and sexuality to driving and mental health. They tap experts such as Ellen Rome, head of adolescent medicine and the Cleveland Clinic, and Judy Stenta of Bellfaire JCB, for insight and advice, and host panel discussions three times a year.

"We kept falling on people who wanted to help us," says Borison of the resources they have. "The generosity of sharing their time and knowledge is incredible. We just get 'yes' over and over."

Source: Susan Borison
Writer: Karin Connelly