Training & Development Q&A

Greetings Jeanette from rural Australia,

Everybody makes mistakes in business. James Packer and One-Tel. Rupert Murdoch buying MySpace and turning it into a dinosaur. Steve Job's NeXT computer company. His Apple III. And MobileMe are amongst 7 of his failures.

You can't succeed if you don't fail. That's a wisdom that shouldn't be ignored.

Failure. Mistakes. Are merely opportunities to learn how to do things better.

And what each one of us learns from them is relevant only to us. And might not be relevant to anyone else.

And much of what we learn from our mistakes is based on our own personalities. And how we want to do things.

One of the best things I've learned in running my business is not to listen to outsiders.

I operate in a very small niche market. A declining market, actually. But I'm growing as other companies drop out.

I listen to my customers. And try to engage in a dialogue with them as much as possible.

They've taught me how to run my business better. Every time they have a criticism, I listen. And change the way I do things. And so far, since 1994, every criticism. And every change. Has been for the better.

I've also learned not to be hoodwinked by hyperbole. I'm a trusting gal. And hope I always stay that way. But after discovering too many times that people exaggerate, I've learned to ask questions. And if possible, get them to justify their claims. At worst, to be cynical.

After years of advertising in magazines that are perfect for my niche market, and never breaking even, I learned that people only buy my product when their current version wears out. When paying top dollars to get my message across, I realised I couldn't wait for that to happen. And from that financial mistake, I learned to conquer the internet. And get my website to attract customers when they're looking for my solution to their problem.

Mistakes don't close doors. They open others.

When something doesn't work, it's a matter of asking yourself what else can? And undertaking the research to come up with a different answer.

When I was learning about the internet in 2001, when dialup came to my rural village where I live and work from my remote rural property, I was on SKYPE at 3AM, attending free online seminars held in the USA. The birth country of internet magic.

I did that several times a week.

And by putting in that effort, I moved from page 45 on Google. To page 1. And have never been off page 1 since for my best search terms. All without spending a penny.

Mistakes are opportunities to find solutions that are so much better than you expected.

Best wishes, Jeanette, for whatever you hope to achieve.

Best wishes,

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

Purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies

350,000 customers.

In 29 countries.