I Built A Worldwide Business From Broke.

[Simmo Üprus]

Good morning @JokerCrazyBeatz from rural Australia,

Thank you for such a lovely welcome! Members, like you, are so warm and friendly. I've only been a member for two weeks. But have met the finest people ever online. I look forward to staying connected with you. ~Carol❤

You and Victor are ABSOLUTE legends! Keep up the amazing work and I wish all the best for you two!

And also - greetings from Estonia!

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

Good morning @Iammelissamoore from Oz,

What a pleasure it is to meet you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this thread. And I totally agree about the Fastlane community. It's like no other community!

I hope we stay connected. If ever I can help you, please let me know. ~Carol❤

Thank you so much, you are beyond kind, I am happy to have crossed paths with you and the family we have built on this forum.

I wish you continued success in All your endeavours.

 

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[Carol Jones]

Be outward focussed. Instead of inward focussed. My new mantra

I love that @Limitless4Life! Thank you for sharing it with me!! ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

Thank you for such an inspiring post backed up by process.May your success continue to increase.Congrats and all the best.Paul.

Good morning @Kennypaul from Oz,

Thank you so much, Paul! Your kind words are themselves inspiring. And appreciated.

I apologise for taking so long to respond. But today is the first time I've seen your comments. I hope to hear from you again.

And welcome to the forum. It's a fabulous place to meet like minded people with get up and go. And to exchange information and ideas. I hope you find what you're looking for! ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

Your story is very inspiring. Congratulations

Good morning @Chiamaka from Oz,

Thank you so much for your kind words. They're always appreciated.

Welcome to the Fastlane Forum. If you ever need help, just ask. Anyone. We're all here to help you. I hope you find what you're looking for. My very best wishes. ~Carol❤

 

[thore]

Thank you for making me discover this video.
This forum is really amazing.

How wonderful @LPPC! Thank you for that feedback.

We all have negative chatter that crushes our brains every day. It takes discipline to drive it away. But it can be done. Tony Robbins gives some of the best down to earth, easy to understand reasons, why this happens to everyone.

Another person to watch is Mel Robbins. Especially her talk with Tony Bilyeu. 'Why Motivation Is Garbage'. She also talks about the negative chatter in our brains that can destroy us. This is the link.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCHPSo79rB4


It's a pleasure to be able to help you, LPPC. And it's very rewarding to let me know! I look forward to staying in touch. ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

Hi DeppyJ

Reading your story I had the impression of reading a piece of my life.
I love it.

thank you

@DeppyJ is a very special gal @thore. Her self-awareness is outstanding. ~Carol❤

 

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[Carol Jones]

This is some inspiring stuff. Thanks for sharing this motivational story.

G'day @Saf H from Oz,

Thank You! And welcome to The Fastlane Forum. Everyone is here to give help.

What are your plans? What do you want to achieve? What makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning? I'd love you to share that with me.

In the meantime, it's a pleasure to meet you. And I hope we stay in touch! ~Carol❤

 

[Anthony Gordon]

Good morning from rural Australia,

In a nutshell, my partner and I design and make textile products that are simple solutions for difficult problems. We have 400,000 customers in 30 countries around the world who think our products are the best thing since sliced bread. The icing on the cake is that all our products are made with love and care in rural Australia by men and women who have a disability. We are renown for our simple solutions that work. When others don't.

That's the event.

The process is this.

In 1992, my partner and I lost everything in Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'recession we had to have'. We closed down two businesses. My partner's 12 year old architectural practice. My market research consultancy. We farewelled 16 loyal and supportive staff. We sold our home of 22 years. Two cars. And our personal possessions. To pay off what debt we could. And made a scheme of arrangement with our creditors to pay off the remaining debt.

Poor as church mice. We left the city lights of Sydney Australia. For a rural life in a remote village with no internet access. No email. Not even call waiting. But it met our most important criteria. We could live in a farmhouse whose rent we could afford to pay. The village was heavily affected by a severe drought. And the house was not a desirable place to live. But it was our safety net.

We made a decision to find our way back by utilising simple solutions. Our skills were in design. And research. So we reinvented ourselves as designers and makers of textile products. Our first product didn't capture the hearts of the marketplace. But our second product did. We redesigned the humble ironing board cover utilising a low tech solution to make sure it was firmly anchored to an ironing board. So it never moved. Which is what makes people hate ironing.

If you make one good product. Customers want more. So we designed 6 more textile products. And today we have more than 400,000 customers in 30 countries. Without any retail distribution. And all done online today. But in the beginning, it was all mail order.

We've been down dark alleys. Wondered if we were certifiably mad to keep doing what we were doing when ironing board covers are not top of mind with most people.

But we discovered they are very top of mind with men and women who must iron.

Even though the subject is not sexy, our products, and our story, have been written about in every major publication in Australia.

We've been featured on mainstream TV. Interviewed on radio. Included in two books. The latest being 'Hunch' by international best selling author Bernadette Jiwa. I'm the 'Ironing Whisperer' on page 73.

The process of working every day is what got us to where we are today.

We did what everyone said we couldn't do. We built a worldwide business from broke. On a remote rural property. Before the internet and email came to our rural village.

I'm here to mix with like minded men and women. I have 35 years of business experience to share. I've done the hard yards. And would love to be of help to those of you who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And. I want to travel further along the road to wealth.

It will be a pleasure to meet you. ~Carol❤

wow love this story and being another Australian except from the West, its great to see familiar slang

 

[Star Dust]

Dear Carol, thank you ever so much for all your hard work and for sharing your experience with us. You are a luminous candle in the dark. Thank you for being you.

 

[MTF]

In December, my partner and I sold our beautiful rural property in NSW. And relocated to the alpine region of the state of Victoria.

Just curious: was it because of the droughts or something else? Seems like a difficult decision to sell your beloved rural property in NSW.

 

[Carol Jones]

~Carol❤

 

[Sunni]

Wow! Wonderful thread. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your story and taking the time to answer questions.

 

[JWM]

Love this thread. I always spot it when I jump onto the forum and I take a quick read through to get the juices flowing again. I'm based in Melbourne and I'm in the early days of my journey, which mostly feels like i'm neck deep in mud, but I'm pushing through! Congrats on the success and thanks for the all the info shared.

Josh

 

[Tanu1234]

Good morning from rural Australia,

In a nutshell, my partner and I design and make textile products that are simple solutions for difficult problems. We have 400,000 customers in 30 countries around the world who think our products are the best thing since sliced bread. The icing on the cake is that all our products are made with love and care in rural Australia by men and women who have a disability. We are renown for our simple solutions that work. When others don't.

That's the event.

The process is this.

In 1992, my partner and I lost everything in Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'recession we had to have'. We closed down two businesses. My partner's 12 year old architectural practice. My market research consultancy. We farewelled 16 loyal and supportive staff. We sold our home of 22 years. Two cars. And our personal possessions. To pay off what debt we could. And made a scheme of arrangement with our creditors to pay off the remaining debt.

Poor as church mice. We left the city lights of Sydney Australia. For a rural life in a remote village with no internet access. No email. Not even call waiting. But it met our most important criteria. We could live in a farmhouse whose rent we could afford to pay. The village was heavily affected by a severe drought. And the house was not a desirable place to live. But it was our safety net.

We made a decision to find our way back by utilising simple solutions. Our skills were in design. And research. So we reinvented ourselves as designers and makers of textile products. Our first product didn't capture the hearts of the marketplace. But our second product did. We redesigned the humble ironing board cover utilising a low tech solution to make sure it was firmly anchored to an ironing board. So it never moved. Which is what makes people hate ironing.

If you make one good product. Customers want more. So we designed 6 more textile products. And today we have more than 400,000 customers in 30 countries. Without any retail distribution. And all done online today. But in the beginning, it was all mail order.

We've been down dark alleys. Wondered if we were certifiably mad to keep doing what we were doing when ironing board covers are not top of mind with most people.

But we discovered they are very top of mind with men and women who must iron.

Even though the subject is not sexy, our products, and our story, have been written about in every major publication in Australia.

We've been featured on mainstream TV. Interviewed on radio. Included in two books. The latest being 'Hunch' by international best selling author Bernadette Jiwa. I'm the 'Ironing Whisperer' on page 73.

The process of working every day is what got us to where we are today.

We did what everyone said we couldn't do. We built a worldwide business from broke. On a remote rural property. Before the internet and email came to our rural village.

I'm here to mix with like minded men and women. I have 35 years of business experience to share. I've done the hard yards. And would love to be of help to those of you who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And. I want to travel further along the road to wealth.

It will be a pleasure to meet you. ~Carol[emoji173]

Really amazing!

You turned adversity into prosperity.

How do you handle competition?

Generally everyone is copying idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[BlokeInProgress]

Ironing board covers are a commodity product. No one thinks about them as anything important. You pop one into your shopping cart in the supermarket. Put it on your board. Complain about it. But go back and buy another cheapie.

G'day from Melbourne!

I believe it's because people get used to the thinking of the bigger crowd..."this is how it works and I should get used to it."

Got really inspired with your story, congratulations and more success to you!

 

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[Vangoue]

And G'day to you @LinorCG!

We all fall into that pattern, don't we? We know something should be better. But it isn't. And the energy required to find an alternative. Or create an alternative. May not be how we want to spend our time.

I have a long list of . . . "I wonder if the manufacturer has ever tried to open/use their product?"

Included in that list are:

Ring top pulls on cans. Which break before you start.

Ditto for the pull strip on containers of cream.

Soft drink bottles that can't be opened.

Vitamin pill bottles with inner seals that can't be removed without a jackhammer.

Cardboard wine casks which aren't held together with enough glue to keep the ends from separating.

Wine casks with a perforation so tight. You can't pull the nozzle of the wine cask out without destroying the cardboard.

Tissues in boxes that DON'T pull out one at a time.

Childproof caps that are adult proof as well.

Et al.

We're almost near neighbours. Only 5 hours (400+kms) separate us!

What do you do? What do you hope to do?

Thank you for your kind words. It's also a privilege to meet you. And I look forward to you dropping in to say G'day again. ~Carol❤

Hi Carol, I'm a newbie to this forum reading articles for inspiration which cause me to stumble on your story. The way your mind works is truly quite intriguing "Tissues in boxes that DON'T pull out one at a time". I don't have an exact business idea yet, I've been selling used computers on eBay for small sustenance as well as practice with ad copy. what were your thoughts at the moment you knew that iron board covers were the niche to take an educated leap in?

 

[trafalgar_law]

great read! when you first started how did you find some customers? locally or international. thanks

 

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[Gtas]

This is how you just don't allow anything to become an obstacle in mind! Congratulations.

 

[Fyncorp]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Carol Jones]

Wow. Your story is so inspiring and motivating. Exactly what I needed today. Thanks for sharing.

I love this forum for the community that was build here. So many great insights and likeminded people.

G'day @MπR from Oz,

Welcome to The Fastlane Forum!

And thank you for dropping in.

Inspiration. And help. Is found everywhere on this forum. I hope you take advantage of all the opportunities to learn from people who have been there. Done that.

And best wishes on your journey. I hope all your dreams come true! ~Carol❤

 

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[Carol Jones]

So inspiring!!! Ahhh... the commandment of Need.

G'day @prettysmartone from Oz,

"The commandment of Need". I love that!

It cuts through all the fluffing around so many people do. Trying to discover their 'Why'!

And gets down to the nitty-gritty of taking action. And getting from A to B.

Thank you for those wise words. I'll remember them always. ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

This is great! So many motivational and inspiring stories to read and to learn from.

G'day @GadAI from Oz,

Welcome to The Fastlane Forum.

I hope you love it here. There are so many wonderful stories to give you inspiration.

And fabulous people who will do whatever they can to help you on your journey to wherever you want to be.

I wish you every success. And thank you for dropping in. ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

Oi Oi Oi.

G'day Mark @Mark Trade from rural Victoria!

Welcome to The Fastlane Forum.

I can't tell you how much I loved seeing that 'Oi Oi Oi'. So beautifully Australian!

I can also see by your profile that you're definitely indulging in what The Fastlane Forum has to offer. I hope you find everything you're looking for here. There are so many people to inspire you. Who engage in different facets of getting from A to B. This forum is a smorgasbord of everything you could possibly want to know.

I hope you drop in again! ~Carol❤

 

[Carol Jones]

I had good inspiration from many people at Brambles, years ago, including my Father In Law and Gary Pemberton, who was the Australian "Boss". My goal was attained many many years ago, so am now quite comfortable. The wallet drainer and myself reside at Burraneer Bay in the Shire. Our kids are grown up and there are a couple of their dirt magnets that frequent our house often, like when baking is going on, so life is ok.

It's an interesting site, with some weird and wonderful things happening. We'll see how things plan out.

G'day again Mark @Mark Trade,

I see a mentor for the less experienced members of this forum.

Lucky those who take advantage of your expertise. And inspiration. ~Carol❤

 

[jimlg]

I deeply impressed by your resistance against "dark tunnel", and thank you to share your great experience with us.

I was so, so impressed with your story... Absolutely and Totally Inspirational !!
Did I see that you do Ironing Board covers in your products list ?

Kindest Regards,

Jim

 

[EMH]

Wow, awesome story! A story that proves that processes and adaptability will surely win the day. Very motivating and very inspiring. Wishing you continued success in your business journey.

 

[Super Shiva]

Good morning from rural Australia,

In a nutshell, my partner and I design and make textile products that are simple solutions for difficult problems. We have 400,000 customers in 30 countries around the world who think our products are the best thing since sliced bread. The icing on the cake is that all our products are made with love and care in rural Australia by men and women who have a disability. We are renown for our simple solutions that work. When others don't.

That's the event.

The process is this.

In 1992, my partner and I lost everything in Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating's 'recession we had to have'. We closed down two businesses. My partner's 12 year old architectural practice. My market research consultancy. We farewelled 16 loyal and supportive staff. We sold our home of 22 years. Two cars. And our personal possessions. To pay off what debt we could. And made a scheme of arrangement with our creditors to pay off the remaining debt.

Poor as church mice. We left the city lights of Sydney Australia. For a rural life in a remote village with no internet access. No email. Not even call waiting. But it met our most important criteria. We could live in a farmhouse whose rent we could afford to pay. The village was heavily affected by a severe drought. And the house was not a desirable place to live. But it was our safety net.

We made a decision to find our way back by utilising simple solutions. Our skills were in design. And research. So we reinvented ourselves as designers and makers of textile products. Our first product didn't capture the hearts of the marketplace. But our second product did. We redesigned the humble ironing board cover utilising a low tech solution to make sure it was firmly anchored to an ironing board. So it never moved. Which is what makes people hate ironing.

If you make one good product. Customers want more. So we designed 6 more textile products. And today we have more than 400,000 customers in 30 countries. Without any retail distribution. And all done online today. But in the beginning, it was all mail order.

We've been down dark alleys. Wondered if we were certifiably mad to keep doing what we were doing when ironing board covers are not top of mind with most people.

But we discovered they are very top of mind with men and women who must iron.

Even though the subject is not sexy, our products, and our story, have been written about in every major publication in Australia.

We've been featured on mainstream TV. Interviewed on radio. Included in two books. The latest being 'Hunch' by international best selling author Bernadette Jiwa. I'm the 'Ironing Whisperer' on page 73.

The process of working every day is what got us to where we are today.

We did what everyone said we couldn't do. We built a worldwide business from broke. On a remote rural property. Before the internet and email came to our rural village.

I'm here to mix with like minded men and women. I have 35 years of business experience to share. I've done the hard yards. And would love to be of help to those of you who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And. I want to travel further along the road to wealth.

It will be a pleasure to meet you. ~Carol❤

Congratulations, madam!

As a total rookie/newbie, I personally find it hard to imagine succeeding in a business as old as human civilisation itself! For me, business is something one achieves by inventing new things. I am wrong, I know. It is not impossible to work hard and achieve big even in traditional industries, I realise. It is just that I find it hard to comprehend for the time being. At the moment, my head/mind is just too limited to think too far and deep.

What I particularly love about your story is your helping differently-abled people (we do not call them disabled/challenged people in India - we are required to call them differently-abled people by law). Truly impressive.

Thank you and have a nice day.

 

[lizzzlizzliz]

G'day Against All Odds.

Thank you for your compliment.

I've been writing since I was 8 years old. When I was at uni, I took a creative writing course. After submitting my first story, my professor asked me to stop taking the class. She said I had a natural gift for writing. And the course would destroy that. So I dropped out.

I took chemistry instead. After two weeks, my professor asked me to drop out of the course. I was hopeless, he said. And he didn't want me in his class.

So I dropped out. And signed up for an ethics course. Which I loved. And I was very happy.

So I can't offer any advice about writing.

We generate sales from 4 sources. Cold calling. Google. Referrals. Reorders.

37% of my sales are reorders. 18% of sales are referrals. 33% of sales are from Google. And 12% are from cold calling.

Much has changed.

When we first started out, we wanted to stay out of retail. And had no money to advertise. So we had to look at other options. We chose the route of attending field days. Home shows. And other live events. Where we could set up a microphone and demonstrate our product. And how well it worked.

We did this for 14 years. Drove 60K per year. And collected names and addresses for a database.

Once a year we mailed out a catalogue. The first year we mailed out 260 catalogues.

When the internet came to our rural village in 2001, we were ready with a website. Rudimentary. But ready.

That changed the way we received business. And over the years, the internet started to become more important than the live events.

We hung up the car keys in 2008. And the wheels of our car did a little jig in celebration.

Today, we don't mail out catalogues. But email our customers several times a year to stay in touch.

We also started to receive attention from the press.

In 2002, The Sydney Morning Herald did an article about our ironing board cover. We sold $25K worth of product from that one article!

Which led to more interest from the media. Which gave us a presence we didn't expect.

And it was the first indication we had that our story of how we built a worldwide business from broke was important to our customers. And potential customers.

We grow every year. Because we pay attention to our business. But I have higher ambitions. Which is why I'm here. ~Carol❤

wow! Have you thought about getting on Shark Tank? It's so popular nowadays (thanks to social media). It might get you even more access to a new audience, more sales, etc.

 

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[MrRiaos]

Thank you for sharing your inspiring story! I wish to have a successful story like yours where I could share with others in the future too!