Your story is very inspiring. Congratulations
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Free registration at the forum removes this block.Thank you for such an inspiring post backed up by process.May your success continue to increase.Congrats and all the best.Paul.
Your story is very inspiring. Congratulations
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❤
G'day @itsemdub from Oz,
We had no option but to leave Sydney Australia. We had no means to support ourselves other than the tail end of an architectural project that Victor had to finish. Sydney just wasn't an option. We needed to sell our house to reduce debt. And everything to rent was just too expensive.
Leaving behind everyone we knew was a blessing. We got rid of personal excess baggage.
They were our friends. And relatives. Who had expectations as to how we would dig ourselves out of our predicament.
What were their expectations?
Get a job. They couldn't understand there were no architectural jobs on offer. The industry had just imploded. We were accused of not trying hard enough. Which was true. We didn't want jobs. We didn't want to work for someone else after working for ourselves for 12 years.
Moving away from these friends and relatives meant we could reinvent ourselves in a place where no one knew us. Or our background.
We were free to become whoever we wanted to become. Without external pressure. Or expectations.
The fact that it was also cheaper meant we had space to breathe financially. Not much. But we knew we could afford the rent. And the owner of the farmhouse was so desperate to have it rented in the midst of one of the worst droughts ever, there was no chance he was going to increase the rent.
Did it help us weather the storm? Yes. It did. We were in a new environment. And had little time to reflect on what we'd lost.
It's a pleasure to meet you @itsemdub. I hope this helps you. And welcome to the forum. You'll meet many people here who you will learn from. It's a place like no other!
What do you do now? And what do you hope to get from the forum members? ~Carol❤
What an amazing attitude to have. To come to a forum to contribute and help others with something you already achieved yourself. I applaud you.
I can relate to you saying leaving behind everyone you knew was a blessing. Sometimes the people that you know hold you back. They don't want to see you change. They critique, they don't support. I've had to cut certain friends out and even some close relatives to an extent to "break free" and reinvent myself. It's hard. But it's what has to be done in the end.
G'day Walter @Walter Hay,
#4. Mindset. And reputation. Are everything in business.
With a strong, determined mindset. You can circumnavigate brick walls. Find your way out of dark alleys. Jump hurdles. And get to B. From A.
Reputation is everything. And I mean everything. When everything is stripped from you. All you have left is your reputation. It's the baggage you take with you everywhere you go. It's important that a person's reputation be in pristine condition. With no rough edges.
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❤
Hi Carol.
What a inspiring post!
Thank you for share your story and your experience.
I think you're a wonderful person.
I love your words about reputation and your business mindset.
Thank you for making me discover this video.
This forum is really amazing.
Hi DeppyJ
Reading your story I had the impression of reading a piece of my life.
I love it.
thank you
G'day @Xeon from Oz,
It's a pleasure to meet you.
How did we fund ourselves?
With great difficulty.
Remember. This is 24 years ago. Times were different.
The banks wouldn't lend to us. And wouldn't give us an overdraft. But a friend. Who was an accountant. Told us that the bank would issue a no questions asked credit card for a maximum of $500. Per person.
We were able to get 2 credit cards with a $500 limit. So we had a slush fund of $1,000 to work with. Which was a fortune to us.
All our orders were word of mouth. And cash up front. There was no Amazon Prime. Or eBay. That delivered the next day. Everything was mailorder. And people were prepared to wait 30 days to receive their order.
We would wait until the end of the month to see how many orders we had. And order enough fabric and accessories to fill those orders. So most of what we did came out of cash flow. We had no accounts. So these purchases were cash payments up front for us.
Face to face events and stocking up for them beforehand came out of the credit cards. Which we paid off at the end of every month.
Our marketing consisted of modest events. Which were mainly agricultural shows. And markets. That cost $10. To a maximum of $50. To attend.
We would leave our farmhouse at 2am to arrive at our destination by 6am. And arrive back at the farmhouse between midnight. And 2am. They were gruelling days.
We also did letterbox drops. We could do letterbox drops for 3 cents per letter. We produced the leaflets on my computer. And printed them off on our photocopier.
When we sold our possessions to pay off debt. We kept some things. My computer. Which was a bulky, boxy, CRT computer with a black screen and green lettering. No graphics. And our photocopier.
Victor, being an architect, was also a very good sketch artist. So our graphics consisted of his pencil sketches of the products.
We distributed the leaflets to rural areas only. Where rural women were still heavily into ironing. And were used to buying items mailorder. Also, it was rare to see a 'No Junk Mail' sticker on their rural mailboxes.
We did very well with those leaflets. And were able to build up a strong word of mouth business.
We led a frugal life.
We only bought what we needed in the supermarket. No luxuries. No meat. We couldn't afford it. No chocolates.
We had a vegetable garden. And ate what we could grow.
We couldn't afford beer. Or wine. Or spirits. Neither of us smoke. We never so much as bought a cup of coffee in a cafe.
We didn't accept social invitations because we couldn't afford to bring a bottle of wine. Nor could we afford to reciprocate.
Those were hard times. But we had a goal. Which was to get out of debt. And we were prepared to make whatever sacrifices were required to reach that goal.
Regarding copy. All the copy was written by us. I know nothing about those books you mentioned. Or special words.
We just told our story. And described the products in great detail. And offered everyone a no questions asked money back guarantee if they weren't happy. And a twelve-month wear and tear guarantee. Meaning. We guaranteed that whatever they purchased, they couldn't wear it out in twelve months.
No one else did that at the time. We were a first. And that gave customers confidence when buying from us.
We included a black and white brochure, produced on our photocopier, to customers with every order. Including a handwritten thank you note. And mailed to them once a year with another black and white photocopied brochure. Telling them how much we loved them for choosing us over other companies.
That's how we built this business from nothing. To something. Purely on trust. And a willingness to have a special relationship with people who care enough to buy from us.
The only special words we use are . . . love . . . thank you . . . we hope you like what you've purchased.
And that's how we continue to build this business. By developing trustful, deeply personal relationships with our customers.
We don't need anything else.
I hope this answers your questions. And thank you for asking. ~Carol❤
You give us the courage to push thru the difficulties we face.
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❤
This is some inspiring stuff. Thanks for sharing this motivational story.
Hello Carol,
I recently joined my family business and decided to go through all the gold threads to learn. Your thread is quite inspiring. I copied and saved a lot of information while going through it. I went through your site and your Instagram page too. Beautiful. The website is quite efficient, love the simple layout. Thank you for posting such detailed accounts of your experiences, there are certain things I feel I can use already.
Also, it is amazing to see some productocracy in action!
Dear Carol,
This is exactly why I came here for: stories like yours, insight and inspiration in abundance. I just love how you went from broke to, excuse me, badass. I aspire to be as successful one day to be able to share the same amount of love and inspiration you do.
I respect you very much for your incredible hard work and that you add so much value to this world. Ironing is no fun with bad fitting covers, indeed!
Warm greetings from Germany,
Gesa Pickbrenner
Ironing is no fun with bad fitting covers, indeed!
Thank you for sharing this amazing experience, this is inspiring for us that are just starting.
I hope to come here soon with a storie like this.
Thanks
GG
This is one of my favorite threads now. Thank you so much. Your story inspires, motivates, and makes me believe that every hardship and failure is worth it in the end.
G'day @redplant from Oz,
Thank you for dropping in and leaving such a warm message. It's truly appreciated.
Hardship. And failure. Are part of every successful business. Especially in the startup stage. But also at every stage. If you follow Elon Musk, you can't help but notice he's having a very public meltdown. Because his business is struggling to meet targets. Size doesn't exempt any business when it comes to hardship. And failure. It affects everyone.
Once you understand that every successful business is built up one layer at a time. Like a royal wedding cake. You will understand that at every layer, something will challenge you. Something needs to be adjusted. Something will stop you in your tracks. And if you don't have your eye on what the top layer will look like, you'll fumble. And perhaps like a testy chef, throw what you've created in the bin. Unlike the royal bakers, who know they can't stop until the tiara is perched on the top tier.
Because.
That top tier becomes the cake for the royal couple's first wedding anniversary. Or the christening cake for their first child.
That's the end game the royal bakers have in their mind.
If you keep the image of your end game firmly imprinted on your brain. Hardship and failure are just part of the bumps along the road to glory!
I hope we stay in touch! And again, thank you for dropping in. ~Carol❤
Thank you for that beautiful cake analogy, Carol. What I'm learning from you and everyone around here is truly amazing.
Again, thank you for your inspiring story and for leaving such a thoughtful comment. I have a very long journey ahead of me -- I actually feel as though I barely began. When the going gets tough, your nugget of wisdom along with the others will help me believe that my goal to have my cake and eat it too is possible. Take care.
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