|
|
|
WHAT'S NEW
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Making your fortune
|
|
|
How to make 2007 your luckiest year ever.
|
|
|
By Rachel Wallace-Oberle
|
|
|
|
|
Luck maker 2: Build a network
"People who create their own luck have a support network in place," explains RoAne. Marta's opportunities came about because she knew people -- some only fleetingly -- who knew of available positions and opportunities. And the more people you know and talk to, the more opportunities you'll become aware of.
Renee Unger built a multimillion dollar Canadian business from products she had originally made to give as Christmas gifts. A former Grade 2 teacher who suffered from allergies to food additives and MSG, Unger decided to create her own salad dressings. After giving away jars of her homemade Caesar salad dressing, many people -- some whom she didn't know but who had tried her friends' samples -- called and asked for more. She told them she didn't sell her concoctions, but they got her attention when they asked what she would charge for a jar. The result is Renee's Gourmet, which markets dressings in supermarkets across the country and got Unger named one of Canada's top female entrepreneurs.
Luck maker 3: Take risks
Margaret Pettie had always known she wanted to be a school teacher, and she loved the teaching position she held in 1976 when she and her husband, John, were offered the chance to buy her father-in-law's Home Hardware business in Elmira, Ont. The idea of leaving her profession was frightening, yet Margaret recognized that leaving her comfort zone to enter the hardware business was "an opportunity to dictate our own rules, a chance to make our own way." It's a decision she doesn't regret.
In 1988, when the opportunity to buy out a competitor arose, Margaret, who had come to Canada from Germany as a child, felt "as scared as I was on the first day of kindergarten when mother dropped me off and I couldn't speak English." Still, Margaret and John took the plunge and expanded. Within two years they exceeded their expectations for the business.
Margaret doesn't consider herself brave, yet she made decisions that required courage. Does that mean there's no point having long-term dreams or goals? Of course not. But to those determined to make this year their best year ever, RoAne says: "Be guided by your goals, but not blinded by them. The smart person has a focus, but she always allows for serendipity."
Luck maker 4: Turn roadblocks into stepping stones
When the recession hit in 1990, Margaret and John worked six days a week, cut staff hours and let a manager go. The following spring, the main street in front of their store closed for more than six months for service and repairs. Big-box home-renovation and supply stores arrived in the city nearby.
"Those were threatening, frightening experiences," admits Margaret. "We didn't have deep pockets, so we decided that when you came to our store, you got service. We bent over backward and that's what made it such a special place. That's how we endured the obstacles." No wonder Paul Straus, vice-president and chief executive officer of Home Hardware Stores Limited, calls the Petties' business "a very, very successful dealership."
Recently retired, Margaret and John can see Lake Huron from their front door and begin every morning with a 12-kilometre walk with their dogs. "We worked so damn hard and it feels like we got our reward. I know it's not luck, but man, we are so lucky!" exclaims Margaret.
Similarly, RoAne herself, when laid off along with 1,200 other teachers in San Francisco in 1979, didn't waste much time lamenting her misfortune. Instead, she designed a career-change workshop for teachers. The business editor of the San Francisco Examiner caught the last 15 minutes of her radio interview about career change issues and called to ask her to write a weekly column. Although she felt unqualified, RoAne said yes. She wrote a column for over three years and went on to become a bestselling author.
Page 2 of 3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 more articles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
