My definition of success

The Forbes quote today was: '

Have your own definition of success...so you can fulfill your dreams, not someone else's expectations of your dreams.

Elliot Fletcher

I read this quote & immediately saved it. Since then, I've looked at it, thought about it, applied it to our situation & to me, and then thought some more. 

Let's get real here - if we have children, we have expectations. Be they right or wrong, in various ways, obvious and subtle, we do our best to have those expectations realised from their friends to the subject choices they make in secondary school, college choices, even down to our expectation for their personal lives and the type of person they choose to marry. Ideally, we would like them to be a 'chip off the old block'. 

It's not going to happen! Even though when we see children and you'd know who they were before they spoke as they are so like a particular parent, currently all children are the product of two people so that means they cannot be exactly like one parent only. Obvious, isn't it, but in our hearts, we still wish....

In business and especially in a family business, the choices can be incredibly hard. With some small success, it can be hard not to see that success means getting bigger and bigger; being acknowledged up and down the industry; across media platforms as a major success. The phrase 'success has gone to his/her head' can be all too real.

Some years ago, I spoke with a group of ladies on holiday in Rosscarbery from Finglas, Dublin, and at the end, one of them thanked me for the time I'd spent with them (I assure you, the honour was mine) & said, 'I hope you(r business) get(s) bigger & bigger.' That simple wish put a stop to my gallop. Getting bigger & bigger might mean that these ladies, settled travellers all, might have been ill at ease to meet me so I wouldn't have had the pleasure to meet them. Success has a price. So my reply on that time was a heartfelt one that we wouldn't and that I would never get bigger than my boots.

Yesterday I spent two hours with Bandonbridge National School 6th Class who are in the throes of exploring entrepreneurship. What a brilliant group of young people and the time absolutely flew. As part of their preparation, a number of them had questions ready, but it was one of those that hadn't been prepared that floored me, 'What's the best decision you ever made in your business?'  Wow! My answer:

'Years ago, when Willie was the first Irishman to win a medal in the biggest European Black Pudding Competition, I was incredibly excited and told him that now, we could get bigger and bigger and take on the world. He said, 'No'. That was the best decision we made as we retained control of our business and the quality of all our products. We didn't take a few awards and use them as our yardstick. We still don't'

That's my measure of success - consistent quality and working with our customers daily.

I love hearing from readers, so please do write.

All going well, I'll have a recipe on my Rosscarbery Recipes blog by tomorrow

Until next time

Avril