As a bit of a perfectionist, I usually make sure that anything that I put out there is top notch. But as any human being, I also mess-up from time to time... And last week, I did it in style!
I organised my very first solo webinar, and to make things more challenging, I decided to use my new Mac instead of my tried and tested PC.
Icing on the cake: I thought it would be a good idea to experiment with a fancy new software platform.
I wrote-up what I thought was a compelling summary of my talk, set-up a neat registration page, and sent-out email invitations to my newsletter subscribers. Within a few hours, people started to register and everything seemed to be on track.
Since the webinar was scheduled for Saturday, I thought I'd have plenty of time to test the new software the day before and learn how to operate it properly. But as often happens in life (especially when you have small children), something unexpected came-up...
My daughter was down with a cold, and I found that it was best for her to stay at home rather than go to the nursery as planned.
Needless to say, that my day wasn't particularly productive from a work perspective. Which means that I did not get to test the new software and had but little time to prepare my slides.
Not to worry! (So I thought). After all, in my banking days, I had learned to deliver punchy presentations on very short noticed. I felt confident that I could pull this one off too.
At the appointed time, I logged on to the webinar room, improvising my way through the control panel. Within minutes, the first attendants joined, and after a few introductory words, I proudly shared my slides on the screen.
Then, I had this silly idea to go into slideshow mode...
Little did I know that my screen had turned totally black for the audience the moment I activated the slideshow option.
Now, I don't know if people were just being polite and didn't want to complain or if the chat box was disabled... But the fact is that I only discovered this big flop when I checked the replay on YouTube!
I guess I could have panicked and fled to some unknown land without internet never to return. But I opted for something smarter: I chose to laugh and learn from my mistakes.
Every setback bears some sort of silver lining. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, remember these 5 reasons to celebrate your setbacks.
1) Lesson learned
You've messed-up once and you got to learn from your mistakes. Take a moment to reflect on why things went wrong and understand what you can do better next time.
2) As bad as it gets
You've just had your worst performance ever. Congratulations! Next time, you will do 10 times better. So look forward to that.
3) You're human too
Failing gives you an opportunity to showcase your humanity and connect with your audience from a deeper, more authentic place.
As businesswomen (especially if we come from a corporate background), we've learned to hide our vulnerabilities, thinking that we must appear polished all the time. But it's often our weaknesses that our clients and followers most relate to.
4) Clues about your audience
One thing I haven't confessed yet, is that the number of sign-ups for my webinar was extremely low. Over 32% of my newsletter subscribers opened the email invitation that I sent them, but only 6% registered for my online training, and less than 1% actually showed-up.
So not only was my webinar a failure from a technical perspective, it was also a flop from an attendance point of view.
Again, I could have cried over it or read the clues...
Effectively, my audience was quietly telling me that they are not interested in the particular topic that I was covering in this training: productivity and work-life balance for busy working mums. Point taken.
Through their response (or lack thereof) to your offers and articles, your audience gives you valuable information on which direction to take your marketing.
5) Litmus test to your sang-froid
Are you able to stay cool and composed in trying circumstances? The way you react to failure tells a great deal about your emotional endurance and self-esteem.
If you find it challenging to keep calm in tricky situations, ask yourself: What is really upsetting me? What do I feel insecure about? What am truly I afraid of here?
Of course, keeping calm and carrying on is easier said than done. But if you've been dwelling on a setback in your business or career, gift yourself a moment right now to reflect on what you've learned and turn that life blow into a blessing!