You get a great idea to offer free shipping. Your customers love it, but you then realize that it is too expensive and you have to discontinue it.

How could you make such a big mistake? Before you berate yourself too much, here are some benefits to consider.

  1. The benefit of realization – You’ve realized that your customers want free shipping. And you realized it was too expensive. That you have to find ways to lower shipping costs and that you can’t just implement something new without investigating the cost.
  2. The benefit of research – You call up other shippers to try finding lower shipping rates, you join a business network to find out more about logistics, and you start talking to neighboring businesses about their shipping suppliers.
  3. The benefit of finding options – You get a lot of advice from peers, you connect with a business advisor at SCORE, weigh options, and think out of the box.
  4. The benefit of learning – You’ve learned that free shipping can bring new customers and make them happy. You’ve learned that certain products are cheaper to ship than others. You’ve learned about SCORE offering business advisors. And you’ve added great new people to your business network.
  5. The benefit of solutions and conclusions – You’ve created new solutions for your business. You can continue to offer certain items with free shipping. You implement a loyal customer rewards free shipping program. You also offer free shipping if people purchase over a certain amount, which helps offset the cost.
  6. But hold on – there’s more! Because of this mistake, you find out that free shipping is a crucial part of your business, you now belong to a business networking group that brings knowledge and referrals, you’ve connect with a SCORE business advisor that has helped you in other areas of your business, and you’ve gained new insights to build your business even stronger.

A keen business person turn mistakes into benefits and these experiences create the building blocks for success. What mistakes have you learned from? Which mistakes have led you to more opportunities? Pleas share your comments with us.