The Value of Maybe and Destiny in Business in Small Business Startup Journal - The Journey To Starting My Own Brand of Travel Clothing and Handbags

There is a Chinese Proverb that goes something like this…

*A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”*

I recently read this proverb and it really resonated with me. When I look back on how far I haev come, its almost like I can see links in the chain of decision making and processes that all linked together to bring me where I am today.

I recently recieved my second prototype for my anti-theft bag ( but the first one from the current manufacturer I am working with) and while the bag is not perfect or finsihed yet, I couldn’t help but feel proud of how far I have come.

It got me thinking about my first prototype.

My first bag was with a london based business, (the first manufacturer to say yes at the time when I was hutning for bag manufacturers).

When I sent them through my list of requirements for my bag, such as my request for my strategically placed internal safety pocket, and an updated flap on the front of my bag to make it look more polished and clean compared to no flap - which I felt left the bag looking more like a makeup case, they said they couldn’t do it.

They told me that the internal pocket was too hard for them to do and that the customer would not want to bother with a front flap as it would be too much. I took them for their word and my first prototype was made with with no flap and internal pocket.

As the story goes and previously written in one of my journal updates, they wound up ghosting me and never returning my emails after sending me my prottoype. It took me three months after not hearing from them to have the bag turn up on my door step.

And that’s when I remembered. As I was thinking about how far I had come, I realised that the bag itself had not come from london, it had been made and sent from the manufacturer where it was made in Europe. And that’s when it hit me. So I went back through my journal to over a year ago and re-read my notes.

And sure enough there it was - my bag had been made in the Ukriaine.
At the time I was devasted to have not been able to work with this company. But had destiny led me down the path of working with this london based company, and had I had my prototype finished all those months ago, and launched on kickstater last year, and gone to the Melbourne expo this year, I would have lost the business, thousands of dollars of money, dissapointed customers and had to start all over again after the terrible invasion and war in Ukriaine.

The more I think about things that have happened, the more I can see that when I was rejected or something fell through or didn’t manifest, something better came along.

I currently had the same problem with my scarf manufacturer too, but that led me to a better manufacturer who says that they will be able to provide me with a better prototype and a better costing to make the product.

I am also running behind in my launch for Kickstarter, and may or may not miss out on my deadline to exhibit this year. So everytime I freak out or get stressed at things not going as planned, I just think to myself is this that bad? Maybe, maybe not - we’ll see.

Last updated April 15, 2022