Question 1.
You were so successful in the retail industry
(with Mathers and Tracey Mathers Shoe
Studio), why did you step away?
Retail's getting tougher out there now, and I
wasn't enjoying it as much as I did when I first
began. The other thing too is, I think when
people know my story and my background, my
history, Mathers Shoes was my grandfather, and
certainly my father's legacy. It wasn't necessarily
mine. I stepped into it. I just decided at 48 to
step away and try something different, I still
had that time to discover my own legacy and
to create something fabulous for myself, for
my own name, and that's really why I did it. It
was something I became very passionate about.
When people say to me, ‘oh you own shoe shops’,
it must have been amazing going overseas on
buying trips, and it truly was. However, the
one thing that was my most favourite, was the
people side. It was the empowering women to
put something on that they normally wouldn’t
try, and they would say “I could never wear
that”, but teaching them that they could and why
they should. So the natural progression was to
step into the mentoring space, that's all about
improving people's confidence levels. So that's
exactly what I am doing now, helping people
with clarity and confidence for greater success
in their own lives.
Question 2.
With big business and what inevitably ends up
happening is you get pulled into the business
side of it, and I suppose the more you're in the
business side, you get pulled away from the
people.
Most definitely, and you bring other people
in to manage the team. I still found I always
had an open door policy with my business. To
me, happy staff equals happy customers and
growing business. I think the service industry is
so important, so if my staff weren't happy, then
it was going to go the whole way through the
business. It becomes toxic. So what ended up
happening is l ended up managing the staff a lot
myself, rather than the people that I was paying
to do it because I was really good at it, it made
me closer to the business and I loved it.
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Women’s Network Magazine
Question 3.
You’re so well known for one specific thing, is it
hard forging a new path?
I guess the only difficult part is that people put
you in a box, to a certain degree, so you've got
to re-educate people that you're not just a shoe
salesman. You're not just about ladies fashion,
you're not just about getting dressed up and, and
loving clothes, it's not just about that. I really do
understand how business ticks after 35 years, I
understand the important things that you need
to be successful in a business and they're basic
fundamentals that don't change.
I believe that's what's happening in business a lot
today, there are so many businesses out there that
are, looking at big pictures and, looking at latest
technologies and all the rest of it and they're
forgetting the basics, the grassroots and the real
fundamentals that make an incredible business.
Question 4.
So what would you say the top three grassroot
fundamental tips are?
tip #1
It's about your people and your clients, obviously
looking after your clients is number one. But
sitting right beside that and just as important
is if you don't have happy staff, if they don't feel
valued, if they don't feel like you appreciate what
they're doing, they're not going to be thinking
of the business as it's their own and helping you
build it.
tip #2
Making sure that you do a hundred percent the
right thing, so when you say you're going to do
something, actually doing it. It is making sure
you’re going that extra mile.
tip #3
Looking at putting yourself out there and
standing out so that people know that you're
different and why. “You can’t sell a secret”