Over Easter I went up to Edinburgh...

I tell you this not to rub your nose in it (where did YOU go over Easter?!) but because it taught me a valuable lesson.

I first went to Edinburgh about ten years ago.

My brother was stationed at Leuchars, where the Tornado jets are, so we thought it would be a great idea to visit Edinburgh and him at the same time.

St Andrews was lovely in the sunshine and (cold) wind. I remember that.

But what I remember about Edinburgh itself is darkness, cold winds, hills (that no-one seems to feel ought to be marked on a map!) and cobblestones.

My son Christopher (who’s nearly 12 now) was still very much in a buggy.

I may have skimped on my research a little, just having had a baby and being sleep deprived.

So when I booked the hotel, it looked really easy to get to from the train station, just two streets over.

Nobody thought to point out that there was a huge hill to walk up, cobbled, in the rain and the dark, to get to the hotel!!!

And after going uphill, it went rapidly downhill from there.

The castle was great, but when we tried to visit the Royal Mile no shops were open so we decided to give it a miss.

And that was that, really.

But you know what?

Despite my less than perfect memories of Edinburgh, it didn’t stop me (albeit 10 years later) visiting the city again.

And this time it was brilliant.

Glorious sunshine on the Friday for my walk up Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat.

Walking tours of the city.

Shops open. Restaurants and comedy shows on offer.

Shops and restaurants open late at night, and people out and about, even in the rain.

If I had just based my experience of Edinburgh on that awful weekend 10 years ago, I would NEVER have gone back.

But because I thought I would give it another try, I had a wonderful weekend with fantastic memories. It is not just what you do, it is how you do it.

And we should remember this when we’re thinking about what to try in our businesses. Just because we tried changing the menu, using Facebook ads, doing a leaflet drop, in the past, and it didn’t work, doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t work.

It might just mean that we need to rethink our approach, maybe get a better map (in the case of Edinburgh one with contour lines would be fab!) and get some better advice as to how to do things.

So what have you “tried but didn’t work” at your Club?

Don’t wait 10 years to have your “Edinburgh experience” rewritten, like I did.

Look at it again and keep trying!