04/28/2026
We can learn a lot from other's stories and hard knocks.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CfyyPrnfH/
She lost her job for a single typo. It led to $47.5 million.
Dallas, 1950s.
Bette Nesmith Graham worked as a bank secretary, a single mother with no safety net and weak typing skills.
New electric typewriters made errors costly.
One mistake meant retyping entire pages.
She struggled quietly until she saw a painter cover a flaw instead of starting over.
That night she mixed paint in her kitchen and carried it to work.
It erased her mistakes.
Other secretaries asked for it.
She made bottles at home with her son Michael Nesmith.
Orders grew.
She named it Liquid Paper.
Then she signed a letter with her company name and was fired.
She chose not to return.
She built the business, fought for control, and sold it in 1979.
Michael later joined The Monkees.
Her product gave people a way to correct mistakes and keep moving.
