Deborah Meaden - Common Sense Rules: What You Really Need to Know about Business

Contents

About the Book

Deborah Meaden is known to millions for her straight-talking, no-nonsense approach on BBC2s Dragons Den, and in Common Sense Rules she shares insights and observations gleaned from a life lived in business. Some of them come from witnessing the successes and the failures of others. Many more, though, are drawn from her own business ventures. She shows, for example, how an early stint in a holiday park gave her a crash course in customer relations. She frankly and honestly analyses why her first enterprise, which started so promisingly, turned sour. And she explains why turning down a multimillion-pound offer for her chain of holiday parks was the best decision she ever made.

As direct and to-the-point on the page as she is in the Den, Deborah Meaden is a superbly clear-sighted and experienced observer of business success, and her book is guaranteed to both inform and inspire.

About the Author

Successful UK businesswoman and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden is best known as one of the dragons from BBC2s hit show Dragons Den.

Shes had an extremely successful career in business, starting out at the age of 19 with her own glass and ceramics import company, moving on to open one of the first UK franchises for Stefanel, an Italian footwear and clothing firm, and eventually joining the family company, Weststar Holidays. She staged a management buyout in 2000, and in 2007 sold the business in a deal worth 83 million, giving her the freedom and capital to invest in new opportunities.

Her Dragons Den investments range from MixAlbum, an automated music mixing system, and Magic Whiteboard, a product that combines the best of a flipchart and a whiteboard, to yoodoodoll, a doll that you can make resemble anyone you like (or dislike).

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781409062035

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Published by Random House Business Books 2010

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Copyright Deborah Meaden 2009

Deborah Meaden has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by
Random House Business Books
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9781847940278

Acknowledgements

Writing Common Sense Rules has been a challenging experience for me. Although I constantly retain specific nuggets of information and learn from past experiences, I confess that the anecdotes and context that make it interesting to people on the outside often slip my mind. I am, therefore, very grateful that ex-Mail on Sunday journalist Teena Lyons has helped me by jogging my memory and teasing out the relevant stories, which could not have been an easy task. I would also like to thank Sophie Lazar at Random House, who introduced me to Teena and who has worked so hard in overseeing the project.

My success over the years has in large part been due to the people around me. I like smart and challenging characters who are willing to take a risk, and am fortunate to have been constantly surrounded by them throughout my career. In the beginning it was Carlos Magello, who believed in me, despite my youth and relative inexperience, and awarded me the Stefanel franchise. Later it was John Mackie at Lloyds Bank who found a way to fund my buyout of Weststar, and there were many in between far too numerous to mention.

At Weststar I never failed to be impressed and inspired by my team at all levels, from the board through to the general managers who showed breathtaking entrepreneurial spirit in running the holiday parks, to the people on the ground who made every Weststar holiday special.

The team at Phoenix Equity Partners and in particular, David Gregson, Sandy Muirhead, Steve Darrington and Andrew Deakin who led the Weststar buyout have earned my respect for the intelligent and direct manner in which they work, and my thanks for convincing me to do something I had not previously wanted to do and then proving categorically that they were right to do so.

I cannot, of course, ignore Dragons Den. My fellow Dragons constantly keep me on my toes because they are clever, competitive and challenging and I have been very lucky to know and work with them all. Helen Bullough and Dominic Bird on the production team, who first introduced me to the Den, deserve my particular thanks and respect, as do the many entrepreneurs who come on the programme. Whatever happens in the Den, the entrepreneurs have to be admired for having the strength and ambition to face the Dragons. My own investments, from the Den and elsewhere, should get a special mention too. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them all and watching them grow into successful and admired entrepreneurial ventures.

My appreciation also goes to my family. I have always admired my parents Brian and Sonia for their direct, professional approach and the example they have set. I like the fact that they have never given me the easy way out. From an early age they expected a lot from me and showed me that if I wanted to achieve something meaningful then I had to do it for myself. I am very grateful for that. I am grateful to my sisters, too. Gail, herself a true entrepreneur whom I admire and whose judgement I trust totally, and Emma and Cass, all intelligent, capable and funny, have kept my feet firmly on the ground by never, ever cutting me any slack.

Finally, thank you to my husband Paul, who is as smart as can be. It cant be easy for a private man to live this life which straddles business and media, but with quiet confidence and amazing insight he supports me and keeps our life on track not always an easy task.

Introduction

Scarcely had I arrived at the studio for my first day on Dragons Den than I was ushered into make-up and told I was needed straight away. Apparently, the producers had already had the sets and lighting prepared and wanted to film me climbing the wooden stairs to the Den. The idea was that I would be entering the Den in precisely the same way as entrepreneurs who come on the show seeking an investment and that, as a result, I would get a feel for the programme from all perspectives.

As I stood at the bottom of those stairs I became unusually nervous for the first time since I had agreed to join the programme. By the time I reached the top my heart was racing and my ears were pounding, just as I suspect most entrepreneurs feel as they enter the Den.