Deborah Meaden on what happens when you do nothing

Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den dragon, tells her story and the beliefs it led to.

“I grew up in a single-parent family and we didn’t have a lot of money. I don’t say that looking for any sympathy, because a child doesn’t notice, except that we naturally assumed our money was spent on food and clothes. Both my parents were hard workers and they had absolutely no choice. It never crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to have to work hard in life, but work was never a grind. 

“When I was seven I set up a flower stall, but quickly realised that I was on the wrong side of the road for traffic. So I moved them over to our neighbour’s drive, which was a little bit posh. They were livid and my mother told me off, but I could see that she was proud as punch. 

“I don’t really believe in luck. You’ve got to put yourself out there, even if you’re doing a job you don’t like. One thing is guaranteed in life: if you do nothing, nothing happens. So make your luck, scan the horizons, get out and interact with people. Be good at what you do and before you know it something will come of it.”

If you do nothing, nothing happens. There’s no way of sitting back and letting amazing opportunities find us without laying the foundation for it to occur.

We believe in luck, but we also believe in showing up, working hard and putting yourself out there. When the two meet it can be magical.