Quotes from Deborah Meaden

Business doesn't cut you any slack because of your gender. You're either good at what you do or you're not.

I have definitely learnt in business that when you have a smart, engaged entrepreneur with good judgement they can really drive even a mediocre business forward so to me the entrepreneur is very important.

As a young woman, before I had any money, I went backpacking across India, and I was aware of how gritty it could be.

You don't have to start with your dream job, and your idea of what the dream job might be will change during a working life that will have its share of ups and downs, setbacks and advances.

I don't exactly know the moment that I was a millionaire but it was in my twenties.

I look in the mirror and see lines, but I have earned those lines. It has taken me 59 years to get them and I am not losing them now.

You give power to issues if you pay a lot of attention to them. The more attention you give them the more power they have. So the most powerful thing you can do is just get on and ignore it.

When I sold Weststar Holidays, the idea was to take stock and stop and then decide in life - we were going to travel around the world or whatever we were going to do. After about two weeks my husband said to me, 'Oh for goodness sake Deborah, get yourself a business because this is driving me bonkers.'

People can call me what they like - fat, ugly, sour - but tell me I'm not fair, tell me I'm not ethical, those are the things that bother me.

I'm not a fearful person, I have no phobias of rats, snakes, spiders, nothing. I'm lucky in that sense.

My parents are not nurturers. They're a bit like me: do a good job and move on.

It can be difficult to find investment for a new business, particularly one which is highly innovative or breaks new ground.

Don't expect anything from anybody, work hard, put your head down, be good at what you do and good stuff will happen.

I had my first flower stall when I was seven, at the end of the drive in Minehead, Somerset. Nobody was stopping so I moved it to my neighbour's drive, because I thought: 'Location, location, location.' It worked.

The minute I think 'Oh God, I don't want to do this because I'm scared,' is the moment I have to do something, whatever it is.

I form opinions quickly.

I don't like shopping and I'm lucky enough to have a stylist to do it for me.

If you're looking for investment you've got to think about what the investor gets from being involved with your business. A lot of people think about what they're getting from their point of view but not about what the investor gets out of a deal.

I don't actually like dogs smelling of anything other than natural dogs.

I am proud of the fact I would never tamper with my looks. I love the fact I have earned every line and wrinkle.

I've got a lot of laughter lines. You don't get laughter lines on your face without having a lot of fun in your life.

But it's no good letting your emotions get the better of you.

We have a very good history of manufacturing in this country but I worry that these skills are being lost. We walk around saying, 'We haven't got any manufacturing any more' but Made In Britain really means something, particularly in other parts of the world. We need to support British manufacturing.