‘One can get bogged down in the day-to-day things and lose sight of the bigger picture...’

ISUPPOSE we all look back on our lives and think we should have done this or we should have done that. I’m no different — hindsight is a great thing. I’ve done a lot in business. Maybe I should have stood back and concentrated on one particular business. As a young man I was ambitious, unafraid, driven. My belief was big was beautiful — the more businesses I was involved in, the better; the more shops I opened, the more successful I’d be. I thrived on pressure and stress.

No man can do all things — this is a very important lesson to learn. Delegating the workload to trustworthy people is extremely important to run a business efficiently. One must be open to other people’s ideas and opinions and respect their input. This was an issue I found difficult to deal with. Being driven and ambitious is a good thing, but it must be handled in the right way.

We all need help and advice and must never be too proud to accept it. Delegating gave me a clearer head and I had a chance to improve the efficiency of the whole business. One can get bogged down in the day-to-day things and lose sight of the bigger picture, especially when a number of businesses are involved. The world of technology was a place I was reluctant to visit due to ignorance and fear of the unknown. I see now that I should have explored this avenue many years before I did, but I’m ‘old school’ and the internet was alien to me. People who spoke about computers were speaking a different language.

Obviously, with much of the success of Mattress Mick due to advertising on YouTube and social media, my thoughts have changed dramatically and I regret I didn’t embrace this concept earlier in my career.

In the 45 years I’ve spent in business, I have learnt an awful lot. Yes, I have made big and small mistakes, but I have also made many positive decisions to bring me to where I am today. I am proud of what I have achieved.

I don’t believe there is anybody that can look back and say they did everything right. Life is a daily learning process. The lessons we learn we can pass on to others starting out on their journey and we can grow and develop.