JENI ALEXANDER: I've made my fair share of mistakes – but I'm grateful for everything they've taught me

Sharon Leon Carpets’ partner & managing director Jeni Alexander discusses why messing up doesn’t have to be fatal, and how we can reap the benefits of it…

Do you know how many prototypes Sir James Dyson made before he found a vacuum cleaner that worked? 5,126 over 15 years. He now runs a multi-billion-pound company known for its creativity and forward-thinking designs. His resilience in the face of failure is inspiring; and it is a trait that is vital in the business world.

Mistakes in business (and life) are inevitable – accept them. Focusing on the past and worrying about what has happened isn’t going to change anything.

Coming from a sporting background, in both rugby and basketball I have learned the most when things haven’t gone right, or when our team lost a game. If we let it, failure can be a greater teacher than success. Building up resilience in business is so important, as you need to be able to keep going and pushing through.

We also need to own mistakes. My dad always told me that a sign of a good business is how they handle themselves when things go wrong.

We run a family business in a small community, so if something goes wrong for a customer, news quickly spreads. It is so important to communicate with a client when things don’t go according to plan, and work with them to find a suitable solution.

A few months ago, one of our boys accidentally reversed over a customer’s plant pot, so we replaced it. You may lose money when sorting things out, but one unhappy customer will tell twenty people and one happy customer may just tell a few. Fixing things for a customer deepens your relationship with them builds trust.

But be realistic about how and when you can sort things – don’t set false expectations otherwise you’re just creating a rod for your own back.

Having a good relationship with suppliers is also going to help you out when things go wrong. The carpet world is still very relational, and we speak to people face-to-face. If we get on the phone to our suppliers with a problem, they care about it too. Never underestimate the relationships you have with those in the same industry.

If you are an employer, then support your team when mistakes arise. No one messes up on purpose, and they may just be having a bad day. The ultimate responsibility lies with me as a business owner to sort things out. No one is perfect, and we live in a bit of a blame culture these days – the fact is that people are human, and humans mess up sometimes.

I also need to give my staff the green light to make decisions on things – our staff are responsible, and they take things personally as they care. I trust them to do the right thing and make the right calls.

My next piece of advice is to not worry about what others think – concentrate on what you are doing.

Be aware of your competitors, acknowledge them and respect them. But go on your own path and do what you are good at – don’t compare yourself to how they are doing. It would be boring if all businesses were the same!

Lastly – we live in a world where perfection is plastered everywhere – it’s not real, so don’t expect your business to get everything right, all the time. Just like James Dyson, have that elasticity to bounce back and work through whatever crops up along the way.

You never know what you’ll learn and where you’ll go with an attitude of acceptance and durability

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