Lessons from Dragons Den
I appeared on Dragons Den in 2013, 25 years old and so confident with my pitch idea there was no way I wasn’t walking out of there without the investment.
Until that point, I’d run my magazine with ease, starting it with nothing and becoming Leeds’ most talked about Fashion Magazine within two years – no-one had ever told me ‘no’ before…until I stepped in to the Den!
If you ever need to be brought back down to earth, I recommend doing it on national TV in front of millions of viewers. I’d particularly recommend having Peter Jones annihilate you to the point that you start crying in the lift, which, by the way doesn’t even move.
It was a huge learning curve for me, and here’s the top three things the experience taught me…
1 – Sometimes you need to be told no
If you are running a business and things are going smoothly, everybody says yes and nobody challenges you, you’re probably living inside your comfort zone – and we all know that nothing grows from there.
Having people tell you no will make you try harder, fight more for what you believe in, and ultimately make you raise the bar.
2 – You can make a positive out of any negative situation
No, I didn’t get the investment, but I did get exposed to a mass audience meaning that I not only gained a load of really supportive followers, I also got offered a whole host of opportunities. I’m still dining out on the fact that I appeared on the show and it’s so many years ago! People still recognise me from it (I blame my huge curly blonde afro for that) and opportunities still come in the back of it.
3 – It’s so rewarding to prove people wrong
My company, House of Coco, is living proof that the Dragons didn’t get it right with me. As the third largest seller out of 4000 titles on newsstand.co.uk, stockists that include Harrods and Selfridges and now available on Readly to their nine million subscribers, we’re doing pretty good!
It’s a platform that has allowed me and #TeamCoco to live our best lives in every single country around the world, and gain experiences that I could only have dreamed of back then.
]]>The best bit? I did what people told me I couldn’t.
FREE RESOURCES
Let's do this together xx
MEET SALLY ODDY Online Business Strategist & Soul Aligned Mentor
Sally Oddy is the straight-talking, soul-aligned strategist behind some of the most powerful transformations happening in the online coaching world today.
A former Marketing Director turned globally sought-after mentor, Sally helps established solopreneurs build sustainably profitable businesses that honour their brilliance, fuel their purpose, and create true lifestyle freedom.
She is the creator of The Sticky Business Model® and founder of The Sticky Business Collective, a 5-month business optimisation experience for online experts ready to step out of chaos and into consistency, structure, and scale.
Her revolutionary frameworks - Sticky Systems™, Simple Client Pathway®, Ready Clients Roadmap®, and The Obvious Choice® - are redefining how online expert businesses grow, attract clients, and generate recurring revenue.
Everything Sally teaches is built on this truth:
Your business should work harder than you do.
Known for her rare blend of strategy, energetics, and no-fluff mentorship, Sally is a catalyst for women who are here to lead, expand, and create legacy-level income through their life’s work.
She now lives in Spain with her husband and two cats, building her million-pound business with a laptop, a vision, and a bold belief in what’s possible when women fully own their power.
If you're ready for a business that scales with strategy and soul - you're in the right place!
Find out about how to work with Sally privately in her unique Mentorships or in a supportive group setting in The Prosperous Coach Collective