The most important characteristics you need to succeed in business are resilience, determination and persistence.
Karren Brady
You don't really do much in life unless you take risks, push yourself and find your passion.
We've got to start making people realise that it's a proud thing to run a business, to export your goods around the country.
My greatest mistake? I once took a three-day maternity leave. I had my daughter on a Wednesday, and then went back to the office on the Monday to sack a manager.
Running your own business can be the loneliest job in the world. You are the MD, answer the phone and make tea, handle the invoices and have to make payments on time.
Any board executive can forget just how many people helped them get where they are. Those women who have got to the top need actively to ensure there is a pipeline of younger women, whether by networking or mentoring, who in turn are encouraging those below them.
The one thing I wanted was independence. And I realised to have that independence, you needed financial independence.
I've met some very difficult people and I've had some very difficult conversations and had lots of criticism, especially from away supporters who sing songs that aren't very pleasant. So I think part and parcel of life is accepting that not everyone likes you.
By the time I sold Birmingham City football club in 2009, 75% of the directors were women, which I take great pride in - that's unique in business, full stop.
The characteristics of successful business people, whether they are male or female, are very similar. It's about determination, it's about enthusiasm, it's about strategy, it's about communication, it's about integrity. And sometimes men and women display those differently but fundamentally they are the same qualities.
I don't invest in shares in companies that don't have women on their board.
I love to think about business. It's what makes me happy.
On 'The Apprentice,' I'm 100 per cent certain I'm paid the same as Claude Littner. I insisted on equality when I negotiated my contract. I would not have allowed anything else.
It is critical to create opportunities to identify talented women in business, then support them to develop their confidence to aim for the boardroom.
There's only two things that I really care about - apart from family - one is business and the other is women in business.
I can never fully switch off given my work, but laying on the beach replying to a few emails on my mobile is much better than being stuck in the office.
Too many women don't see themselves in senior leadership and so don't push themselves to advance their careers as their male peer group do.
What I love about London is you can go out of your door and turn left or right, and you could eat at every restaurant and still never go round in a loop.
I don't take things to heart. And I'm not particularly emotional.
I love knowing that if I was dropped off in Trafalgar Square, I could walk in any direction and see something amazing or eat something delicious.
I mean, I've been in a very male-dominated industry from a very young age.
Though I don't have time to go to the gym, I am fit and active, and have a healthy diet.
I worry I look posh and fat. I can't do anything about posh - I'm accentless - but I've spent 20 years battling my weight.
When I was younger, I wanted to be tall and skinny. And because I wasn't, I was disappointed. The great thing about getting older is that I've come to accept my shape - and embrace it.
My kids are my life. Sitting on the sidelines watching my son play rugby, helping them with their homework or getting them ready for their exams - I can't think of anything else I'd rather do.
I think it doesn't actually matter what your political persuasion is, but if you are interested in the country that you live in and the way in which it's run, everyone has to do something about that.
The world is divided into three types of people in business: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.
For me, I may have titles like CEO, director or vice chairman but the best title for me is 'working mother.'
The biggest lesson my kids have taught me is to find the joy in little things, along with a healthy dose of patience.
In my experience, not all women want to run the world. Not all women want to run a big banking conglomerate. Not all women want to be prime minister. What a lot of women want is a good career that respects them… and high-quality, affordable childcare.
In 'The Apprentice,' they don't re-do shots, it's all one-take. We literally follow the decisions that the candidates make.
On a personal level, the 'Young Apprentice' schedule is very long. The children needed long breaks so the sheer amount of time it took made it tougher. There was a lot more hanging around. But as a show, championing young people and promoting young people who are willing to have a go, I thought it was great.
Our supermarkets sell us horsemeat as beef, our politicians fiddle their expenses, and our bankers risk money that isn't theirs. So it's not surprising the public don't trust anyone or anything.
The toughest thing about being a success is you've got to keep on being a success.
I prefer my men slightly overweight. Having said that, my ultimate dream man is Jimmy Nail and he's skinny.
If I can encourage other women to think about setting up their own businesses and being entrepreneurs and making a contribution then I think that's a good thing.
I always laugh when I read about sexism cases in the newspaper.
It's rubbish to say you can't be proper friends with the opposite sex.
I'm proud to say that, leading by example, I've tried from day one to help recalibrate views of women in the world of football.
I don't believe in quotas for quotas sake, but I think companies without any women on their boards should write to their shareholders and explain why - explain how many women they've interviewed, why they haven't taken anybody on.
Life is very short, and if you worry what people think of you, if you second-guess yourself, you're in trouble.
You take responsibility for your children but you're not always the taxi driver and that doesn't make you a bad parent.
I couldn't think of anything worse than drinking a load of gunky-green stuff and sweating in a gym. I would rather sit in front of the TV and have a glass of wine.
Deep in my soul, I'm secretly a redhead.
I'm an extremely busy woman but I still make time for myself and my family. You can do both, and do both well, if you really want to.
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. When I was seven, I remember sticking a sign on my bedroom window that read, 'Manicures and massage, come on in.' My mother rushed in, saying, 'All these weirdos are knocking on the door.'
People who see successful young women think that there must be an angle there. It's too good to be true that woman from a good upbringing can walk into a good job and be director.
It's depressing that ambition and feminism have become almost dirty words for working women. But, there is no reason that they should be and, increasingly, I am struck by how the next generation is challenging conceptions of what it means to be successful at work.
I love business and that's why I go on other people's board because it is my hobby. Some people join a tennis club to do things in their spare time. I join boards because that's what I love.
I think young people respond much better to openness and frankness and practical stuff than speeches.
