In business we rarely talk about our failures. So much so that an outsider could easily believe that the history of a successful business is entirely made up of an undiluted series of successes. But for mine and many other companies, the truth is more complex.

Failure is often only postponed success which is why it matters less what mistakes you make but how you move forward. Standing on the other side of these mistakes we hopefully won’t make them again. And with any luck, after reading this, neither will you.

1. Eggs and baskets

Our first lesson was a big one and one we learned the hard way. We lost a massive amount of money early on with a large customer. What did we do wrong? We put - not exactly all - but a large number of our eggs in one basket. We had a large contract with one of our buyers and after their business collapsed we learnt a set of very important lessons.

"As much as everyone loves a sale, sometimes short term gain can lead to long term pain"

Not only did the experience teach us the need to diversify risk; but it also taught us the importance of keeping a close eye on overdue debts and doing everything possible to chase down dubious debtors. It’s a lesson we carry with us to this day.

2. Learning when to say no      

Second is a mistake I like to think we were not alone in making. We made a number of deals early on with lock-in clauses that were far too onerous. Despite offering you the lifeline your business needs to get up and running, the first deals are not always the best.

As much as everyone loves a sale, sometimes short term gain can lead to long term pain. In our case, the exclusive agreements meant we had a period where we knew we were being taken in a less profitable direction but had to wait for the end of the deals before we could do anything about it. The experience taught us a very valuable lesson: that sometimes it is better to say no.

3. The high cost of doing it all

One of the biggest mistakes when you start out is trying to do it all. Budgets are tight, and you can’t afford to hire people. But as you grow, remember that you can’t be an expert at everything. When we expanded, I found myself working incredibly long hours and feeling like I was juggling so much that I couldn’t keep up.

When you get successful you get busy - so share the work

Very early on I realised that it is our employees who make IglooBooks special and we share the load (and opportunities) together. I was able to get back to the job of leading the business and letting people who were better trained deal with the sales, accounting and branding responsibilities.

We now have 140 employees and a People Plan to make sure we are nurturing, training and rewarding our team. The lesson? That strong leaders look to hire people better than themselves in all parts of their business.

4. Not all growth is good      

When I was starting out in business I would never have believed I would ever write these five words but it’s true: not all growth is good. Not if you’re not ready for it anyway. As a former salesperson, I was taught to chase every opportunity (and, to be honest, in that respect nothing has changed).

However, in the early days we didn’t have the right structure in place to cope with the fast rate our business was growing. As a result, we had to expand far more rapidly than we had planned. But this taught us an important lesson: you need to have a reactive as well as a proactive business plan. Since then, ours has served us well - and means that we are now in the best position to cope with any unexpected growth.

5. Focus on what you do best

And the fifth (but by no means final) lesson we have learned is not to try and do everything. As a business there is always the temptation to build on your success by expanding into less familiar areas. We have always done well in the book trade but there have been many times when we have strode out of our comfort zone only to be shot down by misguided attempts to break into other markets.

In the early days, this meant we spent resources and energy on projects that were never going to offer us a long term solution. Now we have a time-tested method for deciding which areas to go for and which to avoid. What we learned is that while there’s a time to innovate and experiment, you need to know when to pull back and say, ‘This just isn’t working.’

So what could seem like a negative move actually generates positive results. It makes for a brighter future knowing you’re putting all your energy into the right parts of your business.