Kelly Hoppen: "I fail all the time, but those were the tipping points of my business"
She might have designed spaces for everyone from David and Victoria Beckham to Mickey Mouse (really!) but interior design guru, businesswoman and entrepreneur Kelly Hoppen told the audience at GH Live 2024 that it's her failures that are the key to her success.
"I think you can only succeed in life if you actually have failures," Kelly told Good Housekeeping's Editor-In-Chief, Jane Bruton. "I fail all the time, and have done over the 47 years [of my career], but those were really the tipping points of my business when I look back."
She went on to explain that she's naturally very good at moving on from her failures, and had some wise words for the audience of Good Housekeeping readers to be able to do the same.
"I don't know if it's just something that I was born with, but if something doesn't work out... I immediately go, 'OK, fine,' and I move on to the next [thing],' Kelly said. "Because if you sit and keep looking at why you failed, you're not moving on.
"I think that failure is something that we all have every single day, as a parent, as a wife, as a business owner, whatever it is, we're going to have those. You can't help it, but you've just got to step over it and move on to the next thing, and know that you're going to grow and learn from it."
Something which no doubt must have helped Kelly to gain more perspective on life was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023.
"I was sick a couple of years ago - I got breast cancer, and I'm absolutely fine now, but it was a real moment to kind of take stock, having worked tirelessly for 47 years," she explained. "I hadn't ever switched off, even on weekends, as the phone was always on. Now I can really say I'm having a weekend off, or I'm finishing at six, and I switch my phone off and I'm happier. I think I deserve it after all these years."
So is she thinking about retiring any time soon?
"Never," Kelly said firmly. "I love my job too much, but I think it's good to have balance. I'm 65 years old, and it works now, and I'm really happy about it."
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