Young people who want to succeed in the business world should be wary of working from home too much, Baroness Karren Brady has said.

“You don’t get noticed or you don’t catch the eye of someone – you don’t get to know people if you’re not in the office,” the West Ham United vice-chair reckons.

“If I was a young person I’d much rather be in the office, in the mix, meeting people, taking on extra work, being enthusiastic, showing what I can do, rather than sitting at home.”

However, Brady, 54 – who became a  become a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords in 2014 – doesn’t believe employees should be forced to go into the office five days a week.

“I think as long as the work gets done, it doesn’t really matter, but there’s a lot more collaboration, a lot more ideas, a lot more brainstorming, a lot more problem solving that happens when you’re face to face,” she said.

Appointed managing director of Birmingham City FC in 1999 aged 23, Brady became the youngest MD of a PLC in the UK and the first woman to hold that position in English top-flight football, before moving to West Ham in 2010.

Famously, the mum-of-two went back to work two days after giving birth to daughter Sophia in 1996, but wishes she’d slowed down earlier in her career.

“I would never do that again,” said Brady, who also shares son Paolo with her husband of 28 years, former footballer Paul Peschisolido.

“It’s important to take a bit of time off, take a bit more maternity leave, not be in such a big rush – I don’t think I had a holiday for 13 years.

“If I’d have known that three decades on from having my kids, I’d still be working as hard, I probably would have taken it a lot easier.”

The London-born executive, who lives in Knightbridge, has been candid about sexist comments she received at the start of her career, but believes the business world has improved dramatically.

“The sort of sexism that I experienced in the early Nineties, thankfully, I certainly don’t miss that,” said Brady, who has acted as aide to Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice since 2009.

“I think it’s a lot easier for people, and I hope that [managers] look at the talents of the individuals not their age or their sex or their religion or anything else.”

Recognising that support from other women is incredibly valuable, she credits best friend Suzanne Angelides with being the “wife” she needed during her 20s.

“What I needed more than anything when I was growing my business was a wife, but I wasn’t going to get one of those!” Brady recalled.

“[Suzanne] would pick up the kids from school, cook them the odd meal, stay late when I had to work, organise things for them. I mean, they keep you sane, your best friends.”

Now, Brady shares her expertise by working as a small business ambassador with business insurance provider, Simply Business, which has released its annual SME Insights Report showing that UK small businesses are owed £32.1bn in late payments.

“It’s really stressful and difficult for small businesses to chase late payments, because you need that money to help you cashflow your own business,” Brady said.

“It’s important to be persistent and chase the payments properly.”

Persistence is one of the qualities she looks for in contestants on The Apprentice, the next series of which she has already filmed.

Stepping in for one of the other aides last season, Brady took part in the infamous interview episode, grilling five finalists – two of whom broke down in tears – on their business plans.

Does she feel sorry for contestants who crumble under the pressure?

“Of course, yeah, I mean, nobody wants anyone to be upset in an interview,” said Brady.

“And very often, it’s because there’s an element of disappointment that they’ve worked so hard to get into the final five, and then they realise they haven’t actually put together a proper business plan and they’ve let themselves down.”

According to Brady, acing a job interview is down to a combination of preparation and personality.

“Do your research. Be interested and interesting. Be able to articulate what you can offer. Be pleasant and smile,” she said.

“And remember, people do business with people. So your personality is as important as your as your success.”

Baroness Karren Brady CBE has partnered with business insurance provider Simply Business as they launch their SME Insights Report which highlights the challenges facing SMEs across the UK.