In January 2022, I was thrilled to be recognised by retail entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis as one of his 'Small Business Sunday' competition winners.
Small Business Sunday, also known as #SBS, is a weekly social media competition to raise the profile of small businesses across the UK. To enter, you have to tweet Theo or post on Instagram using #SBS, and explain what makes your business unique, as well as include an image and link to your website.
I was delighted (and incredibly surprised) to be chosen as one of Theo's weekly winners back in January. I'd just finished a yoga class at the time when I checked my phone to discover I'd gained a retweet to his near half a million Twitter followers!
Just 0.8 per cent of SBS entrants win and I was also one of the 4 per cent of SBS winners who set up my business less than 12 months ago (April 2021) at the time of receiving my award.
One month later and I was off to Theo's annual winners' event on Friday (February 25) at the ICC Birmingham, where I was awarded my SBS certificate by the man himself. It was an incredible day packed full of inspiration, from opportunities to network with other winners and have a one-to-one meeting with Nat West Business Accelerator team (which I took them up on!), to Theo's fireside chat with Touker Suleyman and talks from Nat West's Debbie Lewis and Rachel Watkyn of The Tiny Box Company.
Ryman Stationery, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue chairman Theo Paphitis said: “We are thrilled to welcome new #SBS members every week and highlight just how important it is to support our small businesses in the UK.
"My vision is that everyone who has won an #SBS re-tweet from me becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learnings. The website will also give a valuable profile to the winners and I wish She’s a Writer every success.”
Just tweet or post on Instagram about your business on a Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm using the hashtag #SBS. Theo will choose six lucky businesses and retweet them the following Monday at 8pm. I really didn't believe I'd be chosen as a winner, so if you're doubting yourself or wondering whether it's worth trying, I'd encourage you to go for it. You've got nothing to lose!
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