Inspiring #SBS Event for Winners of Theo Paphitis’s Small Business Sunday
Chiltern Relocation was thrilled to attend the 15th annual #SBS event championing small businesses run by former Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis.
Held at the Birmingham ICC, the event draws huge numbers of business owners keen to hear the inspiring and motivating speakers, who freely give invaluable advice about their business journeys. This year the winners were treated to talks by Jo Tutchener Sharp of clothing company Scamp & Dude and Imran Hakim a former Dragons Den entrepreneur.
With only 1% of companies entering the competition being successful, how did Chiltern Relocation become one of the esteemed winners?
Chiltern Relocation won a #SBS business award in January 2018 after ‘tweeting’ Theo. Every Sunday evening, hopeful entrepreneurs are invited to tweet, or post on Instagram or Linked IN, comment to @TheoPaphitis describing their business. Every Monday night at 8pm, Theo reviews and chooses his favourite six who are then re-tweets and sends to his followers. With approx. 500 thousand followers, the retweet/share provides a massive boost to the chosen businesses. Winners are then welcomed into the #SBS community providing supportive advice and the opportunity to attend the annual event.
This year was Chiltern Relocation’s 7th visit to the event and every year we come away motivated and humbled on hearing some of the incredible personal and business journeys of fellow winners during the networking events, but also from the keynote speakers.
Jo Tutchener Sharp – from brain surgery to brand brilliance
This year award-winning Jo Tutchener Sharp, a former PR director who launched the clothing business Scamp and Dude, told her awe-inspiring story. After surviving a life-threatening brain haemorrhage, she changed the course of her life by founding the clothing business best known for its ‘superpower’ lightning button and zingy leopard print designs. Her business is a force for good. Determined to give back after her major health scare, Scamp & Dude gifts scarves to women with cancer and Superhero Sleep Buddies to a child who has lost a parent or seriously ill themselves.
Jo embodies the heart of the #SBS ethos. From the winners that Theo announces each week, an incredible 80% are female and 50% are sole traders.
Imran Hakim – former Dragons Den pitch winner
Theo also welcomed Imran Hakim, a serial entrepreneur and inventor to tell his inspiring story. Imran appeared on BBC’s Dragons Den to pitch his innovative iTeddy concept. Having successfully secured investment, Imran joined forces with Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis to create one of the biggest successes the den has seen to date with the multi-award-winning iTeddy. Imran is a man of varied business interests and his initial enterprise of optometrists is now one of the largest optician groups in the UK. With technology having moved on dramatically since the initial Dragons Den investment, Imran and Theo impressed upon the audience the importance of adapting and diversifying and learning what works and focusing on where strengths lie.
The Power of #SBS Winners
Theo spoke proudly of the event being in its 15th year and going from strength to strength. One statistic that really stands out for him is that 59% of the winners are still in business. This is an incredible statistics given that over 70% of new businesses fail in the first three years.
Why Chiltern Relocation returns every year
Chiltern Relocation has attended every event since winning the coveted #SBS recognition in 2018. It is an invaluable opportunity to connect with other like-minded business owners and learn from their experiences, in addition to telling our story. Chiltern Relocation started from a kitchen table 20 years ago when Sharon identified a gap in the market for a bespoke service for buyers. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength winning numerous awards along the way. Theo Paphitis’ endorsement of our success has been a fantastic boost and Chiltern Relocation appreciates all the business advice in addition to the retweets from #SBS community. When we started out social media hadn’t been born and now it is a major driver for all businesses. Chiltern Relocation has learnt an incredible amount over this period and love to keep learning thanks to inspirational events such as #SBS. Sharon recently shared her lessons learnt over the last 20 years to celebrate our 20th year in business.
If you would like to find out more about Chiltern Relocation’s services then please get in touch. With over 20 years’ experience in sourcing property and unrivalled local knowledge, Chiltern Relocation can take on the stress of the home search and guide you through the all the steps to finding exactly what you are looking for.
For more information call 01494 672086 or email enquiries@chilternrelocation.com or visit www.chilternrelocation.com
