Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis hosted an action-packed business event and three businesswomen from the same networking group had a meet and greet with the TV Dragon and retail entrepreneur.
Kim Gilmour of Connect Consultancy, along with Jeevan Punj of Elite Hampers, and Debbie Wales of Girl Friday Web Design, were among the winners of the Small Business Sunday #SBS Award in 2023 in recognition of their business success.
This was the first year they were eligible to attend the event which attracted over 1000 small business owners at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
Kim said: “It’s interesting that 80% of #SBS winners are women, and at Telford and Shropshire Women’s Network, we all encourage each other to be more visible online and enter awards. So we were all delighted to be chosen and enjoy the day together ,along with previous winner Lajina Leal of Lajina Masala.”
Theo shared his tips for success along with successful #SBS winners and giants like Google and NatWest for a day of inspiring talks, workshops and business opportunities. Headlining the event was TV icon, entrepreneur and small business investor Stacey Solomon who was interviewed by Theo in his fireside chat.
Jeevan said: “It was very uplifting to be among so many other brilliant businesses and I can’t wait to go again in 2025. Theo puts in a lot of effort to look after and nurture the #SBS community, and this showed with the energy and enthusiasm he brought on the day. I enjoyed networking and hearing success stories from fellow #SBS winners. I am pleased Elite Hampers has the opportunity to be a part of this community.”
Kim said: “The day was jam-packed with networking and motivational moments and I feel privileged to be part of the #SBS community of 4,000 small businesses. The Stacey Solomon interview was very engaging but the highlight for me was that Theo made time to ensure all the new winners got something from the event with some encouraging words and of course our certificate and picture.”
UK-based small businesses can be in with a chance to gain access to this exclusive event every year by entering #SBS Small Business Sunday every Sunday between 5-7.30 pm on Twitter or Instagram by tweeting/posting @theopaphitis using the hashtag #SBS.
Theo Paphitis retweets/reposts six small businesses a week to the growing network which now includes over 4,000 #SBS winners.
