A Stanley Common woman has attended a prestigious event in Birmingham at which she was finally able to collect an award from retail entrepreneur and former BBC Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis, after a wait of over two years.
Sarah Banks, who runs a business solutions business tweeted Theo about GDPR regulations, something her business specialises in, as part of 'Small Business Sunday' and was one of six weekly winners to gain a December 2020 retweet by Theo who has around half a million followers on his Twitter account.
The weekly initiative, set up by the former Dragon in 2010, now has over 2,500 'Small Business Sunday' winners and is actively supporting small businesses.
Sarah, who travelled to the ICC in The West Midlands on 24th February 2023 to pick up her award said: “I was so shocked to have won has I had been taking part in the SBS tweets for three years when I won. It seems like such a long time ago now but I was delighted to finally get to attend the awards event. Winning helped raise the profile of my business at the time. I couldn’t believe when I logged on how many notifications there were, some were new followers, other people wanting to ask questions and even an interview request. It has been lovely to receive recognition for the services I provide."
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 here in the UK. My vision is that everyone who has ever 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 chosen and I wish [Sarah's business] every success.
Anyone looking for a re‐tweet from Theo should tweet on Twitter or do an Instagram post to him about their business on Sunday 11th March between 5:00pm and 7:30pm and include the hashtag #SBS. Six lucky businesses are re‐tweeted every Monday at 8:00pm and then invited to enter their profile on the new website, attend the annual #SBS networking event and take advantage of the networking opportunities.