Access My Events attends their first Small Business Sunday #SBS event, organised by Theo and his team. This is an amazing opportunity for businesses in the #SBS community to network and meet with former and new winners. We share our journey from how it all started and what it meant to us to be in attendance among other amazing businesses, including hearing and meeting with #SBS creator himself, Theo Paphitis.
About Small Business Sunday
On the 24th of July 2023, we entered the Small Business Sunday, #SBS, weekly competition on Twitter. This is one of the UK’s leading business networks, founded by Dragons Den star, Theo Paphitis. We didn’t expect to win and when it was announced that Access My Events was a winner of #SBS, we couldn’t believe it. As a winner of #SBS you get a boost on social media through Theo’s large social media following and you get to join a large community of small business owners with the opportunity to attend an annual event organised by Theo and his team.
Planning Our Journey
When the event date was announced for the 23rd of February, we were very excited and couldn’t wait to attend, being our first #SBS event. We started to plan our travel and book accommodation in advance. While doing this, the excitement was building to the day of the event. We decided to travel a day before so that we could take it easy and be there on time because it was a full day from 9.00am until 5.30pm. For the first time we booked passenger assistance for our journey from London Euston to Birmingham by train and both ways Zubee had the assistance with no problems.
When we arrived in Birmingham, we took an Uber to the hotel and the Uber had dropped us off at the wrong hotel because there were two hotels with the same name. When we eventually got to the right hotel we checked in and went to have a bit of a walk around to explore the area. For Zubee, it felt like a mini holiday because she has not had the opportunity to go out of London much and see some of the well-known shopping centres and restaurants in Birmingham. Event day had arrived, we took an Uber to the event venue, which was not very far and went straight to the reception area located on the 4th floor to get our name badge and were then taken into the hall to our reserved seats towards the front of the stage.
Event Day Highlights And What Went On
It was a real privilege to be among so many amazing businesses in the network from former and new winners. The event was opened on the main stage by guest speaker, Kypros Kyprianou, CEO of Theo Paphitis Group, followed by the creator of SBS himself, Theo Paphitis. It was amazing to hear him speak and how he started SBS, to it becoming a large community supporting small businesses. He said it’s all about planning for the week ahead and it was on a Sunday that he was sitting in Mrs Paphitis’s kitchen thinking how he could help entrepreneurs and small businesses because he knows how lonely the entrepreneurial journey can be. It was back in October 2010, that he created SBS, this being the 11th event, which has since grown with 4000 plus Small Business Sunday winners.
It was interesting to hear some of the stats from Theo, on the winners with 80% being female and 53% sole traders. It was a very motivating and inspiring event with a lot to take away from the day with expert advice sessions from the SBS sponsors and partners, and breakout presentations throughout the day. The room was full of so much positive energy. There were many highlights from the event some of which are, hearing from Theo himself, a former SBS winner who turned an idea into a £1 million business, the Natwest panel of entrepreneurs talking about their journeys into entrepreneurship and business success to meeting with Theo and having our photo taken while being presented with our certificate.
Special Fireside Chat Guest Stacey Solomon
Finally, Theo welcomed Stacey Solomon to the stage for a fireside chat, followed by a Q&A. It was wonderful to hear about her journey from X Factor, presenting on TV, becoming an influencer with 6 million followers, to investing in her very first business, and what it means to her to support small businesses. It was the first time that the winners were so touched by a guest that Theo had to try and take control as she was getting side tracked during the Q&A, and some of the winners were getting very emotional while speaking to Stacey, and even giving her presents. She got off the stage and allowed the winners to take photos with her. It just showed how much Stacey’s words meant to the winners.
You can read our article in the latest issue of Business Connect Magazine, which also features an interview with Theo about #SBS in the Press and Media section of our website. It was great to meet with the Business Connect team in person and to see our article in print at the event.
We would like to thank Theo for choosing and awarding Access My Events, to be part of this amazing network and we look forward to attending again next year.😊
If you are a business that would like to be in with a chance of winning, follow the link to our SBS Winners Blog to find out what it meant to us to be chosen as a winner and how you can enter for free. To see images from the event, go to the gallery page of our website at www.accessmyevents.co.uk
