Me in my Poundland reading glasses.
In the voice of Victor Meldrew, ‘I don’t believe it!’ – I have just had the most cheeky honour bestowed upon me and hosted the eighth Independent Business Awards in Kent, (IBAK). This is an event I created in 2012 under the branding KITA, (Kent Independent Traders Awards) to bring small independent business owners together and to recognise their achievements. I remember thinking that if we look after the smaller guys, the world can become a bigger place. I wasn’t wrong. I’ve seen some of those people we met in the early days go on to build successful companies and then also seen them give back to the business community. That’s COOL!
I have to be honest that I wasn’t having a very happy time personally in the build up to IBAK 2019 and seemed to be ‘going through the motions’ to make it happen. On the morning of the event, I woke up feeling really excited. So much so I had to check it wasn’t Christmas morning. On the drive over to the Great Danes Hotel, I knew I was going to enjoy the evening and when I got there and had the room to myself for a while I was excited. I put on some music as I set up and found myself dancing like no one was watching, and luckily for me….no one was!
From the moment I had my glad rags on, and my sparkly trainers I felt ready to kick back and have a blast. Which, of course, I
Heads or Tails raised £635 for the NSPCC
did.
IBAK holds a special place in my heart as it’s the first Award ceremony we set up and it’s the one that has heard stories that have been inspiring, challenging and definitely motivating. Being in business isn’t easy, we all know that and we all know that there are many books written on this. There are also many written on ‘what you can do to succeed in business’. I have read numerous ones myself but NOTHING can replace what I learn from being part of these awards. Yes, I stand on the sidelines as I have nothing to do with the judging, but I do get to discover more about each and every finalist, about what makes them succeed and how they have overcome their own obstacles. I also have the BEST job in that I host the event and mince around in said earlier mentioned glad rags meeting people and finally putting faces to names.
This year we supported the NSPCC and play ‘Heads or Tails’ brought out the cheeky side of many of the audience whilst raising £635 for the charity. This has to be one of the highlights of an event as everyone really ‘gets into it’! Already people are talking about the event next year and some new sponsors may be stepping up to the mark showing that small businesses really do support other small businesses.
