The Business Awards Show

Coaching with Integrity with Lucienne Shakir is our latest discussion on the Business Awards Show.

Having spent several years working in education, Lucienne saw how students needed help with growing anxiety as pressure to achieve grades mounted. This led her down a path towards coaching where she could make a measurable difference to people's lives.

In 2019 she set up Lucienne Coaching and has not looked back. Now, a major accredited coach, she talks to us about her business and explains her strong views on the state of the coaching industry and why it should be regulated.

Lucienne was a highly impressive winner of the Gold Award for Best Coach at the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards. She tells us why she started entering awards, and how special that award win was to her.

She admits it is challenging running a coaching business and discusses some of the issues she has faced and how she's overcome them.

And when she's not being interviewed on our podcast, she runs her own called That's What She Said.

This is a great episode for any female founders, a particular specialism of Lucienne's, those struggling to develop the right mindset and anyone interested in coaching and personal development. 

Catering for Under-5s is the latest installment of the Business Awards Show.

Kerrie and Maddy founded the multi-award-winning TOTFest six years ago, an all-inclusive festival entirely for under-5s. So successful have the pair been, it has grown to become the largest under-5 festival in the UK.

TOTFest now visits five locations in the UK with plans to further expand in the coming years. The pair explain how they came up with the idea, the challenges of working as a partnership, and their plans for the future.

COVID caused massive disruption in their business, and Kerrie and Maddy tell us how they navigated a hugely challenging eighteen months and what it took to get the business going again.

They have won numerous awards in recent years including a silver in the Best Creative Business category at the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards. The pair use awards as a key part of their strategy, explaining what their success has done for their business. 

This is a great episode for any entrepreneurs working in partnerships, dealing with adversity, and what it takes to put on immersive events. They have a unique customer-base in the under-5 market, so anyone in a similar situation will take great inspiration from their business growth.

Building a Music School with Barbara Mohorko-Vuka is another fascinating installment of the Business Awards Show.

Barbara grew up in Slovenia, learning cello from the age of six and gaining an extensive musical education that saw her graduate from Trinity Laban and the Royal College of Music.

Barbara took over the Wimbledon School of Music in 2018 at just 22 years of age. Depsite a global pandemic attempting to disrupt the development of her school, Barbara has grown the school impressively over the last five years. Most instruments are now taught and the school is going from strength to strength.

She tells us about the work of the school, the joy of concerts, how music education is treated differently in Slovenia to the UK and the long term plans for her business.

Having won a silver award at the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards, she also talks about the impact of winning an award, and her plans to enter more local awards in 2024.

This is a great episode for any young entrepreneur wondering if they are mature enough to run a business. It reveals the life lessons that music teaching can bring and will be useful to many parents who may be wondering how to get their children into music.

The Brand Artisan with Becky Benfield-Humberstone is now available on the Business Awards Show.
 
Becky was a silver award winner in the Best Solopreneur category at the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards, having grown her branding business, the Brand Artisan.
 
Becky has been a serial entrepreneur, creating her first business, 'Utterly Horses', and growing it to become the largest retailer in its field in Europe. 
 
Having sold that business, she spent some time in corporate, working at the Imperial War Museum. That taught her influential lessons as she returned to the small business world.
 
Over the years, she has developed her branding and marketing skills to the point where, three years ago, she set up The Branding Artisan. She is passionate about helping small businesses expand and establish their brands and is going from strength to strength.
 
Becky is also a multi-award-winning entrepreneur; last year's silver award at the BBWA final is just one of many she has collected over her years in business. Not only does she win awards, but she writes entries for clients, too.
As if that was not enough, Becky has also published children's books, with more in the pipeline.
This episode demonstrates the impact awards have on a business; the crucial part branding plays in business development, and the need to keep learning and creating. 

Scaling Tutor Businesses with Helen Dickman is the latest episode of the Business Awards Show.
 
Helen was a Silver Award Winner in the Best New Business category of the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards.
 
Helen studied English at university and, almost inevitably, became a teacher and then an educational consultant. In 2018, she became a private tutor, experiencing the ups and downs of being self-employed in the education sector.
 
Having developed a clear understanding of what makes a strong tutoring business, Helen set up her own business, Love Mondays Club, in 2021. She aimed to help busy female business owners create profitable online businesses without having to sacrifice all of their time. 
 
Helen has also started the Love Mondays Club podcast to grow her profile, telling us what she covers and why she enjoys this so much.
 
Helen has started entering awards over the last year and has had some success. She discusses the benefits of completing awards entries and how winning has raised the awareness of her business.
 
She continues to develop her training platform while planning to travel around Europe before a potential move to Europe.
 
This episode is perfect for anyone in the early stages of establishing their business. It is a must-listen for any tutor or trainer wanting to grow their client list.

Building loyalty in the hospitality industry is our latest episode of the Business Awards Show.
 
Ashleigh was voted Best Businesswoman in Marketing and PR at the 2023 Best Businesswomen Awards. 
 
She explains why she and her husband set up their business Halo Business Consulting offering businesses in the hospitality sector the benefit of their twenty years' of experience in marketing, PR, and customer experience in the industry.

Ashleigh explains why the pandemic was such a pivotal moment in hospitality, and how it affected her and her customers. The changes that have emerged have had a huge impact on customer behaviour and the way hospitality businesses interact with their customer base.

She has added awards as an essential strategy in her business. Winning the Gold Award in the BBWA last year has already reaped dividends as Ashleigh explains.

If you have a hospitality business, or indeed any business where building customer loyalty and delivering a great experience is vital, this episode will be of real help. Ashleigh's tips on building loyalty, getting more reviews, and improving delivery at each customer touch-point will help every customer-facing company raise their game.

In today's interview with Angela Spencer, we learn about Angela's journey from the corporate world to starting her coaching business Virago Wellness. She was Head of Culture in a well known retail business employing over 4000 people. Now she runs her own solopreneur business. 

As you will hear, she has absolutely no regrets. Consequently she is thriving in her mission to help empower women through self-discovery to achieve their best selves.

She tells us how the pandemic was a game-changer for her and her husband. It led her to quickly grew her coaching practice, although she explains the help she enlisted to get off the ground.

Entering awards has been an insightful learning curve. As a result, she is determined to continue to enter awards that meet her criteria for growth and validation.

Angela discusses her ambitious plans for the next few years as she seeks to help more women deal with the rigours of modern life.

Angela's episode is the perfect listen for any woman feeling like they are not good enough and frazzled with the pressures of life. Those struggling to cope with dramatic changes such as starting a family, seeing older children leave home, or yearning for a change of direction will find this discussion particularly helpful.

Our latest episode features an interview with Emma Baylin, the inspirational founder of Shared Harmonies CIC. The charity was set up ten years ago to fulfil Emma's passion for wellbeing with a love of singing to bring about powerful human connections.

Emma tells us about her journey over the last ten years, how her charity helps those with dementia and respiratory problems, and the benefits she brings to corporate clients. Her work in the community makes such a difference, never better demonstrated than during the pandemic.

Emma explains why being a Silver Winner at the Best Businesswomen Awards in September was so important to her and her team. It will make many seriously consider entering themselves.

Her TedX talk, 'Connecting with Harmony' has had nearly 7000 views, challenging people's beliefs that they cannot sing, explaining the huge benefits singing brings.

Emma has had plenty of challenges through her first decade, but through it all, she has created a wonderful charity that does vital work for the community and the corporate world in the North West of England.

This is an interview that may lead you to seek out your local choir and will undoubtedly challenge your limiting beliefs.

{1:20} Shared Harmonies work and vision.

{2:38} The idea behind Shared Harmonies.

{4:17} Developing into the corporate space.

{6:57} The various ways Shared Harmonies works with corporate organisations.

{9:40} Shared Harmonies work in the community.

{10:22} The benefits of singing for dementia sufferers.

{11:28} The benefits of singing for respiratory problems.

{13:26} Why Emma has entered awards.

{17:02} The challenges faced over the last ten years.

{23:40} Emma's TedX Talk.

{27:20} What's next for Shared Harmonies.

Connect with Debbie at The Business Awards Show

Connect with Emma at:  https://www.sharedharmonies.co.uk/

Emma's TedX Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnUDu8A3AUg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharedharmonies/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SharedHarmonies

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/company/shared-harmonies-cic/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC65-xC7B2d__IVqKKJW1eXQ

Twitter/X:  https://twitter.com/SharedHarmonies