The grand announcement of the winner of our Inspiring Business 2019 competition and a support package worth over £20k is drawing near!
Who could it be?
Today, we’re delighted to reveal our impressive shortlist of entrants as:
BREng Hull; Boutipi; Over the Moon Scents; East Riding Floors; AWS Developments; Jennifer Gilmour: Author & Advocate; Dixie Lorna; So… Visualise; Flex Health; BiPP Recruitment Limited; Salt Revive; SBR Eco Limited; iHatch-Apps Ltd and Unity in Community Ltd. Read below what each of these impressive businesses had to say about themselves in their entries.
Yet again, we were overwhelmed by the quality of entries into our fourth InspiringBusiness competition. The judges – who included James Legal Founder and MD Nick Miller and a selection of our campaign partners – had a really tough job choosing one winner. But they have!
Watch this space and our social media channels for Nick revealing the overall winner over the next few days!
Nick said: “We can’t wait to announce who – out of the fantastic entrants – has won our 2019 competition!
“It’s an absolute honour to be able to give recognition to the very best in local business and, even more than that, we and all the partners are really looking forward to working with the winner in the year ahead, to help them take their talent and potential to the next level.”
About InspiringBusiness
Created four years ago by James Legal, the campaign’s purpose is to give something back by supporting the outstanding Yorkshire & Humber businesses of the future in taking their offering to the next level.
So far, we have brought over 1,000 businesses together at our four annual seminars, and handed out business support worth over £70,000 to several annual competition winners. This prize is provided by James Legal in collaboration with our campaign partners Handelsbanken, cbaSadofskys Chartered Accountants, Computanet IT specialists, Peacock Finance, Peak Health and Fitness, Click Digital, Sheila Granger and the Business Culture Hull. They are offering this year’s winner a selection of invaluable help in enhancing their business success, including business planning, funding and accountancy help, as well as, of course, legal services from James Legal
We believe the wellbeing of hard-pressed business owners is just as important as the bottom line, too, and therefore our seminars and competition prize have a strong wellbeing theme, to encourage them to practice fitness and mindfulness, to keep them in the best physical and mental form for success.
See highlights of our entrants below and watch this space for the grand unveiling of our winner. And you can also sign up here to receive details of our 2021 event series when they’re ready.
Highlights from our finalists’ entries
BREng Hull: “…is an independent building services consultancy, run by local husband and wife team Rob and Bridget Smelt. Rob, who has over 30 years’ experience in the industry, has the desire to build sustainable solutions for diverse environments. BREng Hull specialise in design assistance, quality management, project management, installation and procurement. They also offer a full rectification service. Their specialisms stretch across a wide range of industries including retail, leisure, education and hospitality.
“At present, the company is completely self-sufficient. Rob’s aim is to grow to the point where they can offer training to local companies… in building services, staff development and time management.”
Boutipi: “… is a family-run tipi hire company, based in Beverley, which provides authentic, Scandinavian tipis for weddings, birthdays, corporate events, festivals and much more. They also provide extras including walkways, burners and heaters, lighting, furniture, staff, catering packages, stages and bars.
“The team pride themselves on their enthusiasm for providing a unique, first-class service, exceeding their clients’ expectations on a regular basis.”
Over the Moon Scents: “… is a Hessle-based provider of handmade scented wax melts, candles, bath bombs and much more. Founder and Director Cathryn Sanders created the business from her kitchen two years ago and has now grown to the point where she has a thriving shop in Hessle town centre, with five employees. All of the wax melts are handmade, on site, by Cathryn, and the bath and body products are hand made by artisans.
“Over the Moon Scents… sells its products both to local residents and across the United Kingdom.”
East Riding Floors: East Riding Floors, based in Beverley, is a family-run company which provides both commercial and residential clients with high-end, designer flooring from brands such as Karndean and Amtico, as well as a range of laminates, engineered timbers and carpets.
“Trading since 2009, the East Riding Floors team pride themselves on offering a professional and friendly service to all of their clients, including commercial clients, as well as a full consultancy, planning and installation service.”
AWS Developments: AWS Developments is a local property development company that does exactly what it says on the tin: purchase properties, renovate them and sell them on. Run by Aaron Sutherland, who shares a passion, with his trusted team of sub-contractors, for renovating properties to the highest standard, AWS Developments was established as a limited company around two years ago.
“This may seem like a short time to some, but Aaron and his team are proving that they are fully committed to providing Hull with great quality properties. Alongside this, as well as sharing tips and tricks with others looking at renovating their own properties.”
Jennifer Gilmour, Author & Advocate: “Jennifer is an author and advocate for women in abusive relationships and her work helps victims and survivors. Through her publications, blog posts, articles, public speaking, media interviews, social media presence and the forum she founded, she is building awareness of domestic abuse.”
Dixie Lorna: “She is currently providing personalised prints and cards, predominately to the wedding sector but also covering home decor, interior and baby shower gifts.
“She sells the majority of her products via etsy and her facebook shop, and says her sales have exploded since upgrading to a commercial printer.”
So… Visualise: “Founded in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in 2012, So… Visualise (formerly So Weddings and Events) is a bespoke prop-making company which takes pride in making the ‘weird and wonderful’ for national and regional brands. Founded by Lisa, it has grown into a whole creative, collaborative network of artisans with over 100 years combined experience in the artistic creation industry. They include blacksmiths, illustrators and artists; large-scale printers and metal workers, all of whom help bring So… Visualise’s client ideas to life on a daily basis.
“The purposes its props are used for include visual displays and merchandising, photo shoots, product launches, window displays, television and film sets, as well as the weddings, corporate and charity events that are their bedrock. Big brand names they have worked with include L’Occitane, Lime Pictures, London Fashion Week, Ted Baker, Rigby and Peller, the National Trust and the Natural History Museum in London.”
Flex Health: Established in 2015, Flex Health is a leading provider of physiotherapy and neurological physiotherapy in Hull, York and the surrounding areas. It uses clinically-led, research-based, hands-on physiotherapy to manage their patients’ symptoms and aid their recoveries. It specialises in helping patients with a number of conditions and injuries, including tendon and ligament injuries, osteoarthritis, selective dorsal rhizatomy, brain injuries, spinal infection and stroke rehabilitation.
“The company is in official partnership with the University of Hull and York St John University, working alongside them and others to ensure they stay up-to-date with the latest assessment and treatment techniques.”
BiPP Recruitment Limited: “Founded in 2019 and based in North Cave, East Yorkshire, BiPP Recruitment aims to provide an innovative and refreshing approach to recruitment.
“In the past decades, recruitment has become too much of a race to process as many CVs as possible, rather than finding talented, experienced and well-matched candidates. At BiPP recruitment, the emphasis is on quality. This business provides each client with a bespoke recruitment package, which can include everything from head-hunting services to salary and terms negotiations.
Salt Revive: Salt Revive offers salt therapy for adults and children suffering from respiratory and skin conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema and psoriasis. Salt therapy is a complementary treatment, which is 100 per cent natural and has been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes.
“In their entry, Salt Revive said ‘remember how the Victorians used to send us to the seaside if we were ill? That was because of the naturally-medicinal salty air. It’s exactly the same concept but is more concentrated in our rooms’.”
SBR Eco Limited: “SBR Eco Limited is a producer of infrared heating systems. They describe their product as ‘low investment cost, unlimited application possibilities, zero greenhouse emissions’ and say that ‘property developers, house builders, landlords and homeowners all love the simplicity of iHelios, a revolutionary infrared heating system; a new way to provide healthy, economical and eco-friendly heat, for any type of property.
“While the UK is seeking ways to achieve carbon targets, iHelios’ carbon nanotechnology is already popular in European and Scandinavian countries that are advancing in decarbonisation, ahead of the UK. This is a product already being utilised worldwide and each room is thermostatically controlled to provide pleasant heat for your residential or commercial development.”
iHatch-Apps Ltd: “…is a start-up company based at Hull’s C4DI with a passion for developing innovative technology to assist animal breeders worldwide. Currently, the company consists solely of the founder, Michael White; an entrepreneur with 11 years’ experience in the animal-breeding and veterinary sector. The company’s first software product, ‘PuppyFat’, launched its subscription service in October 2019, following a robust 10-month ‘Beta’ period.
“It provides a creative digital alternative to the paper-intensive process of logging, storing and sharing dog breeding records; such as weights, feeds and treatments. These records are critical for producing healthy, well-rounded pets and meeting increasingly strenuous legislative requirements worldwide.”
Unity in Community Ltd: “As a community-based charity established since 1997, it strives to support residents living within the ‘HU6’ postal area of Hull.
There are parts of that community (i.e. Orchard Park and North Hull) that are ranked the 5th most deprived in the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and the charity therefore aims to deliver projects, services and access to new funding opportunities, to provide a direct benefit at a local level.
“They provide affordable homes, training and skills development to the unemployed, as well as business support services, empty homes refurbishment projects and supporting Hull City Council to deliver their Homeless, Refugee and Resettlement projects, community café and food bags.
