The Business Awards Show

Not every award is worth the trophy, and magician Oli, otherwise known as Revilo Twist, knows exactly which ones are full of smoke and mirrors. The award winning magician fell into magic after watching a stranger's rope trick aged fifteen and never looked back. In this episode Oli chats to Debbie about swapping a career in asset finance and recruitment for full time magic just three years ago, ins...

Ten years ago, Charlotte and her husband took out a mortgage on a derelict farm with no real money and no concrete plan beyond a hunch that animals could change lives. Thus, Elysian was born. Today, that farm supports over 400 young people across three sites, many of whom had stopped attending school altogether before finding their way to her. In this episode, Charlotte shares the personal experie...

This week, Debbie talks to Natalie Burkinshaw, founder of Crush, a brand and design agency specialising in manufacturing, engineering and tech businesses. After over twenty years in the industry, beset by imposter syndrome, Natalie finally started entering awards in 2025. Within fourteen months she'd won five, including Gold at the Best Business Women Awards. They discuss how brand strategy has ev...

Learn How a Banker Created an Award-Winning Property Business with Michelle McPherson, founder and MD of Hyde and Rowe Property Agents. Michelle has spent over twenty years building a business that does far more than just sales and lettings. She has helped house over twenty thousand homeless families in quality accommodation, managed more than seventy million pounds worth of property, and built a...

Debbie Gilbert chats with The Graphic Designer Who Won a Carer Award with Marie Louise O'Neill, Canva expert and graphic designer. In this episode, Marie Louise talks about how small business owners can show up more professionally online without needing to be a design expert. Our guest stumbled across Canva in 2017 before most designers had even heard of it. Consequently, she shares how she went s...

The 200 th Business Awards Show is here, and we couldn't be prouder to bring you this special episode. Debbie Gilbert, Founder of the Best Businesswomen Awards and The Best SME Awards, talks you through how to avoid being fooled by fake awards companies. There is a proliferation of them in the market, and Debbie campaigning to keep integrity in the awards world, fights back. She warns listeners to...

Discover How an Award Winning Photographer Became a Care Home Owner with Carmel Saulbrey, the owner of Niche Care Homes and founder of The Kindness Code. Carmel won Most Inspiring Businesswoman at the Best Business Women Awards back in 2019. However, she sold her award-winning school photography company, tired of the photographer's life. What did she do next? She took on two children's residential...

Today we chart the journey From High-Powered Retail Manager to Award-Winning VA with Dionne Popplestone, founder of an award-winning virtual assistant agency. Dionne shares her journey from managing multi-million pound retail stores and a £50m shopping centre redevelopment, to setting up her VA agency after having her son Elijah — and becoming fully booked within just four months. They talk about...

Debbie Gilbert discusses The Soul Aligned Life with Sophie Watson, soul coach and regional director for the Athena Network in south west Oxfordshire. Sophie won a Silver award for Best Coach at the 2025 Best Business Women Awards. Her journey into coaching began when her world fell apart all at once, a difficult job, her mum's diagnosis with early onset Alzheimer's and breast cancer, and her an he...

This week's Business Awards Show discusses why Your Cat Deserves an Award-Winning Hotel Not a Cattery with Abi Purser, founder of Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotel. An award-winning entrepreneur, Abi turned a frustrating search for somewhere premium to leave her rescue cat Norman into a nationwide franchise with nearly thirty locations. Abi's story is fascinating from start to finish. A chance visit to a...

Debbie Gilbert discusses how to Tell a Better Story Through Brand Photography with Hetal Trivedi, founder of The Beautiful Moments. Hetal is a strategic brand photographer and videographer working with female led businesses in health, wellness and beauty. She won three awards in a single month last year, two of them on the same day! A former primary school maths teacher who fell into photography b...

Turning Pain into Purpose with Hayley Charlesworth, is one of the most moving episodes of the Business Awards Show we've featured. Hayley is founder of Harry's Pals, a charity born from her own experience of being told, when her son Harry was just three days old, that he had suffered significant brain damage and would need round the clock care for the rest of his life. What followed was a desperat...

Our latest episode offers very clear advice: Do NOT Let AI Build Your Website, with Alison Rothwell. A digital strategist and founder of VA Website for You, Alison also picked up a Silver Award at the 2025 Best Businesswomen Awards. With nearly twenty years running her own business and a background spanning government communications, PR and digital marketing, she brings a wealth of knowledge to th...

In this episode, we discuss Why Branding Needs a Good Story with Tejal Prajapati, award winning branding consultant and founder of TP Creative. Tejal took home a Silver at the 2025 Best Businesswomen Awards. With sixteen years in the design industry before going it alone, Tejal now helps businesses generate real results through strategic, story-led design. In this episode Debbie and Tejal get into...

In this episode we talk Awards, Leadership. and the Power of Community with Griselda Togobo, leadership expert, keynote speaker and founder of the Novi Awards, Novi community and Novi Futures charity. With more than fifteen years' experience working with global organisations, Griselda has built something genuinely unique in the world of women's awards and leadership development. In this episode De...

Debbie Gilbert discovers How a GP Became an Award-Winning Menopause Specialist with Dr Shilpa McQuillan, founder and clinical lead of the Berkshire Menopause Clinic. In our latest episode, this leading specialist discusses all things menopause. In addition she explains how she set up her own business whilst juggling the demands of a family, and the impact of winning two awards at the 2025 Best Bus...

Leading with resilience with Skye Deane and Alex Webb, is an inspirational episode of the Business Awards Show as we're joined by two powerhouse women. Skye and Alex are co-founders of the award winning Resilient Women Leaders, who took home a Silver award for Best Business at the 2025 Best Businesswomen Awards. Their journeys could not be more different. Skye brings eighteen years of experience a...

Discover How Branding Can Help Purpose-Led SMEs Shine with Maylene Seah, award-winning brand strategist, founder of Studio Noor Anisa, and winner of a Special Recognition Award at the 2025 Best Business Women Awards.  Maylene's journey is a fascinating one, taking her from design agencies in London, through a thriving Islamic products business she built and sold, to now helping purpose driven wome...

Debbie Gilbert hosts our latest conversation, Fashion, Confidence, and Business Success with Catherine Grout, personal stylist and colour confidence expert. Catherine is founder of style consultancy What I Am Wearing, winner of a Silver Award for Best New Business at the 2025 Best Business Women Awards. Catherine shares how a long career in tech led to redundancy, a lockdown fashion blog, and ulti...

This week we help you Ensure Your Business is SEO Visible with Emily Williams, founder of Content Clever and silver winner at the 2025 Best Business Women Awards. She joins Debbie to talk all things content strategy, SEO, and why she's on a mission to help female-led businesses find their voice online. After burning out three times by age 27 whilst working in healthcare, Emily took her marketing d...

Turning Tragedy into Transformation with Patricia Muirhead is a truly inspirational episode of the Business Awards Show. When Patricia lost her daughter Ashdon to suicide in 2014, she made a decision that would change hundreds of young lives — she channelled her grief into action. Consequently, she became founder and CEO of the Ashdon Jazz Academy, a South London charity supporting young women age...

In this episode, host Debbie Gilbert traces the Rise of the Logolady with Trudie Avery, award-winning branding and design specialist.  With over 25 years in graphic design, Trudie shares how she left an 11-year partnership to start afresh with just her Mac and lots of determination. She reveals the networking strategy that built her business and how the "Logolady" nickname became her trademarked b...

The Power of the Peer Group with John Acton, CEO of Peer2Peer, discusses his incredible journey from 30 years in corporate to becoming an award-winning business leader. John shares how he transformed DPD from fifth to first in Europe in its sector, before leaving to help other businesses develop more effective strategies. He discusses Peer2Peer, a network of advisory boards where business owners m...

  Coaching for Neurodivergents with Talia Zamora discusses her journey building a coaching business that specializes in supporting neurodivergent entrepreneurs and families. Talia's Story After struggling to find flexible work that fit around her two autistic sons, Talia decided to start her own coaching business about six years ago. What began as general business coaching naturally evolved into a...

This week we discuss Holiday Clubs with a Difference with Amy Cunningham, founder of The Strings Club. Amy outlines how she built a successful childcare business centred around music and wellbeing. About The Strings Club Amy launched her business in 2012 after hosting a small holiday camp for six children in Camden. Today, The Strings Club operates in 22 locations across London and the Midlands. E...