Episode 180: Holiday Clubs with a Difference with Amy Cunningham
The Business Awards Show
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. Each one offers holiday camps where children learn musical instruments, enjoy creative workshops, and participate in activities like yoga and dance. The week culminates in a Friday afternoon concert...
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Episode 182: Create Your Gameplan with Ceylan Boyce
The Business Awards Show
Create Your Gameplan with Ceylan Boyce sees the return of the founder of the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs to talk about her live planning event in March. In this bonus episode of the Business Awards Show, Ceylan explains why planning is essential for business success. She shares why "winging it" leads to working harder for smaller results, and how proper planning gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow. Discover how Ceylan's quarterly planning events bring together 50-60 business owners in a safe, supportive environment where you can actually think strategically about your...
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Episode 179: Transforming the World of Medical Diagnostics with Bronia Thomas
The Business Awards Show
In this fascinating episode, we look at Transforming the World of Medical Diagnostics with Bronia Thomas, founder and CEO of Global Lab Expert Group (GLXG). The Genesis Story After experiencing burnout and chronic illness, Bronia found herself frustrated by the limitations of mainstream healthcare testing. When traditional systems couldn't diagnose her condition, she discovered a London doctor working with German laboratories who finally provided answers through specialised diagnostic tests. This personal journey revealed a massive gap in the healthcare market—patients desperately...
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Episode 178: How Awards Have Powered an Animator's Business with Emma Youell
The Business Awards Show
How Awards Have Powered an Animator's Business with Emma Youell, investigates the rise of the creative force behind Emma Youell Design. In this edition of The Business Awards Show, we discuss Emma's rapid rise from freelancer to award-winning business owner. As an introduction, Emma shares her fascinating journey, starting with her "accidental" entry into the world of motion graphics. Despite initially wanting to avoid the corporate world, she found her niche in the financial services sector, learning how to turn complex, "boring" subjects into engaging, spicy content. She also opens up...
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Episode 177: How a Coach Can Transform Your Working Life with Kate Bishop
The Business Awards Show
How a Coach Can Transform Your Working Life with Kate Bishop is the latest episode of the Business Awards Podcast. Kate shares her journey from burning out in the events industry to discovering coaching almost by accident. After attending a weekend coaching course on a colleague's recommendation (expecting just free coffee!), she found her calling and never looked back. Now specialising in career change and presentation skills, Kate works with people who feel stuck, lacking confidence, or unsure of their next steps. Whether it's toxic work environments, redundancy, or just feeling invisible...
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Episode 176: How a Qualified Marketing Expert Can Transform Your Business with Dee Blick
The Business Awards Show
Join Debbie Gilbert from The Business Awards Show as we discover How a Qualified Marketing Expert Can Transform Your Business with Dee Blick. Dee is a multi-award-winning marketing expert, and author of six bestselling books. Crucially, she is one of only 3% of marketers globally to hold Fellowship status with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. With 41 years in marketing, Dee evolved from working in "big glossy businesses" to becoming a passionate advocate for SMEs. A natural writer who "tumbled into marketing," she continues writing for magazines, as well as her books, combining her twin...
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Episode 175: Bringing Awards to The Isle of Man with Louise Wheeler
The Business Awards Show
This week's Business Awards Show looks at Bringing Awards to the Isle of Man with Louise Wheeler, founder of L C Consultancy and the Elevate You Awards. Originally from Essex, Louise ended up in the Isle of Man almost by accident. In her words it was because she and her now husband were offered a free lift from Guernsey! Louise's Journey: After 15 years in L&D, including four years in the gaming industry, Louise took the leap to establish LC Consulting. Starting with basic challenges like setting up professional email addresses and websites, she built a thriving consultancy specializing in...
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Episode 174: How to Win at Awards with Stephanie Brown
The Business Awards Show
Join Debbie Gilbert from The Business Awards Show to find out How to Win at Awards with Stephanie Brown. Stef is an expert awards consultant with an impressive 88% success rate across 500+ award entries. She shares her unique journey from professional dancer in Montreal to becoming a sought-after awards specialist in the UK. After working in creative agencies for 15 years, she discovered her talent for crafting winning award entries that combine creative storytelling with analytical thinking. Key insights from this episode: Why award strategy matters more than simply entering awards; align...
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Episode 173: The Joy of Real Indian Food with Roshni Ray
The Business Awards Show
The Joy of Real Indian Food is this week's brilliant discussion on the Business Awards Show. Founder of Tikka and Tadka, Roshni talks about her journey from NHS worker to award-winning Indian catering entrepreneur. Roshni's Journey: After years in the NHS, Roshni launched her authentic Indian home-style cooking business in April 2020 - right as lockdown hit. Instead of postponing, she pivoted to local curry nights in her village, which became so popular they evolved into her signature curry box service. The Mission: Roshni's passion is educating people about authentic Indian cuisine...
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Episode 172: Where's Your Social Proof? with Shehnaaz Latif of TOOT Services
The Business Awards Show
Where's Your Social Proof? with Shehnaaz Latif is the latest edition of the Business Awards Show. We talked to Shehnaaz, the founder of TOOT Services Limited, about the critical importance of social proof for businesses and award entries. She also told us about her annual event in December, The Impact Showcase. Shehnaaz's Journey: Despite being naturally shy, Shehnaaz built a 22-year career helping charities and businesses gather evidence of their impact. The name "TOOT" stands for "Tell Others Out There" - encouraging people to celebrate their successes rather than hiding their...
info_outlineThe latest episode of the Business Awards Show features an interview with Penny Joyner-Platt, the founder of The Plattform, a PR and marketing agency.
Penny is dedicated to helping ambitious businesses raise their profile, win recognition, and achieve measurable growth. Her career spans more than 15 years in communications. As a result, she has worked across industries to deliver strategic campaigns that get brands noticed, talked about, and remembered.
During our conversation we discussed awards in depth, given they are at the heart of her expertise. Penny has been involved in every stage of the awards process — from planning her own awards, to judging categories, to writing, designing and mentoring many winning entries for clients. Her deep understanding of the awards process, combined with her creative storytelling skills, makes her one of the UK’s go-to experts for awards success. And in 2025 she has entered the Best Businesswomen Awards, being shortlisted as a finalist in two categories.
Furthermore, Penny explained why finalists in Businesswomen Awards can often get more PR than their male counterparts. She expanded by highlighting the growing number of women in the UK SME sector. Ultimately, Penny set up her business The Plattform to help businesses achieve wider reach. She stressed this was not just from award wins but in all areas of a business. The result: her business has grown rapidly over the last three years.
She went on to explain that not every small business can afford to outsource its PR and marketing. Therefore, Penny has created a solution by offering a mentor programme. Her first mentee, Tracy Fishburn, a former guest on the Show, has grown her business exponentially, and won multiple awards, thanks Penny's support.
This episode offers some fascinating insights into the world of Awards and how to succeed in them. Penny also provides common-sense advice about starting and running a business, and how anyone can create a sensible PR and marketing strategy with a little help.
{1:32} Penny's back story.
{4:46} How award entries differ in effort.
{8:20} Penny makes the Best Businesswomen Awards Final 2025.
{10:10} Setting up The Plattform.
{15:08} The success of Penny's first PR mentee Tracy Fishburn.
{17:20} The value of awards for PR.
{21:57} Why the Best Businesswomen Awards recognise all finalists.
{22:48} Penny's own awards.
{23:57} Why her awards ended.
{25:57} Penny's business tips.
Connect with Debbie at: https://thebusinessawardsshow.co.uk
Connect with Penny: https://the-plattform.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-plattform/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.plattform.agency
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.plattform
Listen to Episode 71 with Tracy Fishburn of Tracy's Treasured Keepsakes: https://thebusinessawardsshow.libsyn.com/episode-070-interview-with-tracy-fishburn