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_outlineIn this interview with Jennie Bayliss we learn about her extensive entrepreneurial journey and latest innovative venture, Letterbox Cocktails. Jennie shares how her path began over 15 years ago with an award-winning virtual PA company. Over the years, she has expanded with a portfolio across premium drinks, mentoring, and programme leadership.
A major turning point came when Jennie’s team entered and won the Business Show £100,000 VIP Launchpad competition. This transformed Letterbox Cocktails from a side hustle into a fully-fledged business. Since then, the brand has gone on to win the Best New Business Award at the SME Bedfordshire Awards and has reached the finals of the Best Business Women Awards, recognised for its innovation, packaging, and product excellence. She also ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, which not only raised essential funds for branding and packaging, but also boosted visibility.
Jennie explains the inspiration behind Letterbox Cocktails: her desire to move away from service-based businesses to a tangible product, redefining luxury in the ready-to-drink cocktail market. The unique concept of cocktails that fit through a letterbox caters to time-poor consumers. The company has already expanded into weddings and seasonal gifting, and expects growth in corporate clients.
Looking ahead, Jennie shares her plans to secure investment, scale the business toward £8–10 million annual turnover, and exit within seven years. She is aiming to outsource production as a practical growth strategy and sees awards and PR as key tools for credibility and exposure.
Throughout the conversation, Jennie highlights the importance of building strong networks, staying adaptable, and avoiding perfectionism in the startup phase. Her advice for entrepreneurs is to focus on visibility, customer needs, and execution over details like logos. For her, success comes from persistence, risk-taking, and leveraging every opportunity, from awards to mentoring.
This is an episode with some impactful lessons for both budding and established entrepreneurs.
{2:05} How Jennie ended up in the world of cocktails.
{5:45} Going through a crowdfunding process.
{7:12} Why Jennie chose to start a cocktails business.
{9:12} The uniqueness of the product and the benefits of home delivery.
{10:55} The best-selling cocktails.
{11:32} Letterbox Cocktail's typical clients.
{12:25} The preparation for VIP Launchpad.
{14:28} Did Jennie expect to win at VIP Launchpad?
{15:21} Winning the Best New Business at the Beds SME Awards.
{16:33} The PR Jennie has gained through awards.
{18:22} Longer term plans for Letterbox Cocktails.
{19:22} Producing in-house v outsourcing.
{20:07} Jennie's business tips.
{22:30} The essential need to do something different.
{23:05} Jennie's advice for startups.
{25:46} Stop procrastinating - take action!
Connect with Debbie at: https://thebusinessawardsshow.co.uk
Connect with Jennie: https://www.letterbox-cocktails.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.letterbox-cocktails.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letterboxcocktails1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letterbox__cocktails/