In a nutshell: Shoned is the founder and CEO of Tanya Whitebits, an award winning sunless self-tanning brand which specialises in cruelty-free, vegan, fast-drying, non-sticky and odour free products.
Region: Pwllheli, Northwest Wales
Awards:
- Network She – Business of the year
- Great British Entrepreneur awards – Finalist 2016 and 2017
- Welsh Hair and Beauty awards 2017
- Next British Beauty Brand – Finalist 2019
I started entering myself and my business into awards around two years into trading. After attending networking events at the time, I found out about a local award – the NetworkShe business of the year – which covered the North Wales and Cheshire regions, and decided to put Tanya Whitebits forward for it.
It was a real pinch-me moment when I found out that I had won. I felt like an accidental businesswoman when I first started my business as I very much fell into entrepreneurship. I had been working as a mobile spray tanner and saw a gap in the market for a tan non-sticky, odourless tan, which inspired me to develop my own product and brand. Winning that first award helped reinforce that I was a credible businesswoman, deserving of recognition.
This motivated me to put my business forward for more awards. as I realised that my customers or peers weren’t going to nominate me, so I would have to do it myself! When applying for awards you don’t realise the in-depth information they ask, about finances, your business goals and aspirations.
Something I hadn’t initially considered was the financial costs involved in awards such as the fees to attend award ceremonies if you’re shortlisted, as you need to pay for things like your ticket, any plus-ones, travel, and accommodation. However, I found that these additional costs were definitely worth it.
For a start, awards provide you with a great opportunity to network and raise the profile of you and your business. I have made great connections through networking such as the founders of Spectrum Brushes, who I have kept in contact with over the years. Creating those connections has helped boost my brands image, as well as spreading the word about my business and the products. Interacting with people in the same industry as you can be really helpful when it comes to finding business opportunities for your own company.
I was lucky enough to be a finalist at the Great British Entrepreneur awards - a national award – and even though I didn’t win, it was a great experience. Before the awards ceremony, there was a networking event on a yacht on the River Thames which was attended by leading names in business and politics and that was pretty amazing to be a part of!
Applying for awards has definitely helped boost my confidence as well as my business’s image and reputation.
I haven’t entered any awards over the last two years due to the pandemic, but am very keen to get stuck in again as soon as I can. If you’re looking to find awards to enter, a good Google search never goes a miss. Failing that, there are various female networking groups you can join on Facebook which often publicise awards and are a great place to help build up confidence or ask for advice!
If you’re worried about finding the time or finances to apply, I would suggest factoring these into your business plan. I would recommend aiming to put your business up for at least one award a year. Having a document ready with common answers can help save time by enabling you to easily transfer them into different applications where you can then just adapt them.
I feel that a lot of women don’t enter awards due to a fear of failure and think this tends to hold back many successful women when it shouldn’t. My advice would be: don’t be afraid to fail and don’t let imposter syndrome creep in – just get those applications in and it won’t have a chance to. I’ve applied for awards and not heard back, I’ve been shortlisted, I’ve been a finalist and I’ve won – each experience has been positive. Put yourself out there, you never know what could happen!