Dragons Den Star Theo Paphitis Puts Azra's Business Skills In The Spotlight (PRESS RELEASE)

DRAGONS DEN STAR PUTS AZRA’S BUSINESS SKILLS IN THE SPOTLIGHT At THE #SBS EVENT 2013

Harrogate businesswoman and Chocolatier Azra Sadiq found herself, quite literally, in the spotlight at the #SBS Winner's business event, hosted by the entrepreneur and Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis on Thursday 28 November.

Azra was asked to stand and be applauded by a gathering of 1,200 small business owners as Mr Paphitis praised her drive and tenacity in promoting her artisan chocolates business through local, national and online media.

The annual event was held at the ICC in Birmingham and was sponsored by Ryman Stationary, RAC, DHL, iLaw and BarterCard. #SBS event is all part of Mr Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday initiative. Every Sunday small businesses can tweet Theo direct using the #SBS hashtag to describe their business to him in 140 characters or less. Theo reviews and chooses just six to re-tweet to over 400,000 followers, which can mean a massive publicity boost for the chosen few. In May 2013, Azra’s tweet caught the entrepreneur’s eye – and her business, Azra Chocolates, is booming as a result.

But, as Mr Paphitis pointed out to the audience at the SBS event, it wasn’t just the re-tweet that sent Azra’s sales and reputation soaring. Referring to Azra’s media coverage since, Theo said “This didn’t just happen because Azra won #SBS. It was about the effort and energy she put into winning, the marketing of it. You need to shout about it and start contacting people.”

Which is exactly what Azra did? Theo Paphitis was particularly impressed that not only did Azra Chocolates gain a great mention in the Daily Mail, the business was also featured on the Mail on Sunday website – “the biggest media website in the Western world”. He offered Azra “big congratulations” and used her business savvy as an inspiring example for other #SBS winners.

Speaking about being singled out for such high praise, Azra told us “Theo asked me to stand up during his presentation in a room full of 1,200 people who all clapped for me. He was using my win and media exposure as an example of what you can do by winning an #SBS award on Twitter from him. My picture was on the big screens three times during the presentation. I still can’t get over the event and being chosen like that as an inspiration for other winners.”

Harrogate-based mum-of-three Azra set up her luxury chocolates business in 2009 after a career teaching English whilst living in the Middle East. She began by training with Master Chocolatiers in the UK and Belgium and mastering her craft in her own kitchen, where she created her first chocolate shoe. She now offers a full range of designer-inspired chocolate shoes, all hand-crafted by Azra herself. Her collection also includes matching chocolate purses and miniature versions of her shoes, perfect for wedding or party favours, plus special Limited Edition designs to keep an eye out for. Azra’s incredible, edible creations are available via her website www.azrachocolates.co.uk

“Small Business Sunday is such a brilliant idea and I know many businesses get a fabulous reaction after winning a re-tweet from Theo. It’s allowed me to showcase my craft and products to a much larger audience than I could have reached without the #SBS win.”

So, for Azra, Theo’s praise isn’t quite the icing on the cake – more like the edible diamonds and pearls on her amazing chocolate shoes!