A GROWING town business was given the thumbs up online by former Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis who retweeted what the company has to offer to more than half a million followers.
UNIQ Furniture chief Andrew Smith tweeted the retail entrepreneur during the former Dragon’s Den star’s ‘Small Business Sunday’ event on Twitter and was one of six weekly winners chosen by the self-confessed shopkeeper.
As a result, the tweet which highlighted what UNIQ had to offer with pictures of Andrew’s work was seen by a staggering 504,600 followers and saw UNIQ’s Twitter page gain more than 200 followers.
The Racecourse Road business, which refurbishes, upcycles and restyles furniture to its former glory and beyond, is also profiled on the SBS website with all the other winners from the popular business boost which runs every week online.
Andrew told the Observer he was delighted to have been chosen and the award was another welcome boost for his unique business which has gone from strength to strength since he opened the doors four years ago.
“Since being made redundant from my teaching career and founding UNIQ, I have been involved in so many new experiences, including TV appearances on Channel 4’s French Collection and Gok Wan’s, Fill Your House for Free; featuring in the Grand Designs Live show at The Excel in London, and taking part in a variety of Upcycling and Vintage furniture shows,” he said.
“It is great to have support from Theo because it’s not easy trying to raise the profile of the business and Theo has recognised my hard work and helped spread the word about what I do to his following.”
Small Business Sunday was set up by the entrepreneur in 2010 and Andrew is among 2,200 small businesses across the UK which have been given a boost.
Since leaving the the BBC show in 2013, Paphitis has focused on championing small businesses and retains ownership of High Street chains Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue.
“We are thrilled to welcome new #SBS members every week and highlight just how important it is to support our small businesses here in the UK,” he said.
“My vision is everyone who has ever won an #SBS re-tweet from me becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learnings. The website will also give a valuable profile to the winners chosen and I wish UNIQ Furniture every success.”
Anyone looking for a retweet should tweet him about their business on Sundays between 5pm and 7.30pm and include the hashtag #SBS.
Six lucky businesses are re‐tweeted every Monday at 8pm and then invited to enter their profile on the website, attend the annual #SBS networking event and take advantage of the networking opportunities.
Visit www.theopaphitissbs.com for more information.
