South East Self-employed / Freelancer Award
Winner: Sonya Dibbin, Adore Your Outdoors, Winchester
This award recognises freelancers and the self-employed and celebrates the tenacity and drive it takes to go it alone. Judges looked for considerable progression, a sound business plan, and a sense of purpose for their future.
Following a redundancy, Sonya decided to follow her dreams of making a living whilst spending more time in the great outdoors by setting up her own business, and in 2019 ‘Adore your Outdoors’ was born. As mum to a young son, the flexibility of self-employment offered Sonya the chance to fulfil her ambition of sharing her love of the outdoors with others and to build a legacy she could be proud of. At the same time, self-employment offered the freedom for Sonya to fit work around her son.
From wellbeing walks to nature connection and forest bathing guide training, Sonya Dibbin's ‘Adore Your Outdoors’ fosters profound reconnection with Hampshire's natural world. Guided by her transformative journey, Sonya offers public events, team-building experiences and private bookings, sharing nature's restorative power with individuals and communities alike.
South West Franchise Business Award
Winner: Dan Scarborough, Your Man with a Van, Poole
This award celebrates a franchisee who demonstrated the ability to perform exceptionally well in all areas of their business, regardless of the size of the business or the sector they work in.
Dan Scarborough started this business on his own, but after a few years decided to branch out into a franchise model. He sold his first initial branch to his first pilot franchisee and then started the next branch. From the start he wanted franchisees to be a team, a family. They need to feel valued and respected. Dan was aware a lot of people can’t afford a franchise, so created a flexible franchise model with a low entry fee of £1,000 plus VAT and no minimum contract. The onus is then on them to provide ongoing value to the franchisee so they stay.
They now have 17 branches across the UK from Glasgow to Poole. Dan provides practical knowledge through his own experience, there is comprehensive induction training programme, a franchisee group chat and every branch has a 5 star Google rating.
The high-profile FSB ‘Celebrating Small Business Awards’ are free to enter and open to all, (FSB members and non-members). Nicky Kildunne, Development Manager (Hampshire, Dorset and Isle of Wight) at FSB, said: “The FSB Awards is an amazing chance to network, be recognised, and gain exposure. Winning an award is a fantastic chance to put your business in the spotlight.
There are 5.5 million small businesses who employ 16.7 million people in the UK. They really are the backbone of our economy and at the heart of our communities. They embody the creativity and resilience that fuels the South Coast’s prosperity but many have faced an incredibly tough economic climate over the last few years. It’s therefore important to not just recognise, but celebrate, their achievements and contributions with the FSB Awards”.