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The 2010 Women Into the Network Best New Business winner Jo Foster talks to bdaily

Jo Foster won the Women Into the Network Best New Business award, sponsored by The Federation of Small Businesses, in 2010. She tells bdaily about her business, Dillies, what winning the award did for her and the company and also explains what benefits WIN can bring.

Name: Jo Foster
Business: Dillies
Award Won: Best New Business

Could you tell us a little bit about your business?

Dillies is a retail business based in Hexham, Northumberland. We sell fresh flowers, handmade chocolates and fine wines, ports and champagnes. We offer a solution for gifts and present all our products beautifully in various packaging, boxes and styles. We have been trading since January 2010 and have attained a strong customer base in both the private and commercial sectors as well as nationwide.

What did winning the award do for you on both a personal and company level?

I received a great deal of recognition locally following my win, from customers coming in specifically to congratulate me to the local paper doing a piece on the award. It is hard to tell whether the award increased business as Dillies was entering its first Christmas, so sales were on the up anyway.

However, Hexham is a small town and my business has grown dramatically through word of mouth alone, so I am pretty sure that the PR from the award would have helped to increase sales as well putting Dillies on the map.

What other benefits do you receive from WIN?

As many businesswomen as possible should enter to show what we can do. The benefits are from recognition from your local community and beyond to the increased turnover from knowing that you are doing something right.

WIN offers support and a network for women in all businesses, so knowing there is someone out there that can help is always good. To win a WIN award also gave me a well-needed boost, as you constantly worry and wonder if its all going to be okay and receiving my award made me think that it would be okay.

On receiving the award the PR we have received via WIN has been great. So not only do you get some great coverage straight away after winning an award but this continues for the whole of the year. When we last appeared in the press we had many customers coming in and congratulating us.

Tickets to attend the WIN Awards evening are £75 + VAT (£65 + VAT for WIN members) and include drinks reception, a 3-course meal and live entertainment.
For more information on how to enter or book tickets for the event itself, please email awards@womenintothenetwork.co.uk, or call 0191 385 6619, or visit: http://www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/awards.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jonny Marshall .