The Precious Awards 2009

'It was the best one yet'...that's how our sponsors summed up the 2009 Precious Awards, sponsored by Pearson plc, which took place on November 16.

We had asked our guests to 'dress up' (cryptic huh?) but they truly did us proud as finalists and guests arrived in an array of beautiful dresses and stunning shoes. Our co-host Rasheed Ogunlaru even wore a silver suit!

The first part of the evening bore witness to some furious networking - which is what Precious is all about - over some wine and food - and there was a genuine air of positivity and optimism all around.

Then the awards presentation kicked off (hosted beautifully by Rasheed and Jessica Huie) and for me it all passed in a flurry, thank goodness we recorded it. Some of the most poignant moments included Jessica Elliot, winner of the PRECIOUS Young Entrepreneur of the Year dedicating her award to her friend Daniel De Gale and Jo Behari, the PRECIOUS Entrepreneur of the Year, busting into tears on hearing she had won!

I'm really proud of all our finalists and I was struck by how determined, passionate, humble and indeed how very precious they all were. I wished we could have given awards to all of them, yet as the saying goes and as the judges said repeatedly throughout the judging - they are all winners. Indeed, and we'll be doing our best to support all of them.

Click here for a list of the 2009 PRECIOUS Awards winners

And we're off

It's that time of year already, I can hardly belive it, I'm really excited that the Precious Awards 2009 have launched. www.preciousawards.com Bring on those brilliant female entrepreneurs of colour!

It's great that we are working with Pearson again (our lovely headline sponsors) and we're being supported by our partners at the British Library too. We've also secured another great line-up of judges. Our presenters are pretty special too (yes that's you Jessica Huie and Rasheed Ogunlaru)

Last years' Precious Awards winners have gone from strength to strength, the latest news is that our Entrepreneurs of the Year, La Diosa, are all set to showcase their beautiful brand at Buckingham Palace this month!!

I'm really looking forward to discovering the entrepreneurs that this year's nominations will bring and maybe gain an insight into the effect the recession has had. on those passionate and strong enough to set up or grow a business.

C'mon lets celebrate

Things are looking great for this year's Precious Awards; we have some great sponsors, a lovely venue and some special judges including Sonita Alleyne, CEO of cross-platform production company Somethin' Else(which is the largest independent radio producer in the UK and a top ten producer of TV entertainment) and Marcia Williams, Head of Diversity at the UK Film Council.

Once again, it was really bought home to me why there is still a need for initiatives such as the Precious Awards.
A few days ago I was chatting to a female entrepreneur via MSN:
"Your name came up just the other day" I said,
"Oh really?" she asked, "Why?"
I explained to her that someone had nominated her or was about to nominate her for a Precious Award.
"Oh no" she said, “I am sure that there are other people out there more deserving than me. Maybe I'll enter next year."
This woman, lets call her Annie, has been running her successful business for about five years, she has a healthy turnover and is respected in her industry yet was reluctant to come forward for some recognition.

"I think the awards are great" Annie said, "I just don't think I am ready yet."

I was disappointed but not surprised. There are so many women of colour running successful businesses up and down the country, yet they feel unsure or nervous of accepting recognition.

The Awards are not just about celebrating entrepreneurs, they are about creating role models too. We are trying to create a legacy, where young girls and women are surrounded by the stories of successful women who look like them too. Where its commonplace to hear of a women of colour setting up her first, second or third business or heading to the top in corporate UK, and firmly believe that they can do it too.
That's what the awards are all about, the Precious Awards are about women like 'Annie'. So, if you know of a woman of colour, who is running a great business or is steering a leadership role within corporate UK, then nominate her today. Just head to: www.preciousawards.com

The Mothers of Invention 3

On Monday I attended another excellent event run by the British Library. Precious loves the British Library! They put on a great range of events(not just for entrepreneurs)and they have a lovely team of hard working people who have a real passion for the library, who pull it all together. Over the years we have developed a good relationship and we are very proud to be partners ( of the British Library that is and not the lovely team!)

Anyway back to Monday night's event; The Mothers of Invention 3 was a celebration of International Womens Month, and the chance to put questions to some of the female entrepreneurs running some of Britain's most successful businesses.

It was a real mix of a line up that sounded odd on paper but really worked in practise. Amongst the guests was Jessica Huie, founder of ethnic greeting card company, Colorblind cards, and also the 2007 Precious Entrepreneur of the Year.

Although Jess has a very high profile , it was the first time I had heard her talk about her journey. How she built up her business while juggling single parenthood with working for Max Clifford and writing a column for a magazine, its truly inspirational. She's a lovely, friendly person too!

Also on the panel was Lorraine Heggessey chief executive of talkbackThames, and Sian Roddick, owner of "erotic emporium" Coco De Mer. Sam was funny; talking about blowjobs and sex toys, while letting off the odd expletive, bought some gasps from some sections of the audience but just made me laugh. Honestly what did they expect? Don't they know what type of shop she owns?