A LYMM entrepreneur is celebrating after winning an award from former Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis for the second time.

Rachel Spencer, 48, met with the small business champion at his annual Small Business Sunday event at the ICC in Birmingham on Friday after he chose her holiday home, Sunnyside Cottage, as one of his winners.

Two years ago, the former Warrington Guardian journalist was recognised with the same award for coaching small business owners in the pet industry to have the confidence to promote their work.

Rachel opened the doors to a new business, Sunnyside Cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay, in June 2023 and entered the awards again as Theo is a huge dog lover and was thrilled to collect her certificate last weekend.

Rachel said: “To have Theo’s recognition for a second time is such a boost. When I bought Sunnyside Cottage I wanted to get the word out about how dog-friendly we are.

“We make it all about the dogs, with a welcome pack for each canine guest with treats, and a nautical bow tie or bandana to wear on their holiday.

Warrington Guardian:

“There’s a biscuit barrel and a toy box with balls for dogs to take to the beach and we even provide Dogrobes dressing gowns for them so they can dry off.

“Theo is a dog lover so I talked about this in my application and I was over the moon to win and took along a goody bag for his Cocker Spaniel Gladys and an invitation to stay!

“I’ve applied all the publicity advice I share with my coaching clients for their pet businesses and it’s helped Sunnyside Cottage to stand out as a destination for dogs.

“We only opened last June and the cottage has been called ‘the most dog-friendly holiday cottage in Yorkshire’ and appeared in the Guardian’s top 20 dog-friendly places to stay, and we’re nearly fully booked.”

SBS began in Theo’s kitchen back in 2010 when he had the idea to give small businesses a boost by retweeting their social media pages to his followers.

Each week Theo, 64, urges people to share the passion behind their businesses and chooses six winners, three from Twitter and three from Instagram. The SBS community now has over 4,000 members.

Theo added: “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. “My vision is that everyone who has ever won an #SBS retweet 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 Rachel and Sunnyside Cottage every success.”

Find out more about Rachel’s work at www.rachelspencer.co.uk