A MINEHEAD business has been given a personal boost by retail entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, a former BBC Dragons’ Den star.

Keith Hunt, who owns Our Precious Earth, in Holloway Street, messaged Theo about the shop as part of the entrepreneur’s Small Business Sunday initiative.

He was then selected as one of the weekly winners for whom Theo re-tweeted and re-posted to his more than 500,000 Twitter and Instagram followers.

The Small Business Sunday weekly initiative was set up by Theo in 2010 and now has more than 3,500 winners and supports small businesses in the UK.

For Mr Hunt, the effect was that his shop’s website received more followers and extra orders for its sustainable products.

Our Precious Earth, in Minehead, has been posted by retail entrepreneur Theo Paphitis.
Our Precious Earth, in Minehead, has been boosted by retail entrepreneur Theo Paphitis. (Keith Hunt)

The shop was also profiled on the Small Business Sunday website, which is exclusive to all of the initiative’s winners.

Mr Hunt started Our Precious Earth last February after experiencing what he described as a ‘light bulb moment’ when taking part in a beach clean where he saw the amount of plastic washed up by the sea.

He said: “I opened less than 12 months ago and with hard work and so much support from my customers, my business is growing well.

“It is great to have support from Theo, who has recognised my hard work and helped spread the word about what I do to his followers.”

Small business champion Theo said: “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 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 Keith and Our Precious Earth every success.”

Anybody looking for a re‐tweet from Theo should tweet on Twitter or do an Instagram post to him about their business on a Sunday between 5 pm and 7.30 pm and include the hashtag #SBS.

Six winners are then chosen to be re‐tweeted every Monday at 8 pm and invited to enter their profiles on the website, attend the annual #SBS networking event, and take advantage of networking opportunities.

Theo said: “I was struck by the number of business owners on Twitter who wanted to tell me about their new products and services.

“Small Business Sunday was born so that people have a specific time slot to tweet and can pitch their ‘sell’ directly to me.”