A MOBILE catering business, a physiotherapist’s, a fashion and jewellery shop and a boutique hotel are the finalists in the 2009 Business Idol competition.
Their founders will attend a gala evening next week, when the winner of the £1,000 prize will be chosen.
The competition is being run by the Big Breakfast Club, in association with The Shuttle and its sister paper, the Stourbridge News.
The catering company is Choc ‘n’ Hog, set up by David Sidwell in Hartlebury. He provides meals, ice cream extravaganzas and pig roasts to a wide range of events.
The physiotherapist is Dan Taylor. He has opened his centre in Stourbridge to bring relief to people with aches and pains of all sorts, while specialising in sports injuries.
Terri Beardsmore, then a Kinver estate agent, bought Dunsley Hall to turn the ancient pile into apartments but fell in love with the place and transformed it into a boutique hotel instead.
The fourth with a chance to win the £1,000 is Laura Davies. After selling women’s fashions on a Stourbridge market stall, she took the plunge and opened Polka Dot Paradise on High Street.
The finalists’ gala evening will be held at La Brasserie restaurant in Kidderminster next Wednesday, when club members and invited guests will have the final say.
Gary Halpin, chairman of the club’s judging panel, said: “Selecting the top 12 from all the 27 entrants was difficult enough but whittling this down to four was a massive task.
“In doing so, we took into account the views of all our members and it will be fascinating to see who wins through.
“We had a few misgivings about running this event in the midst of the economic downturn but the response was amazing. It shows that people in this area are not short of business enterprise and we hope to see many of them joining the breakfast club.”
The Big Breakfast Club meets at La Brasserie every Tuesday, at 7am where members exchange ideas and swap contacts in a warm and friendly atmosphere. All it costs is £10 for breakfast.
For more details, call David Chill, on 01905 776730.
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