Today threatened to be a sh*t day. It’s one I’ve been waiting on for weeks and despite the best laid plans coming unstuck and some news that broke my heart, I got to announce to the world that I am a Black British Business Award finalist.
When I think of the phrase ‘humble yourself’, I always think it comes in the form of a slap, real or proverbial but I’ve now learnt it can come in an acknowledgement.
BBBA stands differently when it comes to awards. When you look at some of the past finalists it’s clear, from the start, that the people selected were the best of the best. They were about their business and didn’t come to play and when you think of their trajectory, the calibre is clear.
A Dragon, an apprentice, THE Black farmer, a child prodigy, a Hollywood agent. Here are a group that are undeniable. In their talent. In their achievements.
So as the 2022 cohort sat together virtually for the first time last week as finalists and BBBA co-founder Sophie Chandauka spoke life into us I couldn’t help but get emotional.
Building a business is more than just registering an entity and creating a logo. What the books don’t tell you is that every layer there is a new challenge. With growth comes a new challenge. With every new ounce of ambition comes a new challenge. And challenges don’t have to catastrophic but they will stretch you and test your spirit.
My business has been blessed but like everyone with big dreams, you are forever asking yourself if you’re doing the right thing. Are you doing too much or too little? Are you making the right or wrong sacrifices? Are your kids going to get why mummy was constantly in meetings and had to work? Are you going to wake up and missed life because you were fighting to realise success and I’ve probably written before, this journey can be lonely.
So as I sat and listened to Sophia tell us to embrace and acknowledge this moment, to digest the fact that a panel of highly favoured industry professionals had chosen you because they saw you and felt the value of your work, I exhaled.
For a moment I let go of doubt, of the weight of others expectations, I let go of the moments of failure, the struggles and finally felt seen. To have someone way beyond me just say “you’re doing ok” just meant so much. BBBA is more than award. And more humility poured on me when I saw who I was categorised with.
Suzann McLean and Trix Worrell. Sorry?! Someone, somewhere made an admin error that noone’s spotted. I so want it to be real that I can sit amongst these titans that I’m avoiding correcting them.
Why do I hold them so highly? Well Suzann has turned Theatre Peckham into a pinnacle theatre in London. With some of the best in talent running through its doors, Suzann has left an indelible mark on the theatre even in the midst of a pandemic. And Trix Worrell? Trix Worrell wrote the most iconic Black British sitcom – likely to be the only one of its kind on British television – Desmond’s. Yes, that one.
I know it sounds clichéd – and I definitely want to take home that stunning BBBA statuette – but being here alone is a win. And it really is so much more than being recognised. It’s that one moment in time where I can let down my guard and take some time to sit with myself and speak to the woman who decided to start a business (again), the mother grafting so her kids see another way and the little girl who dares to dream even when things seem out of reach.
We made it, kid. We made it.
