Team Lincolnshire ambassador Shortlisted For Prestigious National Award

Speaking of the achievement Samantha Burlton, joint owner and Marketing Director at Make An Entrance said: 

“What phenomenal news to start 2023 with!  I’m beyond delighted that Make An Entrance has received this level of recognition in an award that is fiercely contested and very close to our hearts.  We’ve always been incredibly proud of being a family business and this award recognises the vision, hard work and dedication of all those involved in our business."

Make An Entrance is already a multi-award-winning business. In 2022 they were awarded Family Business of the Year (East Midlands) by the Federation of Small Businesses in their Celebrating Small Business Awards.  They were also picked by Theo Paphitis to win his Twitter award, Small Business Sunday (#SBS), have won the #SmartSocial Award and Stuart Burlton, joint owner and Managing Director of Make An Entrance, was made King of Doormats by #RoyalConnections, again on Twitter also in 2022.  They have been recognised by the Institute of Directors in 2020 when they were finalists in two categories – Family Business of the Year and SME of the Year – and prior to that Samantha was recognised as Northern England Business Woman of the Year (2019).

Founded from charitable roots, Make An Entrance has been operating online since 2005 supplying homes and businesses across the UK with made to measure door mats of every type and style imaginable including traditional coir door mats, logo, textile, custom made, personalised and gift and seasonal door mats.

Husband and wife team, Stuart and Samantha Burlton, created the business following in the footsteps of Stuart’s father Allen who, in the 1990s, managed a Royal School for the Blind factory where visually impaired people were employed making handmade mats. The Burltons have prevented this traditional skill from dying out and are now training a new generation of mat makers.

Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United who organise the National Family Business of the Year Awards commented on Make An Entrance’s shortlisting saying: 

“Family firms are the backbone of the UK economy and contribute significantly in so many ways.  Family firms deserve all the recognition they can get for all the good that they do in terms of employment, income generation and wealth creation not forgetting their continued charitable endeavours and investment into the communities in which they operate. 

"These awards are now in their eleventh year and each year they have raised the profile of the sector, crowned some incredible winners and discovered some true family business gems along the way.  Winners over the years have come from all corners of the UK, been large and small, multi-generational and starting out but above all they share their underlying values, purpose and desire to succeed as a family firm.  All of those shortlisted in this year’s awards deserve their moment in the spotlight and we look forward to crowning the winners in the summer."

Team Lincolnshire wishes our ambassador the very best of luck! You can find out more about Make an Entrance here.