Laurencekirk business crowned winner at national awards

A business owner from Laurencekirk has been chosen as one of just six winners in the eBay for Business Awards 2022, a national award held each year by eBay to find the best and most inspiring businesses on eBay UK.

Jan Tait, founder of Amaviti Jewellers won the Be Your Own Boss award

Jan Tait, founder of Amaviti Jewellers has been awarded the Be Your Own Boss award, winning a £10,000 cash grant and a package of business and marketing support to help their business thrive and grow over the coming year.

At a time when businesses across the country are facing a tough trading environment, this support will help Amaviti Jewellers thrive and grow.

Jan is a mum to three autistic kids, and decided to set up her own jewellery business instead of going back to the workplace to manage looking after her children with employment and her passion for thrifting and vintage jewellery. Jan thinks about the sustainability of every item she sells - and has a vision to turn Amaviti into Scotland’s best online pre-loved jewellery shop.

Jan said: "Winning this year’s “Be Your Own Boss” Award feels like the ultimate commendation for all the hard work myself and my family have put in to kickstarting Amaviti.

"Thanks to eBay’s amazing platform, I have been able to work from home and support my family financially, while accessing a global market.

"As my own boss I have total control of my work-life balance, sometimes combining both with family trips around Scotland, treasure hunting new stock! I also get to focus on the aspects I enjoy the most— finding, researching, polishing, and photographing each item.

"Discovering and forwarding on preloved items to their new owners is every inch a personal project, but it’s also a working collaboration propelled forward with the help of my family and eBay."

The eBay for Business Awards is an annual celebration of the best and most inspiring of eBay’s hundreds of thousands strong army of small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

Entries this year were wide ranging, including businesses from all sectors and of all types, from generational family businesses and long-standing enterprises making the move online, to kitchen-table start ups and enterprising side hustlers.

Pre-loved helped this year’s businesses win big, with resale businesses - selling everything from trading cards and second-hand tech - winning in five out of six categories.

Businesses and consumers alike have increasingly been looking to pre-loved and second-hand to shop and sell in a way that’s better for both their wallets and the planet. Last year, eBay saw the sale of 1 preloved item every second.

Murray Lambell, General Manager of eBay UK, said: “Each year I’m blown away by the calibre of the small businesses who enter the eBay for Business Awards.

"This year has been no exception, and I am deeply impressed by each of our winners, including Amaviti Jewellers. Congratulations!

“Building a successful business is a fantastic achievement: it takes real knowledge, skill and determination to weather the types of challenges I know our small businesses have faced. I’ve seen just how resilient our entrepreneurs are - and we will do everything we can to support them.”