Experience business wins award for post covid innovation

A BUSINESSWOMAN from Henley has won two awards for her countryside experience business.

Sam Evans, who runs Humphreys of Henley, was recognised by the Entrepreneurs Circle for business innovation and leadership.

She was named national entrepreneur implementer of the year and ambassador of the year for the community group of entrepreneurs.

Ms Evans, 57, who lives in Mill Lane, founded her business in 2013 after leaving her corporate job in management consultancy where she specialised in sales and performance management.

She said: “I had the idea, it was born from my absolute love for the British countryside. I was aware of visitors coming to the countryside and not making the most out of it and not knowing where to go.

“When I launched Humphreys I had 12 experiences and now we have just under 300. Guests enjoy everything from clay shooting, falconry and flying a Tiger Moth to exclusive tours of Windsor Castle and Blenheim Palace and fabulous evenings at the Henley Festival.”

Ms Evans said she hopes to grow the business to multimillion-pound levels over the next seven years. She said: “This isn’t just a business goal for me, it’s deeply personal. My ultimate ambition is to be the ambassador for the British countryside for the rest of my life.”

The coronavirus pandemic hit her business hard, losing her the majority of her bookings, but it was during that time that the former town councillor carried out a major restructure.

Ms Evans said: “The pandemic was the worst time of my professional life. We lost probably 95 per cent of our customers. Most of our customers are American so, when the skies were shut, they couldn’t come.

“I was really scared. I had worked very hard for a long time to bring the business to where it was. I tried to appeal to the British staycation market but there was not much appetite and it was the same for everyone in the travel industry.

“In 2023, I set a bold business goal: to become the go-to expert for all British countryside experiences and the exclusive partner for every five-star countryside hotel in the UK. I didn’t just set this goal. I remodelled my entire business to achieve it.

“We switched our model to partner with five-star hotels in the countryside. They provide fabulous, food and accommodation to these mainly American visitors and when they want to go visit a castle or a palace or do a countryside sport we are there to introduce it to them.

“Before, I was reaching out to customers in the US, tracking down high net worth individuals which worked and was fun but the new model is much better for the business and more scalable. We now have 25 five-star hotels we have partnered with.”

Ms Evans has also launched Humphreys Experience Hub, a portal for luxury hotels to manage their guests’ experiential needs.

Ms Evans said: “I am really excited for the future. We are going to carry on building partnerships with more hotels and I am aiming to work with 40 by April next year. By then everything will be a lot more scalable and then I am looking to partner with 80 hotels.”

Ms Evans won the Entrepreneur Circle ambassador of the year award for her work running a group in Windsor.

She said: “We have a monthly meeting which is full of learning. It is all about growing your business. We have a really wide range of members from those who work with concrete to design companies and they are of all different ages.

“One of the key reasons for the success of the group is the spirit of generosity, empathy, determination, persistence, and purpose. Running a business can be a lonely road but we’re all in it together.

“Our Windsor teammates are there to celebrate the successes and support each other through the tough times.

“We have got about 60 members in the group and of the eight awards given out by the Entrepreneurs Circle our members won three of them.”

Ms Evans said the impact of the award on small businesses like hers couldn’t be understated.

She said: “The impact of awards on any small business builds credibility and means we can go to our clients and partners to say you are working with an award-winning business and that gives them confidence, too.

“Winning these awards is for the very hard work that was put in. Small businesses generate a huge amount of revenue and employment.

“I wanted to make the business a success. It has changed shape from where I was originally but is better now.

“I never had my own business before and I was learning everything once I launched it. My father said if you are going to do something do it properly.”