Bradford on Avon gift business From You To Me is having a great year, despite losing out at the finals of the Local Business Accelerators last month.

The company, which sells journals that capture, share and discover life stories, joined 14 other businesses in the competition, which is an initiative by the regional press industry to boost local businesses.

From You To Me reached the regional finals of the LBAs in March and received an advertising package with the Wiltshire Times and mentoring from Stella Weeks, of Mainline Employment Ltd.

They missed out on the final prize of mentoring from Deborah Meaden, a free ad campaign in the company’s local paper, and £10k cash, which went to The York Cocoa House.

Neil Coxon, director of From You to Me, said: “It was a great experience and really beneficial for us to look at how we advertise our business.

“We are very good at marketing to the trade but found it difficult when it came to the end consumer because it is a hard product to explain. This was a great opportunity to find the best way to communicate with the end user.

Mr Coxon, of Murhill, set up the business five years ago after making a personal book for his father, who died of terminal cancer. This led to creating books with titles for people and occasions and today the company has sold one million books, with 25 different titles, in eight languages. The books ask questions people may never have thought of to create a family history and story. Mr Coxon said: “We are having a great year at the moment. We are up 30 per cent year on year and we launch in the States in January. The early signs look very positive. I have met so many people who have great ideas and the enthusiasm to make it happen, but don’t tell people about it. You have to market yourself well and be brave enough to shout about it.”