Finding, Entering and Winning Business Awards

Feb 14 • Articles • 3904 Views • Comments Off

As well as having won the Vivid Green Award at the Remote Employment Awards 2009, Amanda has made the finals of a number of national business awards through 2010. She is also the co-founder of The Mumpreneur Awards, and knows exactly what she’s looking for in a good award entry! Here is a brief rundown of her insight into Awards. Should you wish for Amanda to attend an event to run a workshop on awards, please contact her through the website.

Why is it important to enter business awards?

There are so many good reasons to enter business awards, so I shall simply list my favourites:

Gain credibility for you and your business: If you win just one business award, you have become an award-winning business. People will want to do business from you, and will buy from you. This will lead to an increase in sales, new stockists and clients, maybe new employees and additional growth of your business.

Learn more about you and your business: Entering awards is a fantastic way to stop and reflect on what you have achieved. You’ll learn more about yourself, and will ponder on things you hadn’t ever considered before. You may even inspire yourself just a little! (It’ll also show you where you need to improve!)

It’s Free: The majority of business awards are free to enter. You should never pay to enter business awards. So you really have nothing to lose. It won’t even take up much time. Once you’ve written one award entry, you’ll find that you can adapt this for every awards you enter.

Finding…

There’s no right answer when it comes to how you can find out about business awards.

Google search is obviously a good place to start, searching for awards in your local area, in your sector, for women/mums in business, however beware that on page one of google for “business awards” you’ll find awards you have to pay to enter. Do not pay to enter these awards.

You’ll find that some websites will list business awards, and their closing dates. These may be websites dedicated to business awards, or they may be business support websites. Once you find a website listing awards, make sure you bookmark it and check back regularly.

Networking is a good way to find out about awards… both online and offline. If you hear about an awards that could benefit others, tell them about it. Whether that be at your local networking group, through an online forum, or on twitter. Share what you find!

Your local newspaper will be a good source of information on awards. I always keep an eye on the business section of my paper, and every once in a while, details of an award deadline will pop up!

Entering…

There’s no right and wrong when it comes to entering awards, but here are my top tips…

  • Enter yourself. You know most about you!
  • Prepare to boast. Never lie, but emphasise the good bits!
  • Don’t be concerned about being a small business, or a representative of a larger company. Use it to your advantage… “This is what I achieved with no team backing me up…”
  • Check the word count. There may be a limit. If there is, stick to it… But if it says 1000 words, they’re expecting 1000 words, and not 100. Be detailed, but concise.
  • Believe in yourself. If you don’t think you’re good enough, the judges of the awards will be uninspired by your entry.

Winning

Bear in mind, if you enter awards, you may just be shortlisted and could potentially even win! So remember…

  • Ensure you are available on the date of the ceremony when entering
  • Be prepared to potentially pay for a ticket
  • When you’re shortlisted, get your press release sent out, and shout about it
  • Don’t be expected to win, and then you won’t be downhearted if you don’t. And if you do… Bonus!

 

by Amanda Farren, Ella Announcements

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