The period for online submissions to 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards will be closing soon: on Friday 21 July.
A prestigious and comprehensive programme that celebrates the growing number of female small business owners from across the country, this year’s Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards has thus far seen thousands of entries and – unlike other awards programmes – online entry is absolutely FREE.
While research suggests that the vast majority of Australians who work in hospitality and tourism sectors are female, a significant minority of these women own small businesses or hold senior leadership roles. Therefore, female travel and hospitality small business owners are especially being encouraged to enter the 2023 Awards to inspire more females into ownership positions within the sectors.
According to Australian Government data, female small business owners currently represent more than one-third of all small businesses, and 2022-released data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a 46 per cent jump in women business owners during the past two decades.
From tour guides, farmers and mechanics to compounding chemists and environmentalists, the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards is arguably among the most diverse in terms of the breadth of represented industries and sectors, with more than 55 small business categories and four individual categories.
“There’s no doubting the rising success of female small business owners from all corners of this country,” says Steve Loe, Awards Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions, which coordinates the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.
“Precedent Productions has been running the Australian Small Business Champion Awards since 1999 but especially during the past few years, we’ve noticed such a steep rise in the success of female-owned small businesses that we deemed it appropriate to have a standalone awards programme that showcases and honours the truly impressive work of women in small business,” adds Mr Loe.
Seasoned business awards judge, Jo Buchanan who is also the COO of Castaway Forecasting, says awards can be highly-lucrative, especially to small businesses, despite the time and effort – and in some cases, costs – associated with application processes.
“An award from a credible source can help to signify that a small business has ‘arrived’ and can also really work wonders in terms of boosting morale,” says Ms Buchanan.
“Telling your customers or clients how great your business is simply pales in comparison to independent, third party endorsement. Business awards hold huge marketing power, which can ultimately boost your bottom line.
“It’s safe to presume that the vast majority of Australian women in small business would be time-poor and so, the time and effort required for a quality award application can be initially off-putting; however, the long-term benefits can be simply priceless,” adds Ms Buchanan.
EXPERT TOP TIPS FOR SUBMITTING A WINNING BUSINESS AWARD APPLICATION
1. Review the criteria and eligibility guidelines. Before putting any work into the application, ensure you are actually within the rules of entry. This also puts you in the right mindset to highlight your winning qualities in-keeping with the judging criteria
2. Answer all the questions. A missed question is like a missed element on your food plate; it’s typically disappointing.
3. Don’t hide your financials. Award judges are bound by confidentiality and most have run businesses themselves so understand and can see through your numbers. Sometimes it’s the financials that differentiate one business from others in the running.
4. Spill the tea. Don’t shy away from explaining the challenges of your business journey. It’s overcoming the challenges that often results in a business’s biggest successes.
5. Don’t worry about the occasional spelling mistake. You aren’t penalised for it and the judges can see through it.
6. Have fun with your application. Be creative and use humour where appropriate. It will help you to stand-out as memorable.
7. Back yourself. If you have poured your heart and soul into your business, but think you are still unworthy of an award, apply anyway if you’re within the rules of eligibility. If your small business serves a community and the families of your employees and you have some learnings to tell, you ARE good enough!
8. Do all you can to attend the main event. Such events are excellent for networking and enjoy the praise!
Created and managed by Precedent Productions – a small business in its own right – the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards will culminate in a National Presentation Evening Gala Event to be hosted by popular Australian broadcaster, Deborah Knight, and held on Saturday 23 September 2023 at the new Western Sydney Conference Centre at Penrith in NSW.
Finalists of the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards will be notified during August.
For more information and to submit an entry form before the 21 July 2023 closing date, visit: womensbusinesschampions.com.au.
