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Does your business deserve a ‘Stevie’?

March 29, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

If your business has achieved indisputably fantastic results over the last 12 months, there could be a Stevie waiting for you at this year’s International Business Awards.

The awards are open to businesses in all sectors and of all sizes. Entrants will compete against similar businesses to ensure that a privately owned SME has as much chance of winning a Stevie as a company in the Fortune 100.

There are around 200 categories available to enter this year, spread across 19 key areas:

  • Management
  • Company-Organisation
  • Corporate Communications
  • Investor Relations & Public Relations
  • Creative
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology
  • Marketing
  • Products & Product Management
  • Support
  • Advertising
  • Advertising/Craft & Technique
  • Corporate Literature
  • Website or Blog
  • Interactive Multimedia
  • Video & Film
  • Video & Film – Technical & Craft
  • Live Events

Entry requirements and costs vary according to the type of award entered.

For achievements relating to individuals, teams, departments and new products, a submission of up to 500 words describing the entrant’s achievements since the beginning of 2009 is required. For individuals, this type of entry costs $225 (USD), while team achievements attract a fee of $375.

For achievements relating to advertising, websites, video or other media, the end product in question must be submitted along with a brief explanation of up to 100 words describing its objectives. For a single piece, entry costs $225, or $325 for an entire campaign.

The deadline for submissions is 12th May, bur entries will be accepted until 9th June if a $35 late fee is paid.

To request an entry kit, or for more information, visit: The International Business Awards.

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The return of The Pitch

March 4, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Crowd audience

Applications for The Pitch 2010 are now being accepted by Sift Media.

The Dragons’ Den style competition is now in its third year, and this year is running as part of The Business Factory, an initiative to support small business entrepreneurs.

Current and budding entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of experts – such as ex-Dragon Doug Richard – as they look to secure investment and top business advice.

Once again, there will be five regional heats before the national final held in London in November, during The Business Factory event.

The regional heats will take place as follows:

  • South West heat: Monday 21st June in Bristol
  • Northern heat: Thursday 1st July in Liverpool
  • South East heat: Thursday 15th July in London
  • Scottish heat: Thursday 29th July in Edinburgh
  • Midlands heat: Thursday 5th August in Birmingham

The deadline for entries for all regional heats is Tuesday 15th June.

To be eligible for the competition, you must be a UK resident and at least 16 years old at the time of entry. Your business must be UK based, privately owned company, no more than three years old at date of entry and with no more than 20 staff. You can also enter if you do not have a business yet, but do have a viable business idea.

To enter, visit the Pitch 2010 and download the attached entry form. Your entry will be judged by The Pitch’s team of experts, with the best making it through to the regional heats.

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Have you beaten the odds in Yorkshire or the Humber?

May 4, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Rowing teamwork

Some individuals need to overcome more challenging circumstances than others to succeed in starting up their businesses.

If you run a small or medium sized business in the Yorkshire or Humber area, you might want to enter the Biz Awards 2009.

With a £4,000 prize fund on offer, the awards offer business owners to chance to win recognition for overcoming barriers like lack of funding or personal injury.

There are five categories open for entry:

  • Business of the Year Award
  • Enterprise through Innovation Award
  • Fastest Growing Business Award
  • Enterprise in the Community Award
  • Best New Start Award

Entry forms can be downloaded from Biz Awards 2009, and must be returned by email before Wednesday 6th May 2009. The awards are free to enter.

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Start-ups, there’s extra time to shine

April 26, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Star award red and gold

The closing date for entries for the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards 2009 has been extended to 4th May.

The awards are open to any UK business under three years old and there is no fee to enter.

Take a look at Are you a start-up star? for more information.

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Celebrate business excellence, innovation and success

April 18, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Electric spark wire

One of the biggest business awards programmes in the UK opens its doors to national entries on Tuesday 21st April.

The National Business Awards National Programme 2009 is open to public and private sector organisations and celebrates business excellence in areas such as customer service, innovation and growth strategy.

There are nine categories available to enter:

  • The Badenoch & Clark Business of the Year Award
  • The Business Innovation of the Year Award
  • The City & Guilds Employer of the Year Award
  • The Customer Focus Award
  • The Entrepreneur of the Year Award
  • The Growth Strategy of the Year Award
  • The Health Work & Wellbeing Award for Small Business
  • The Orange Best Use of Technology in Business Award
  • The Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award

Registration costs £150 per category and must be completed by 3rd July. Once you are registered, you will have until 4th August 2009 to get your completed entries in.

Winners of the National Business Awards Regional Programme will go forward as finalists in the National Programme.

Visit the National Business Awards to register your interest.

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Would 10,000 GBP help unleash your business idea?

April 2, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Electric spark wire

Winweb, the makers of OnlineOffice, are calling for anyone with a start-up idea or existing business to submit their details to the Business ’09 Competition for the chance to win cash to help make their venture a success.

Launched on November 17th 2008 during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008, the competition is set to help one entrepreneur start or grow their business with a cash injection of £10,000.

You have until 11.59pm on 1st October to send in your entries, after which time, a panel of business experts (including LaunchLab.co.uk founder Dan Matthews and Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones) will short-list the 25 best ideas.

The shortlist will then go up for the public vote from 15th October, with the winner announced in November during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009.

Visit the WinWeb Blog or The Small Business Blog for more information.

Update: the deadline for entries has been extended to 31st October 2009 with the shortlist revealed after 15th November.

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Are you a start-up star?

March 31, 2009 By Emily Leary 1 Comment

Star award red and gold

The ninth annual HSBC Start-Up Stars awards celebrate initiative and dedication among UK small business owners.

In addition to the main Start-Up Star award, which recognises overall business achievement, this year sees the introduction of three new awards designed to reward international reach, environmental achievement and graduate entrepreneurship.

The new HSBC Start-Up Stars categories are:

  • The Start-Up Star International Award – for businesses that have expanded into international markets
  • The Start-Up Star Green Award – for businesses driven by environmental issues
  • The Start-Up Star Graduate Award – for university students and recent post-graduates (permits entries from businesses that are not yet actively trading)

The winner of the main award will take away:

  • £25,000 cash
  • £5,000 of Google advertising
  • Free consultancy at Google’s UK headquarters

The winners of the three new awards will each scoop:

  • £10,000 cash
  • £2,000 of Google advertising
  • Free consultancy at Google’s UK headquarters

The HSBC Start-Up Stars awards are open to any UK business that is not more than three years old. Entries must be submitted online by Monday 27th April and there is no fee to enter.

Update: The deadline for entries has been extended to 4th May 2009.

Visit HSBC Start-Up Stars for more information.

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A taste of nectar for successful SMEs

March 28, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Awards trophies

Loyalty programme provider Nectar Business has become the latest firm to launch a set of awards for UK small businesses.

The Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2009 recognise “best practice, great ideas and outstanding achievements” among small to medium enterprises in the UK.

There are three categories to choose from:

  • Small Business of the Year
  • Start Up of the Year
  • Entrepreneur of the Year

To enter the Small Business of the Year category, your business must be over two years old, have a maximum of 50 members of staff, and have a turnover of no more than £5.6 million.

To be eligible for the Start Up of the Year category, your business must be less than two years old, have a maximum of 50 members of staff, and have a turnover of no more than £5.6 million.

The Entrepreneur of the Year is open to any individual who has successfully created a business from a “completely new idea”, provided that they now employ fewer than 250 people.

There is no fee for entering the awards and application forms can be downloaded from Nectar Business. The closing date for entries is 18th May 2009, after which time, a winner in each category will be selected and awarded £2,000 cash and 50,000 Nectar points.

For more information, visit Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2009.

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Pitch yourself against Britain’s best

March 24, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Crowd silhouette

Sift Media, the online publisher behind businesszone.co.uk and ukbusinessforums has opened its doors to entries for The Pitch 2009.

Now in its second year, The Pitch is a Dragon’s Den style contest in which entrepreneurs in five regions attempt to an expert panel that their businesses are the most exciting and innovative in Britain.

To enter, your business must be a maximum of three years old, based in the UK, and employ no more than 20 members of staff.

To enter, register your interest online. If the team at The Pitch 2009 are suitably impressed, you’ll be invited to pitch at one regional events taking place throughout June and July.

The regional events are scheduled for:

  • 9 June: Bristol (deadline for registration 18th May)
  • 17 June: Manchester (deadline for registration 25th May)
  • 23 June: Glasgow (deadline for registration 1st June)
  • 8 July: Birmingham (deadline for registration 15th June)
  • 14 July: London (deadline for registration 22nd June)

The five regional winners, plus one wildcard voted for by businesszone.co.uk members will then meet in London during Enterprise Week (16th-22nd November) to pitch again in the hope of securing a package of business support worth £50,000.

For more information, visit The Pitch 2009.

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Grow your business at Olympia

March 20, 2009 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Sapling

If you happen to be in London, it’s not too late to get down to the Growing Your Own Business Conference & Exhibition in the Grand Hall at Olympia, London.

The event, which is being held throughout today and tomorrow is aimed at anyone looking to start, develop or grow their business.

On the programme for this afternoon:

  • ‘Maintaining and growing cash flow, sales and profitability’ with Geoffery Matthews, MD of Matthews Business Associates
  • ‘Leveraging social networking sites to generate business’ with Mike Segall, MD of The Business Resources Group
  • ‘Funding your business growth’ with Emmett Kilduff, CEO of cmypitch.com
  • ‘Creative marketing on a shoestring’ with Carl Pihl, Founder and MD of Drinkyz
  • ‘Giving your sales a boost’ with Adam Goodyer, Founder of Concert Live

On tomorrow’s programme:

  • ‘Building a business during a recession’ with John Paleomylites, Founder of BeatThatQuote.com
  • ‘Transforming your business into a successful franchise operation’ with Brian Smart, Director General of the British Franchise Association
  • ‘Taking your business to the next level’ with Vincent McKevitt, Founder of Tossed Salad Bars
  • ‘Profiting from email marketing’ with Steve Kemish, Client Services Director of Adestra
  • ‘Retaining your customers with outstanding customer service’ with Derek Bishop, MD of Abeo Consulting
  • ‘Getting your business noticed online’ with Mitesh Soma, Founder of ChemistDirect.co.uk

Tickets are £13 on the door.

If you can’t make it down, there are also Growing Your Own Business Business Conference & Exhibitions being held at:

SECC, Glasgow
Friday June 5, 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday June 6, 10:00 – 16:00

NEC, Birmingham
Friday October 2, 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday October 3, 10:00 – 16:00

RDS, Dublin
Friday November 20, 11:00 – 18:00
Saturday November 21, 11:00 – 17:00

Visit Grow Your Own Business for more information.

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