Article contributed by Heather Douglas.
Do you remember starting your business?
You got excited about your business idea. You bit the bullet and got it off the ground. You’ve worked hard to get it to where it is. The day-to-day challenges of starting and running a business keep you on your toes, and there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in having done it all yourself and got to where you are.
Having been both an entrant and a judge in many other awards programmes before starting The David Awards, I know firsthand that entering an award takes a good bit of preparation and care. It also pays to tailor an entry to the category or award you are entering. If you are going to spend the time, it makes sense that it has to be worth your while.
Heather Douglas, Founder, The David Awards
What are The David Awards?
The David Awards is the only non-industry-specific national awards programme specifically targeting SMEs throughout New Zealand. Now in their 10th year, the Awards recognise those unsung heroes at the smaller end of the business scale which form the backbone of the New Zealand economy, taking on the Goliaths and often punching well above their weight in doing so.
So why bother entering an Award?
Isn’t it just a time-consuming exercise which will take your eye off the ball for a bit and serve no real purpose? At best, isn’t it just a bit of ego-stroking for the competitive business owner?
Not so, say previous entrants of The David Awards.
Following last year’s event, we asked entrants what they thought the most important benefits of being named a finalist or winner were. A whopping 81% of respondents cited the credibility the business gains as a major benefit of entering. Other benefits included:
- Getting individual feedback from the judges
- Gaining a profile for the business
- Having to think objectively and write down information about the business
The overwhelming majority also welcomed the ease of entry, with many valuing this highly and identifying it as the thing they least wanted to be changed about the Awards.
How do I enter?
The entry process for the David Awards is simple and at http://www.thedavidawards.co.nz/. You can edit your submission right up till the submission deadline (July 31, 2017). There are NO entry fees for this award and we encourage all BNI members to give the David Awards a go. Just entering the awards is a great business development opportunity.
BNI’s history at The David Awards
Numerous BNI members have been finalists and winners at The David Awards over the years. 2015’s Supreme Award winner was a BNI member from Christchurch who was also awarded Most Outstanding Fledgling Business and Most Community-Minded Business. Last year Dr Tom Vaughan, Chiropractor of Boost Chiropractic and member of BNI Warkworth, was the successful recipient of the award for the most outstanding lifestyle business category.
What’s the benefit of entering the awards?
I’ve come to realise that entrants enter awards for different reasons, but the 3 top ones tend to be:
- Taking time to think objectively about the business and get it down in writing It often strikes me how easy it is to get caught up in the everyday need to just get the work done – whatever that is. We tend to be so busy fulfilling clients’ requests, bringing in new business, keeping stock levels right or dealing with issues, that it can be hard to take a step back and assess the business overall. Ideally, all small businesses would do a regular business and marketing plan, and revisit it regularly, that is often done in the early stages of a business (in varying degrees of detail) but it can be overlooked when things get busy. It can be very motivating to be made to take a moment to think objectively and see how far you have come.BNI member Blair Ashdowne, Director of 2015’s Supreme Winner, Heat Pumps NOW, says, “Just entering The David Awards was an opportunity to reflect on what our team has done in our short time as a company, and celebrate many small achievements where we have helped people. It’s brought our team closer together and reminded me personally why I started this business.”
- Benchmarking and credibility It can be hard to measure yourself against other businesses, but the fact that the judges are given some insight into all the entries and are able to rank them according to some criteria is one way to determine how you are doing compared to others. Being selected as a finalist, winner or supreme winner is a great way to build credibility for a business – especially one which may not yet be well known. Being upheld as a leader in your field is satisfying, and if you have staff, can be a great way of giving them recognition. Blair agrees, “To be a finalist was an honour in and of itself. To win Most Outstanding Fledgling Business and Most Community-Minded Business is so humbling. To win the Supreme Award as well… I’m almost at a loss for words.”
- Publicity Over the years, we’ve built opportunities for recognition and promotion into The David Awards process, with partners such as BNI working closely with us to raise awareness of the awards and promote finalists and winners to their networks and NZBusiness Magazine doing a cover story on the Supreme Winner every year, along with a lot of other promotional activity. Media releases, web site coverage and social media activity by all three partners work together to provide opportunities for winners to enhance their profile – and winning businesses are usually quick to leverage these opportunities too.Another BNI member and winner of The David Awards Supreme Award in 2013, Richard Conway, of Pure SEO, agrees. He says, “I would recommend any small business to enter the David Awards. Winning the Supreme Award was both an honour and surprise, it’s great to be recognised for doing what you love every day. The whole Pure SEO team gathered in the boardroom to watch the results on the big screen, the reaction when we won was amazing – the entire team were extremely proud. We have since used momentum from the win to build and grow our business even more.”And that’s really what The David Awards are all about – recognising and rewarding the small, ordinary “David” businesses which are doing sometimes extraordinary things as they take on, and often outperform, the Goliaths in their fields.
What are the categories in the awards?
There are nine separate categories. Each entrant may enter up to three separate categories (all on the same form). Individuals may enter more than one business (just use a separate entry form for each business). The winners of each category all become nominees for the Supreme Award. Categories are:
- Most outstanding fledgling business
- The BNI Most outstanding established business
- Most outstanding triumph over adversity
- Most outstanding lifestyle business
- The NZBusiness Most innovative business
- Most inspired use of marketing
- Solo Meo Award
- The Bizbuzz Most community-minded business
- The People’s Choice Award
Entries are open now until July 31 2017 visit www.thedavidawards.co.nz and get your entry in today.
Heather Douglas, Founder, The David Awards
