Being short-listed for awards is a rewarding experience for companies of all shapes and sizes – you get the warm glow that comes with the satisfaction of recognition, the pride, the anticipation of triumph.
Equally advantageous however are the business benefits to be reaped, including great publicity.
Simon Woodroffe OBE, founder of YO! Sushi and well known for his role in the first series of BBC2’s start-up show ‘Dragon’s Den’, is an old-hand when it comes to awards, and his accolades have proved great catalysts for business development. With the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and finalist status in the 1999 Real Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year under his belt, to name but a few, he is a keynote speaker at this year’s Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2007.
Simon has spoken about his experience in winning awards in business and the effects the experiences had on his company.
In my experience, being able to tell potential customers and employees that you were a finalist in this or a winner in that makes a crucial difference to the business’s bottom line
Simon Woodroffe, Yo! Sushi founder
Recognition
Having been both a winner and a finalist on several occasions Simon believes that the recognition associated with being short-listed for or winning an award enhances the reputation of a business.
“In my experience, being able to tell potential customers and employees that you were a finalist in this or a winner in that makes a crucial difference to the business’s bottom line,” says Simon.
“Awards are held in high esteem by both the corporate and consumer industries because people are aware of the stiff competition they attract, and the efforts involved in entering them in the first place.
“A certain ranking in an award enables the outside world to benchmark your company against your competitors, and may well drive customers to your door as a result.”
Confidence
“Awards are also a real confidence booster,” Simon continues. “It can be difficult in business to know whether you’re taking the right direction at times, and a lack of confidence – characteristic of young businesses – can add to this stress.
“Entering awards and getting to the finalist stages, or better still, winning them, is self-affirming for entrepreneurs, and reassures them that their work is of a sufficiently high standard to be worthy of widespread recognition and appraisal – all attributes that will help raise the profile of their company.”
Motivation
“Awards also help with the motivation required to move forward in business, which can be especially welcome in times of stress,” comments Simon.
“Even the most successful entrepreneurs lack drive and commitment from time to time, so boosting it by securing an award or commendation is great for the future of the company.”
Courage
It takes courage to enter awards in the first place – you need to overcome the fear of failure, Simon adds. If you succeed in doing so, then the results of the awards can have major implications for courage levels.
“Earning recognition with an award acts as a reminder to entrepreneurs that they are doing something right. This in turn gives them the courage to continue to try, to take up new challenges and keep striving for the best results.”
Team satisfaction
“Winning awards and prizes is great for team building too,” Simon continues.
“The individuals that make up the company are responsible for its successes, not just the manager. The achievement should therefore be enjoyed by the whole team. Such successes reflect the fact that staff understand each other and work well together, and usually act as a catalyst for future team-building exercises and projects.”
Winner does not take it all
But what if you don’t win? Won’t that dent your confidence, motivation and courage?
“Lots of companies that enter awards are of the impression that there’s nothing to be gained from the experience unless they win,” says Simon. But he sees this as the wrong attitude.
“This couldn’t be further from reality – reaching the finalist stage of awards should be recognised as an achievement in itself. I’m sure that the prestige attached to the awards and commendations I’ve been fortunate enough to win over the last few years has ultimately made a big difference to the success of my company.”
The Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise are organised by Enterprise North East Trust and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Business Gateway. The Business Gateway service is delivered in the north east by ENET on behalf of Scottish Enterprise Grampian.
There are five categories in the 2007 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. Winners will receive a unique handcrafted trophy and the awards are one of few with a cash prize of up to £5k.
