It’s that time of year again, award season for many industries. The fear of failure and the perceived effort required contribute to avoiding entering awards, yet when we do, the experience is win-win regardless. This is why.
The spirit in the room at the recent event for the EB100 Top SME 2024 Businesses was energising. It was a pleasure to be invited as an Elite partner (the Association of Business Mentors) I met award winners, judges, and sponsors. The venue, the Amphitheatre at Guild Hall Basingham Street, is well worth a visit, and families are welcome. I left feeling motivated by the effect that awards bring to each stakeholder, especially the businesses that had taken the time to enter and feature in the top 100. These awards were launched to recognise and rank the brightest and best SME businesses in the UK.
There was a time when the thought of entering awards filled me with fear, which was, of course, driven by ego. Instead, I got involved as a judge, panelist, and, on occasion, sponsor of local business awards and finally, The London Business Awards. Over time, I realised that the entry process is an extremely healthy reflection exercise on the nuts, bolts, and structure of a business, not to mention having to articulate business activity. Who, Why, Which, What, How, and How much for?! Then being shortlisted and going on to win an award provides people with a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment. It is a tangible representation of the effort, time, and dedication they have put into their business, which leads to pride in themselves and their team’s achievements.
So, why don’t we enter awards more freely? As mentioned, the fear of failure accompanies the effort it takes, and to top it off, there is the general shrinking away from self-promotion. We need to get over these factors. Proving your business is one of the best takes time, explanation, and proof, which is the perfect environment for a sense check and exploration under the bonnet, which can throw up areas for refinement such as:
- Are the business processes as efficient as possible?
- Where are the leaks? Or areas of lost productivity?
- What story are the numbers telling?
- Are the right people in the right positions?
- Where are we heading?
Over and above these benefits are the esteemed business judges who gain sight of what you and your business are doing. This is top-notch networking in itself as well as meeting the other applicants.
Lastly, to reinforce my message, I found the following paragraph in Forbes Magazine:
‘Awards, funds, and recognition are a form of currency. In the world we live in, they matter. They are bargaining chips! They can help you demand a higher fee as an entrepreneur, reinforce your request for a higher corporate salary to your employer, and provide external validation of how you measure up against your peers.’
Business mentors can support the whole process. Having a mentor’s involvement increases the chances of success because generally we have been there and done it, plus we provide fresh eyes and a lens that a business judge will more than likely be looking through.
Sadly, when talking to one of the successful businesses that night, I learnt she had been allocated a mentor on a local, council-funded programme. The mentor lasted two sessions with her as he was as she described, ‘useless’. Luckily, she had the acumen to call it a day before he did any damage – no advice is better than bad advice. This was the reason I founded the Association of Business Mentors, to ensure business owners have access to experienced and qualified mentors.
I finally managed to put my equal measures of fear and ego aside and entered The National Mentoring Awards when they took place in 2019. I won The Peoples Mentoring Champion, which sits proudly on our piano. Going through the process made me realise quite how much I do in the mentoring world and the continuous fight for standards and ethics that protect mentees, together with the high-caliber, equally passionate team at the ABM.
This post was originally published on here
