For 20 years (and some) the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce has held its annual Business Awards evening to celebrate local businesses of all sizes and stages.

But no one has more experience or insight into the inner workings of our flagship event than event manager Anne Pankhurst (pictured centre with Chamber CEO Matt Cowley, left, and 2020 Business Awards MC Brendon Weatherly, right).

She says the biggest accomplishment for businesses isn’t the glitzy awards evening at the end of the year, but the months of blood, sweat and tears from entrants in the lead-up.

With entries now open (through to September 24), she shares her insider knowledge in this month’s Chamber Voice.

Since its inception, the Chamber’s Business Awards have always been about celebrating and acknowledging every business in the region, from solo operators to big corporates.

While every year we see an array of businesses come forwards, their reasons for entering are largely the same: To gain recognition for their team’s hard work and to be benchmarked against other businesses through our robust judging process.

Working through the process of our entry form means you take a dispassionate view of your business, something you may not always have the time or ability to do. It requires you to ask yourself the tough questions and, more importantly, answer honestly.

It is critical for any business to go through some kind of process like this and, by entering the awards, we give you this opportunity – plus a chance to have an independent third party do the same.

One of the Chamber’s core values is integrity, which is why our judging process is so intensive – and valuable. Last year we moved from having a team of judges visit each entrant, then come back and work out the winners, to appointing a Head Facilitator who visits each entrant, ensuring consistency before we head into our ‘Dragon’s Den’ pitch weekend. Going through all stages of the entry and judging is a huge commitment for any business, but it is exciting for both judges and entrants, and both get a lot of value out of it.

The pitch weekend, in particular, initially feels daunting for the entrants, but because the judges are genuinely interested in each business, it becomes a great experience.

By listening to the entrants, you quickly realise how much they love their businesses and their passion for all aspects, including its successes, their team and their potential. It is difficult to have healthy cynicism in the face of such ownership. You get swept away with the enthusiasm of each entrant.

By the end of this weekend, the judges are buzzing. It’s hard not to be excited about the future of our region when you hear from people like this because if all this energy is translated to economic outcomes, the Bay of Plenty is ultimately much better off.

As with any kind of awards process, there are always ways to help your entry stand out from the crowd. Of course, I can’t tell you how to write your entry – only you know your business! – but I can give you some helpful pointers.

You can view the full list of categories and judging process here.

• We provide a hard copy of the online entry and we recommend that you use this. The best idea is to sit and read the hard copy first, to really understand what is required, to write your answers, to refine, refine and refine again before loading these online. By the time you complete the online form, you would have really thought about what you are saying and how it comes across. When you are ready, copy and paste your answers into the online entry form.
• Don’t use too many words; there will be three chances for further explanation.
• Remember, through this there are no right or wrong answers. It’s not an exam; it’s a real benchmark of your business. At the end of this, you want to have put a line in the sand for you to work on your business post-awards (there is always room for growth and improvement).
• Include your team in the process. This can mean your lawyer, accountant, mentor… anyone that you know wants you to succeed. Either allocate out sections to the experts in that field of your business or get them to read your answers. Take their feedback as constructive; they have fresh eyes on this.
• Everyone worries about the financials, but don’t. It’s not about how much money you make or how much is in the bank, but rather how you are operating through all financial lenses, of which a bank balance is an outcome. Some people may spend years investing back into their business and that is what the judges are looking for – how you use your money to grow your business.
• The biggest tip I can give is to engage your team – your staff. They get to see a different side of you and the business, and feel really proud to be part of your team on the night.

I wish all the entrants the best of luck. There’s no denying it takes time to enter, but it’s a thoroughly rewarding process to go through and previous businesses that have entered would attest to this.

A big thank you to the sponsors and judges for the support they give in celebrating the brilliance of local business.

Let’s get together and Love Local.

Want to know more about the entry process? Click here for full details.