The FSB ‘Celebrating Small Business’ Awards “recognise the best small businesses and the self-employed from right across the UK, from every sector and industry and from businesses of all ages and all sizes.”
Be in it to win it
The awards aim to celebrate the best, most innovative and most determined small businesses and they are open to all small businesses and the self-employed. There’s no requirement to be an FSB member and entry is simple and free.
So why enter?
- It’s a chance to reflect on and showcase your achievements
- It allows you and your customers to view your business as a benchmark against which to compare your competitors
- It’s a great promotional opportunity in itself. The area and national finals trend nationally and locally on social media and in the press.
- As a winner, your business will gain a certain prestige that you can shout loudly and proudly about in your promotions, advertising campaigns and even just on email sign offs and company stationery! Just being able to use the phrase ‘award winning’ could do wonders for your PR.
There were over 2,000 entries to the 2018 FSB awards and the 2019 awards promise to be even bigger. So why not give it a go?
Entering the FSB awards
The area finals for the 2019 FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards will take place between January and April 2019. The winners of each category (with the exception of the Community Award, which is area only) will automatically be entered into the UK finals and will be invited to attend the high profile UK Final at Battersea Evolution in London on 23 May 2019, where the UK category winners and FSB Business of the Year will be announced.
You can enter as many of the categories as you like (but you cannot enter the same category twice).
The categories are:
- International Business of the Year
- Ethical – Green Business
- Business & Product Innovation Award
- Micro Business of the Year
- Start-Up Business of the Year
- Scale-Up Business of the Year
- Family Business of the Year
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year (aged 30 and under)
- Employer of the Year
- Community Business of the Year Award – Area only
- Digital Innovation Award
Decided to enter? The FSB provides hints and tips for entrants, which you can read before entering the awards here. If you’re in the North West or South West, don’t delay! The closing dates for your entries are in early December.
Will you be entering your business? Please share your thoughts below.
