Time to enter Electra business awards
Rewarding top businesses in the region
Time to enter this year’s Electra business and Innovation awards? Many readers will have heard of the Electra Business and Innovation Awards. It was set up to showcase our district’s best businesses and help promote better business practices.
If you’re a business owner that has operated or started up in the past two years in particular, no ifs or buts, you have been doing something very right. With Covid throwing numerous curve balls, you’ve had to be resourceful and likely innovative.
And that’s what the awards are wanting to acknowledge and reward.
Yet having spoken to many businesses over the years, often I see a reluctance to enter. Maybe it’s because business owners feel they are just too busy keeping up, or don’t feel think they need an award to confirm you are doing a great job.
Maybe it’s because they don’t think they can win. I honestly think it’s also because in the Horowhenua we just don’t like to blow our own trumpet!
To me the biggest reward comes down to one word — pride.
One of the most memorable moments for me in the past few years was seeing Lisa Brink at The Baked Dane come onto the stage surrounded by her whole team screaming with tears of joy. You could see the pride shared by her team.
Or how the Foxton New World staff performed a haka to Jason and Trish when they collected the supreme award in 2020.
There’s one thing telling your team you’re the best versus independent expert judges confirming your business is the best run in the region.
This year, we are introducing expert guest judges in each of the specialist categories.
This includes Greg Hartford, CEO of Retail NZ, for the retail category to Wellington on a Plate executive director Sara Meikle judging the hospo category.
Don’t think you can win? Not everyone is going to win, but if you can make finalist, it is quite likely you will get profiled in the Horowhenua Chronicle, Kapiti News and many digital channels. That’s invaluable publicity.
This year all entrants will get data from the judging process that will tell you how they benchmarked vs the other entrants in the different questions.
That might be more useful than winning any award, as it could well provide the impetus to improve your business.
Too much work?
In past years if we’re honest it was quite a process to complete the entry. And we got that feedback last year too. So we have totally revamped
the application process.
We ask six or seven questions about your business. It’s designed to take a morning or afternoon to write it up and then email it in.
Good luck, and we hope to see you at the awards ceremony. This year’s awards will be hosted at the Levin Events Centre and I’ll be
cheering for you! The awards are accepting entries from June 6. Visit www.bkh.org.nz.
Antony Young is chair of the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust and a board member of Business Kapiti Horowhenua, organisers of the Electra Business and Innovation Awards.