So much to celebrate – despite a tough year
THE Birmingham Post Business Awards 2021 will be held on June 15 as we celebrate the businesses and individuals that help the city and its surroundings thrive.
Over the last year, businesses in the Birmingham area have had to work harder than ever before to succeed as the coronavirus pandemic threw up serious obstacles to their operations – and left many companies and their employees in challenging circumstances.
Nonetheless, businesses and businesspeople in and around Birmingham have shown remarkable resilience over the last year, working tirelessly to weather the effects of coronavirus, with some even managing to innovate and thrive in the process.
It’s these efforts that the 2021 awards will celebrate, to demonstrate the dedication and talent on display throughout 2020 – and offer some focus to the successes of last year as opposed to the difficulties.
As such, we’re looking for entries from companies and businesspeople that feel their accomplishments last year were truly noteworthy.
There are 12 categories in total including New Business of the Year, Green Business of the Year, the new Covid Defiance Award and our overall Company of the Year chosen from our category winners.
We’ve already received nominations from businesses and individuals from all over Birmingham and a wide range of industries which are carrying out some extremely impressive work.
If you feel that your company’s work can stand alongside them, we want you to enter now.
You might be an organisation that works to help those in need, like St Basils – a nominee in the Third Sector Organisation of the Year category.
St Basils works to help young people who are homeless, providing them with accommodation alongside skills development and personal help to aid them in getting back on their feet.
Over the pandemic, many of St Basil’s in-person services could not be run as a result of safety concerns.
Undaunted, it raised money to provide its staff and charges with the technology required to let them continue such vital work.
Perhaps you’ve recently started a business and have found success meeting new needs within the industry.
Daniel Hall founded Towers Virtual Tours in October in an effort to overcome some of the obstacles the pandemic was producing for the real estate industry.
The company provides remote, virtual tours of properties for potential buyers as well as videos and photographs.
This gives people the option to view a property in a safe way.
This was a vital change to real estate viewings during the pandemic, helping estate agents continue the sale of properties as opposed to stalling completely.
However, the overall much greater ease of the experience means that the virtual tour is likely to have applications beyond the pandemic.
Maybe your business is one that’s small but has achieved impressive things, like Allcott Associates.
Allcott is a chartered surveyor and structural engineering company that provides building surveys, helping to ensure every facet of a building is known in detail.
Although the pandemic began with difficulties for the company – it was not possible to carry out surveys for two months due to safety regulations – Alcott Associates rose to the challenge and focused on marketing, logistical improvement and growth.
When restrictions eased, it was ready to take full advantage – taking on nine new hires and offering a wider range of services including structural calculations and designs for property alterations and an online advice pool.
This successful preparation and executing led to Allcott Associates reaching its highest turnover yet, with growth projected to continue for next year.