This ones for my friends in the small business community!

I’m not ashamed to enter for awards. Here’s why.

I was recently announced as a finalist in the Emerging Ausmumpreneur category of the 2022 Ausmumpreneur Awards. This is super exciting – there are so many incredible mums in business around Australia I am truly honoured to get through to this stage. Lets clear something up straight away, many of you may already know – you do have to pay to enter these awards.

I was nominated by a good friend and then had to go through the process of answering questions, selecting the relevant category/ies and paying the fee. This fee is put towards the organisation, the Ausmumpreneur conference and awards night, marketing etc etc, you do not pay to be selected. So first of all I actually I am surprised more awards do not call for an application fee, and one reason I am on board with this which I won’t dive into any deeper, but think is worth a mention is to support this organisation. An organisation who can in turn support me back too.

I think there is still some stigma around being confident in yourself and what you do, but I do think this stigma is beginning to fade as the beauty of confidence is discovered more and more, and that’s why I want to share the main reasons I am not ashamed to say I enter into awards which are relevant to me and my business, so lets go!

1. Assess your situation.

 I have heard so many times in business circles this exact fact. Applications for business awards are usually quite in depth and give you an opportunity to better understand your position (financially, economically, socially and any and all other areas) by completing the application process. The questions often asked can prompt you to think about your business in a different way and allow you to asses or reassess where you are, what you have achieved and what your goals are, and this is soooo powerful as a business owner and a person in general.

2. Networking.

Networking in such a powerful tool for businesses especially after the previous few years with the spicy cough isolating us to differing degrees. Applying for grants/awards allows you to network with the grant or award providers, other applicants, winners and all of these peoples audiences potentially as well. You can learn so much from the people you meet, you never really know where it could lead you.

3. The opportunities.

There are endless opportunities that come with applying for awards. Besides those discussed above through networking, it can inspire you to push harder for something you’re working towards or take a different approach you had never thought of before. It allows you a new way to PR yourself and your business- to local news outlets or through social media. It gives you content for your own subscribers and followers and can add credibility to your business.

4. Brand awareness.

Perhaps the main reason I was so honoured to be nominated and then apply for these awards is the opportunity to increase brand awareness. It is well known that sales are down across the country at the moment, with cost of living expenses going through the roof, people are hesitant to spend. Not only that, but so much time at home allowed so many people to start their own small business and the market is saturated like never before. Getting your brand out there to potential customers, to broaden your reach and to increase brand awareness is incredibly important. For the Ausmumpreneur awards in particular I thought it was a great opportunity to put my brand in front of a group flooded with my target audience.

So there you go. There are so many benefits and opportunities to learn and grow through the process of applying for grants and awards. Plus did I mention that awards nights! They are a great time to sit back reflect and celebrate you and your business with like minded people!

You can check out more about The Ausmumpreneur Awards at https://ausmumpreneur.com