Small Business Advice - Winning Business Awards
Description
Winning business awards can mean more than than picking up a trophy or certificate.Awards and recognition can help your enterprise grow.
Transcript
Susan Wilson Solovic: Entrepreneurs are reinventing the business landscape everyday, but much of this innovation goes unnoticed. A work competition can put the spotlight on your enterprise and give your bottom line a real boost. Our guest today has some first hand knowledge of the benefits of small business awards. Andrew Field’s business has received many national and local awards including the Coveted TV award for Best Customer Service Organization recognition by winning work places and several international business publications.
Andrew Field, the founder and CEO of PrintingForLess.com. Thanks for joining us.
Andrew Field: Thank you Susan.
Susan Wilson Solovic: What do you think is the real benefit of applying for these awards for your company? What’s the inspiration for that?
Andrew Field: There’s a few. One of them is everybody in a company works really hard, and sometimes they may feel like unsung heroes so there’s a big moral boast when you win one of these awards. Another thing is that it takes a certain amount of discipline to be able to write down the accomplishments to that particular areas that maybe your company has excelled, and to be able to articulate that in writing and sometimes in interviews to convince and independent panel of judges that you really worth the recognition. So it can be really good exercise for the company itself.
Susan Wilson Solovic: Were you certainly been very successful I mean the few of your words in our opening, but what do you think your secret your secret is?
Andrew Field: Applying, seriously if you do a good application and really go after it you’re going to get some of these, and it’s a lot of fun. One of the additional fun things it is when you go to advance whether you’re a finalist or just a participant is networking with other people so I’d been able to go to Ernst & Young advance and in 500 events and that sort of things and it has been very fun.
Susan Wilson Solovic: And have you won the Ernst & Young and in 500 too?
Andrew Field: We were and in 500 companies for three years in a row and just this year in Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year finalist for the North West.
Susan Wilson Solovic: Excellent, congratulations. What tips should you share with other small business owners here watching us and they’re saying, “Oh, yeah but his got this great successful company. I don’t know if I can apply for any of these.” What tips would you give them?
Andrew Field: Well, first of all apply. I think that it’s no accident that 70% of small businesses are gone within in the first few years, so if you’re still alive and listening to this you probably would have a good chance at being able to do that. I would say look at what makes you special. Think about why your customers chose you over your competitors, and if you dig around in that area a little bit you’re probably on or something that really make you special.
Susan Wilson Solovic: Some kind of unique value proposition. Now, I’m going to put you on the spot a little bit because on the break we were talking about one of the biggest mistakes a CEO can make by winning these awards of taking their own PR seriously.
Andrew Field: Yeah, that’s a good point. You really can’t do that. Sometimes you read something in print it says, “This is so great and that so great.” You have to I think keep a lot of humility and realize at the end of the day it’s still good PR for your company, but your main responsibility is to do right by your people and right by your customers.
Susan Wilson Solovic: Absolutely, so I’ve got to keep those life turns on at payroll journey. Well, Andrew Field, thank you so much for being here and joining us today.
Andrew Field: Thank you Susan.
Susan Wilson Solovic: And Andrew Field of course is the President and CEO of PrintingForLess.com. You can learn more about Andrew’s website by going to PrintingForLess.com. This is SBTV.com where small business is our only business.
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