Eligibility criteriaWe rely on the coordinators of local awards to ensure eligibility to enter these state awards, however we reserve the right to determine final eligibility during the judging process. To be considered for an award your business must meet all the following criteria:

1. Be a winner of a small business award in your region (eligible programs are listed on our website).

2. Have both your head office and main operations based in WA (excluding franchise businesses).

3. Employ no more than 20 full-time or equivalent staff (for awards which do not state a specific number of employees).

4. Not be classified as a publicly listed company, club, co-operative or non-profit organisation.

5. Be Australian owned, with the owner(s) having responsibility for all key management decisions.

6. Be registered to operate in Western Australia.

7. Have been in operation for at least 12 months before entering your local awards.

Congratulations! As a winner of a small business award in a local awards program, you are now invited to participate in the 2017 Western Australian Regional Small Business Awards.

There are nine categories of awards:

• Home-based Business

• Franchise Business

• Aboriginal Business

• Start-up Business

• Customer Service

• Community Engagement

• Business with 0-4 Employees

• Business with 5-10 Employees

• Business with 11-20 Employees

The overall 2017 Western Australian Regional Small Business of the Year will be selected from the winners of the above award categories.

As an award winning small business in your region, you are strongly encouraged to submit an application to these awards.

2017 Western Australian Regional Small Business AwardsAwards information

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2017Western AustralianRegional Small BusinessAwards

Award categories

In addition to the general eligibility criteria, businesses must meet the category-specific criteria outlined below:

Award category Eligibility criteria

Home-based Business The business is operated either at home (you carry out most of the work at your home) or from home (and the business does not own or rent any premises other than your home).

Franchise Business The business must be part of a franchise and carry out all business activities in-line with the requirements of your franchise agreement.

Aboriginal Business The business must have at least 51 per cent Aboriginal ownership and be established for commercial enterprise.

Customer Service The business must be able to demonstrate a commitment to providing excellent customer service. The award is to recognise a business that has achieved outstanding results by offering additional customer service initiatives.

Start-up Business The business must have been trading for a maximum of two years at the time of entering your local business awards.

Community Engagement The business must be able to show that it has made a significant contribution to the local community. The award is to recognise a business whose community involvement is not the actual focus of its operations; it is to acknowledge the ‘over and above’ support provided to the local community.

Business with 0-4 Employees The business must employ fewer than five staff members (full-time or equivalent) at the time of entering your local business awards.

Business with 5-10 Employees The business must employ five to 10 staff members (full-time or equivalent) employees at the time of entering your local awards.

Business with 11-20 Employees The business must employ 11 to 20 staff members (full-time or equivalent) employees at the time of entering your local awards.

Prizes

Prize eligibility Description

Category award finalists • Two tickets to the awards presentation evening in Perth• Assistance with travel expenses to attend the awards• Finalist certificate• Photographs from the presentation evening• Personalised ‘finalist’ email footer and website banner• Permission to display the WA Regional Small Business Awards logo

on your marketing material

Category award winners These prizes are in addition to those listed above.• Personalised trophy and cash prize of $1,000• Recognition in Statewide media produced by the Small Business

Development Corporation (SBDC)• Personalised ‘winner’ email footer and website banner

2017 WA Regional Small Business of the Year

These prizes are in addition to those listed above.• Personalised trophy• $25,000 airtime package (worth around 80 x 30 second spots),

courtesy of GWN7• Production of a 30 second advertisement for use with the GWN7

airtime package, courtesy of Lomax Media (Bunbury)

The judging process

The judging panel will include representatives from sponsor organisations, senior SBDC staff and representatives from the Western Australian small business sector.

Applications will be judged against the following criteria:• business overview• business planning• marketing• customer service• staff (if applicable)• business ethics

Finalists for each award category will be selected and notified approximately four weeks before the awards presentation. The category winners will be announced at an awards presentation held in Perth in November 2017.

Business planning2a. Describe your business goals over the past 12 months, the strategies you’ve used to achieve these goals and the results. (250 words)The judges want to know about your business planning, so describe the goals you achieved over the previous 12 months, including details of the practical strategies employed and the specific results you achieved.

2b. Describe any improvements or changes you have implemented over the past 12 months to improve your business operations. (250 words)This response should highlight any changes you have made to your business operations, such as streamlining systems, introducing new products/services or sustainability initiatives. Try to provide specific outcomes as to how the innovations have helped your business.

2c. What are your future goals for the business and what specific actions are you taking to ensure you achieve them? (250 words)This response should summarise your future plans and also what changes you are making or will need to make to your business operations to ensure the goals can be achieved. For example, will you need to move to bigger premises, employ more staff, launch new product lines?

Business overview

1a. Provide a general overview of your business, including a brief history and summary of your current operations. (250 words)Your answer should demonstrate your eligibility for the category you are entering and also set the scene for the judges. Remember, it is likely the judges have never heard of your business or are not involved in your industry.

1b. Describe your products and/or services. What makes your business unique and sets you apart from your competitors? (250 words)Clearly explain why potential customers would choose your business rather than your competitors. What is unique or special about your business – location, product range, innovative systems, exceptional service?

1c. Provide an overview of the financial performance of your business over the past 12 months and how this compares to previous years. (200 words, excluding graphs and charts)The judges want to see how well your business has performed, so give them either actual figures or percentages to show year on year comparisons of your revenue, cost of goods sold, gross profit, expenses and net profit. If you are in the early stages of your business or you have recently invested in developing the business, explain how this has impacted on your financial performance. This answer is best displayed in graph or chart format.

Writing your submission

The information set out below provides a simple guide for you to complete your awards application so that the judges will find it comprehensive, informative and interesting to read.

Once you have completed all the sections, carefully check what you have written to ensure you’ve covered every aspect of your business. Have someone from within the business read through your submission to see if you’ve missed anything. Then ask a friend or colleague who knows your business to also read it. Consider all these comments and if relevant, try to incorporate their suggestions.

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Marketing

3a. Describe your target customers, how you market to them and the effectiveness of these activities. (350 words)You should clearly profile your ideal customers in this answer and how you promote your business to them. For example do you use social media, website and strong SEO strategy, or maybe networking and traditional press advertising? Include details of how you measure success and details of the results from each marketing activity.

Customer service

4a. What strategies does your business use to create and retain loyal customers? (250 words)This response should clearly describe what you do to ensure your customers come back for more, or they spread the word to family and friends. For example, do you have a loyalty program? Do you use social media to build relationships with your customers? What are your customer service policies and procedures?

4b. What processes do you have in place to measure customer satisfaction? (250 words)Describe the ways in which your customers can provide feedback, is it through online avenues such as social media or review sites, or in person? Also include the processes you have in place to respond to feedback and detail how you action customers’ suggestions.

Staff (if you don’t employ staff go to Business ethics)

5a. What strategies do you use to recruit, retain and motivate staff? (250 words)The judges want to know about your staff, but more importantly they want to know what you do day-to-day and in the longer term to ensure that your staff enjoy working for you and feel appreciated.

Business ethics

6a. How do you ensure that your business minimises its impact on the environment? (250 words)Your answer should describe the practical ways in which you reduce your environmental footprint. For example, do you have rainwater tanks, LED lighting, a paperless office, recycling, carbon emission reduction strategy etc?

6b. Demonstrate how your business has had a positive effect on the local community. (250 words)Clearly describe your involvement in your local community including any economic and social benefits this has provided for the community (and your business). For example, do you try to source supplies locally, employ local staff, donate to charities or participate in community events?