Entries are now open for the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards 2018. Entry is free and you don’t have to be an FSB member to enter – so why not give it a go?

Celebrating Small Business

The FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards showcase the best of the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses and their contribution to regional and national economies. They celebrate the hard work, brilliance and innovation within small business in your own geographical area – and if you win in your region, you go forward for a chance to win a national award too. Who knows, you could even win the overall FSB Small Business of the Year 2018 at the glittering national awards ceremony, held at London’s Westminster Park Plaza on 3 May 2018!

Dave Stallon, FSB’s Commercial and Operations Director, said:

“For a chance to be recognised as the best small business at an area level, as well as in the whole of the UK, I’d encourage all small businesses and the self-employed to enter the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards. SMEs are a vital part of the UK; 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses are SMEs, providing 60 per cent of private sector jobs and having a combined annual turnover of £1.8 trillion. The past year has been one of the most challenging the small business sector has ever faced and the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards will recognise and celebrate that.”

Categories and Areas

Expert smaller business judges will select category winners in 12 areas across the UK and all entrants can attend their local final, which will take place between January and March.

Closing dates for entry vary depending on geographical area:

For North East and Scotland areas: Entries close Friday 10 November 2017

For Northern Ireland, East Midlands, Wales, South West and East of England areas: Entries close Friday 1 December 2017

For Yorkshire & The Humber, South East, West Midlands, North West and London areas: Entries close: Friday 12 January 2018

There are 5 new categories for 2018, bringing the total to 12, so there’s a category to suit every type of small business.

• Business Exporter of the Year
• Ethical – Green Business of the Year
• Business and Product Innovation Award
• Digital Business of the Year
• Microbusiness of the Year
• Start-up of the Year
• Scale-up of the Year
• Family Business of the Year
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year
• Employer of the Year
• The Triumph Over Adversity Award
• Community Award (area level only)

How to Enter

To enter, visit the Awards website, select your area and click on ‘Enter the Awards’. From there, you’ll be asked to choose the category (or categories!) you want to enter. The next step is completing your details and writing a submission (you’re given example questions and points to answer).

You’ll need to give evidence of your business success and its sustainability, as well as explaining what makes your business stand out among the competition.  You will have a chance to review your entry before submission.

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About The Author

Kara Copple

An experienced business and finance writer, sometimes moonlighting as a fiction writer and blogger.

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