Next week, I am going to spend a whole day listening to inspirational business people who are trying their absolute best to make a difference to their, and other’s lives. One by one they will arrive on a stage in front of me and they will speak from their heart about their individual missions or visions. I am going to *love* it!

Because I am responsible for judging these brave business people. In my category of Inspirational Leadership at the UK Business Awards 2019, I will sit with my fellow judges and hear the stories. Then, I will have to come to the difficult decision of picking a winner- and it will be difficult! I have already pre-judged their written entries, so I have an idea of the quality and expertise, the blood sweat and tears that have been put into their businesses and also their submission into the UK Business Awards. Because it does take guts to put yourself and your business out there for judgement, doesn’t it?

But that is exactly why everyone should, at one point (or many points) in life, put their hard-sweated-over-body-of-work forward for judgement!

Yes, it is scary and, yes, you might not get to the winner’s podium – but you will learn a lot about yourself and your business along the way:

1. Having to stand back and review your business and ‘justify’ what you have done and why you have done it and what the strengths of your particular approach are, is an extremely useful exercise to go through. In fact, I often encourage my clients to pretend that they have an award to win in order to do a real eyes-open review of their progress and business momentum.
2. There is nothing better than an external viewpoint – it is the “can’t see the trees for the wood” scenario that most business people end up suffering from. So busy with your nose pushed up against the tree-trunk you cannot see the wood or the tree! Getting an impartial review of how you’re doing and maybe even some fresh ideas on what might be possible is something that no business person should ever turn down. I know, as a judge, I am very keen to be as helpful as possible to the businesses who have entered my category – I want all of them to win in some way or another, even if they can’t all stand upon the stage waving the winners trophy in the air.
3. Awards are brilliant for giving your business team the recognition they deserve. Being nominated for an award by a boss or by a colleague has got to be one of the best feelings – even if you don’t go on to win, just the fact that someone thought well enough of your work and effort to enter you into a competition speaks volumes about how they regard your contribution.
4. Awards are excellent social-proof evidence that can be a deciding factor in whether customers choose you and your products/services over a competitor’s. Social-proof is what drives online commerce in particular – we are all addicted to the Amazon 5-star products, the Trust-Pilot reviews, the TripAdvisor advice. Having your business given a prestigious award – one that has a rigorous and challenging judging procedure like the UK Business Awards 2019 does – will be incontrovertible proof of the quality and rigour of your business. It will pay dividends for years to come
5. Finally, this is an excellent opportunity for you, as a business person, to network and get to know other people who are in the same or similar sphere as you. Not only is it an excellent opportunity to shake hands at the awards night itself, but it also offers you the opportunity to make great connections with the judging panel and with the other competitors. You’re a select group of the best businesses and have much in common – why not take the opportunity to make more friends and build more relationships.

To find out more about the UK Business Awards, and prepare your submission for next year’s – go to https://ukbizawards.com/