Best Immigrant Entrepreneur

Nominate a Business

To win our Best Immigrant Entrepreneur Award, nominees will be assessed on three qualities:

Overcoming Adversity

This individual has achieved success despite the challenges and barriers of being a recent immigrant in Canada.

Leadership

They showcase strong leadership through their business practices and involvement within their community.

Track Record

The business has a demonstrable track record of financial success and is primed for growth.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Best Immigrant Entrepreneur Award, nominees must be the primary owner and operator of a BC business that has been in operation for a minimum of 12 months. Nominees must have landed in Canada within the last ten years and be a permanent resident or a citizen of Canada. The business in question must have less than 50 employees.

Please Note: “Primary owner and operator” is defined as having a minimum of 51 per cent ownership and being active within the business. The individual’s primary source of income should be derived from the business. Nominees may be asked to provide proof of their permanent residency or citizenship.

Criteria

Items Our Judges Will Assess:

When assessing the winner of Best Immigrant Entrepreneur, our judges will assess the following criteria:

Personal story of the Immigrant, their business, and the challenges that have been overcome
A detailed description of the business, products and/or services, and the unique value proposition of the business
The company’s track record of financial success and any growth plans
Description of the individual’s involvement in their community
The company’s approach to human resources and marketing

Preparing Your Nomination

We understand taking part in competitions like ours requires a time commitment. That’s why we want you to maximize the impact you receive from entering. Here are five tips to consider when submitting your nomination for a Small Business BC Award.

Establish Your Objectives

A great place to start is to decide upon your goals for entering the Small Business BC Awards. Maybe you want to help boost your staff recruitment, raise your profile within your industry, or improve your marketing? Our Awards program can be a powerful tool to achieve your goals. You just need to clearly define what those goals are before you begin.

Designate an ‘Awards Champion’

Throughout the years, we’ve seen businesses pass the task of administering their awards application from one staff member to the next. This results in inconsistent entries where no one person took ownership and drove the task forward. Instead, we recommend designating yourself, or a staff member, as an ‘Awards Champion’ with responsibility for handling the nomination from start to finish.

Match Your Content to the Criteria

Each of our award categories has detailed criteria you can refer to when submitting a nomination. Our judges will refer to the criteria when assessing which businesses will proceed to the next phase of the competition. It’s crucial to understand the criteria for your category and deliver an application that meets the criteria. These simple instructions provide the recipe for success. Don’t ignore them!

Speak to Previous Nominees

Each year, over 600 businesses are nominated in the Small Business BC Awards. Across the several month process, these businesses learn so much about the process, developing invaluable takeaways, experience and knowledge. Why not consider asking their advice? They’ll be able to share some of the benefits of taking part, how to prepare to present to our judges, and how to approach your community to gather votes.

Get Your Entry Proofread

Before you submit your nomination, task a friend or family member to read over it and provide their feedback. Try to find someone who will provide impartial feedback. They may notice an important element you’ve forgot to mention, or typos that have slipped under the radar. Your entry will sparkle if it’s error-free and provides a compelling case as to why you should win.