Business Impact Award

• Businesses must be in operation for at least 12 months
• Businesses must be based in British Columbia
• Businesses must have 50 or fewer employees
• Nominations must be submitted online by 11:59pm on August 16th, 2024
• Past Small Business BC Awards winners are prohibited from entering the category in which they won
• Nominees must not operate businesses that are sexually exploitative or that feature sexually explicit entertainment, products or services.
• Nominees must not be associated with illegal activities
• Inappropriate, disrespectful or offensive language will not be accepted as part of SBBC Award

• Track Record & Clear Vision: Finalists in this category will demonstrate a proven track record and clear future vision in the areas of business resilience, growth, corporate responsibility, and financial sustainability. Not only is their business succeeding in traditional metrics, they’re also showing leadership within their community that helps to make a difference.
  This company has navigated the challenges posed by a changing business environment through sales, marketing, logistics, finances, and operations to ultimately improve their business, create new efficiencies, or foster new ways of serving their community.
• Community Impact: Finalists in this category understand the important role small businesses play in our communities. In their everyday operations this business makes a positive impact in their community. They showcase the possibilities of business as a force for good, building a loyal following that show them love right back through testimonials and reviews.
• Company Culture: This business strives to create a healthy workplace where everyone feels welcome. They go above and beyond to look after their staff and community alike. If they’re a Solopreneur, they set the standards in their interactions with clients and vendors. If they’re a small business owner, they place importance on company culture, which is reflected through respect for work/life balance, career development opportunities, and staff empowerment.

Areas our Judges will Assess

• A clear track record of business growth and/or success
• The business’ future goals and how they plan to achieve them
• Metrics that show the company is succeeding in their market
• Demonstration of how the company is serving its community
• The impact this work is having on the community
• The goals of the community work and how the company plans to reach them
• Engagement of the community in this work
• Steps taken to create a best-in-class company culture
• Demonstrations of the impact of a positive company culture
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work
• Measures taken to improve business accessibility

You’re an entrepreneur and you’re busy, we get it. 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

What are you hoping to achieve by 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 can be a powerful way 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

We’re celebrating our 21st anniversary this year, and in that time, we’ve had over 6,600 businesses take part in the process. If you know an entrepreneur that’s taken part, why not consider asking for 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.

• Small Business BC retains the right to update the rules of the Small Business BC Awards at any time.
• Franchisees are NOT eligible for the Small Business BC Awards
• Small Business BC staff members are not eligible to enter
• Businesses may be nominated in one or more categories as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for that category
• By entering the Small Business BC Awards, you accept our judges’ decisions will be final
• All shortlisted finalists authorize SBBC to identify them (name/picture) in connection with the Small Business BC Awards

Check out our full SBBC Awards Rules to learn more.

How will judges assess my nomination for the Business Impact Award?

When you’re completing your nomination, the answers you provide, along with supporting documentation, will be examined as part of our judging process. Refer to the criteria above for specific areas your business will be assessed in. First, you must gather enough votes to make it through to our Top 5 Finalists. Don’t be shy in engaging your community to vote for you.

How does your vote normalization process work?

We understand that all BC communities are different sizes and that different businesses have different sized networks. To level the playing field, votes will be normalized against British Columbia Regional District Population Figures. This gives every business, no matter where they’re located, an equal opportunity to win.

Will the number of votes I receive in the Business Impact category be made public?

No. Vote tallies will not be made public on the Small Business BC website or made available to nominees. Because a normalization calculation is applied to the votes to determine the Top 5 finalists, pure vote numbers are not indicative of performance in the competition.

Can I vote in the Business Impact Award category more than once?

Only one vote per person is allowed, per nominee, per category. If a business is nominated in two categories (the maximum number allowed), you can vote for them in both categories.