People's Choice Award
This unique award category is presented to a BC-based small business that can demonstrate they have the unwavering and loyal support of their community. The criteria for winning is simple: Get more votes than any other nominee.
Businesses in this category are tasked with using any imaginative, creative, or traditional tactics available to them to engage their community to vote for them. At the end of the process, the business with the most votes (after vote normalization) wins.
Key Things to Know in 2024
Eligibility
- Businesses must be based in British Columbia
- Businesses must have been in business at least 12 months
- 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 the Small Business BC Awards
Judging Criteria
Our People’s Choice Award has one simple criteria – get more votes than any other nominee. There’s no pitch involved, and our winners just need to demonstrate they have the support of their community. It’s that easy!
Preparing Your Nomination
You’re an entrepreneur and you’re busy, we get it. That’s why we want you to maximize the impact of your Small Business BC Award nomination. Here are five simple ways to set your business up for success.
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 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.
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.
Rules
- 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 Small Business BC Awards Rules to learn more.
