Celebrating 21 Years
21 years… Where does the time go? When we launched our Business Plan contest in 2003, we had no idea of the adventure to come. From humble beginnings, to the Successful You Awards, and now the Small Business BC Awards, our competition has grown to become Western Canada’s largest Awards competition dedicated to small business.
During that time, over 6,600 small businesses from across our province have participated, representing every community and every industry. Their successes were fueled by you, with our community showing up in numbers each year to vote for their favourite businesses to win an award. We estimate that over 575,000 people have cast a vote in our Awards, taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work that goes into starting a small business.
As this is our 21st Anniversary Awards, we wanted to look back at years past. We’ve dug into our archives to catalogue as much of our history as we could locate. Check out our Awards roundups from through the years, you may recognize some of the businesses.
2023 Awards
We celebrated our 20th Anniversary in 2023, returning to an in-person gala at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
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2021-2022 Awards
Once more, our Awards went virtual in 2022, celebrating the hard-working and resilient small businesses that make our province special.
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2020-2021 Awards
2021 was an interesting year for our Awards – our first ever virtual ceremony. Discover how ‘Awards Week’ came to be.
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2019-2020 Awards
In our final year at the Vancouver Convention Centre, our Awards continued to grow, setting records for nominations and attendees.
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2018-2019 Awards
In our 16th year, we returned to Vancouver Convention Centre to once more crown the best of BC’s small businesses.
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2017-2018 Awards
For our 15th Anniversary, we went BIG. Our Awards moved to the Vancouver Convention Centre, and we crowned 10 award winners.
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2016-2017 Awards
On February 23, 2017 we announced the ten winners of the 14th Annual Small Business BC Awards for the final time at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
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2015-2016
In our 13th year, the Awards continued to go from strength to strength, with more nominations, votes and enthusiasm than ever before.
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2014-2015 Awards
On February 26th, 2015, we crowned the winners of our 12th Annual Small Business BC Awards with an expanded lineup of awards.
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2013-2014 Awards
The top small businesses in BC were crowned in February 2014 as the winners of the 11th Annual Small Business BC Awards were announced at the Pan Pacific Vancouver.
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2012-2013 Awards
Our 2013 Awards saw two major milestones – our 10th anniversary, and the last ever Successful You Awards.
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2011-2012 Awards
Headlined by a keynote speech from Canucks legend, Trevor Linden, our 9th Annual Successful You Awards took place at the Pan Pacific Vancouver on February 28th, 2012.
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2010-2011 Awards
Our 8th Annual Successful You Awards took place at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver on March 29, 2011.
Learn MoreOur win has made us more visible and put a big spotlight on our business – It’s been huge. Getting to share our story with so many more people has been amazing.
Soul Bite Food Inc. is a Vancouver-based social enterprise that produces delicious vegan food created using traditional recipes from the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In 2022, they were named our Premier's People's Choice Award winner.
Soul Bite Foods Inc.
People's Choice Award Winner, 2022
There’s something special about seeing your work get this kind of recognition. It’s given us confidence and pride that we’re on the right track.
Claire McLoughlin and Katie Forsyth are on a mission to address food waste. Their Friendly Composting business offers weekly composting pickup for clients in the Kamloops area of BC.
Friendly Composting
Business Impact Award Award Winner, 2022
Participating in the Awards was an amazing chance to reflect on all our accomplishments – whether they were big or small.
Katie Gamble is on a mission to bring sustainability into kitchens around the world. As the founder and “Queen Bee” of Nature Bee Wraps, she produces beeswax wraps and other reusable products that cut down on the need for wasteful single use plastics.
Nature Bee
Business Impact Award Award Winner, 2022
As a business owner, it’s so important to step back and objectively look at your progress and the Awards is so good for helping you to do that.
Ronnie Lee is the owner of Lil’ Ronnie’s Beachside BBQ, a restaurant famous for authentic Texas BBQ and legendary live music nights. Ronnie is on a mission to put Tofino on the food map, impressing our judges to finish 3rd in 2022.
Lil' Ronnie's BBQ
Business Impact Award Award Winner, 2022
I’ve always been told that your network equals your net worth. Through the Awards, I've met so many amazing business owners and made so many connections.
Jaimie Davis is the founder of Jada Creations, an Indigenous jewelry business based in Terrace, BC. Jaimie is a multi-disciplined award-winning artist and solopreneur from Gitx̱san & Nisga’a Nations.
Jada Creations
Best Solopreneur Award Winner, 2021
The Awards have changed my life. Whenever my business is mentioned now it’s always spoken about as an “Award-winning business.”
In 2021, Sadaf Rahimi opened her own storefront, alongside winning Best Immigrant Entrepreneur at our Awards.
Charcuterie Vancouver
Best Immigrant Entrepreneur Award Winner, 2021
Winning the award has given us a kick start and more credibility. It's also helped us to believe in ourselves more.
Ed and Natasha Tatton are the dynamic husband and wife duo behind BReD, a fixture in Whistler's beautiful Creekside neighbourhood. Learn how they baked their way to success in our awards.
BReD
Best Youth Entrepreneur Award Winner, 2021
We've realized so many amazing benefits from winning our award. We've been in the newspaper, on the radio - we've had new customers come in when they heard about it.
Lyndsey Bell and Jay Valeri left high-powered careers to pursue their entrepreneurial dream - running their own donut shop. It turned out to be an award-winning endeavour.
Bigfoot Donuts
People's Choice Award Winner, 2021
I never planned for this and I never thought our little business could win something like this. I'm overjoyed!
Lynn-Marie and Melissa-Rae Angus are the sister co-founders of Sisters Sage, an Indigenous brand that hand-crafts wellness and self-care products inspired by their culture and traditions.
Sisters Sage
Award Winner, 2021
