Entries are open to the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards – a prestigious and comprehensive program that celebrates the growing number of female small business owners from across the country. Entry is free and remains open until 21 July.
This year marks the second consecutive year of the Awards, which spotlight the achievements of some of the nation’s most inspiring women in small business – particularly those from retail-associated sectors. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency estimates women make up more than half (57%) of the retail trade workforce and 49% of management.
The 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards features a total of more than 55 small business award categories and four individual categories – Young Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur (aged 30 and younger), Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur (aged over 30), Australian Small Business Champion Influential Woman and Australian Small Business Champion Icon.
According to Australian Government data, female small business owners currently represent more than one-third of all small businesses, and 2022-released data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a 46% jump in women business owners during the past two decades. Research by Asialink suggests boosting the number of female business owners to equal that of men, could add between $70 billion and $135 billion to the economy.
Precedent Productions (which coordinates the Awards) founder and managing director, Steve Loe said there’s no doubting the rising success of female small business owners from all corners of this country.
“Precedent Productions has been running the Australian Small Business Champion Awards since 1999 but especially during the past few years, we’ve noticed a steep rise in the success of female-owned small businesses in particular; so much so that we deemed it appropriate to have a standalone awards program that showcases and honours the truly impressive work of women in small business.”
Castaway Forecasting chief operations officer and judge of the 2023 Awards, Jo Buchanan said awards can be highly lucrative, especially to small businesses, and despite the time and effort (and in some cases, costs) associated with application processes.
“An award from a credible source can help to signify that a small business has ‘arrived’ and can really work wonders in terms of boosting morale,” she said.
“Telling your customers or clients how great your business is simply pales in comparison to independent, third party endorsement. Business awards hold huge marketing power, which can ultimately boost your bottom line. It’s safe to presume that the vast majority of Australian women in small business would be time-poor and so, the time and effort required for a quality award application can be initially off-putting; however, the long-term benefits can be simply priceless.”
The 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards is sponsored by Nine Plus, CUB, NOVA Employment, Castaway Forecasting, Xcllusive Business Sales and Big Clean.
The Awards will culminate in a National Presentation Evening Gala Event to be held on Saturday 23 September 2023 at the new Western Sydney Conference Centre at Penrith, NSW.