The Micro Business of the Year Award

CRITERIA

The UK economy has presented significant challenges over the last year, including higher interest rates, inflation, and rising costs of living. Despite these obstacles, micro businesses that have innovated, adapted, and seized the right opportunities have demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth.

Has your micro business effectively leveraged leadership, service, innovation, people, and purpose to enhance sales, profitability, or market share over the last two years?

This award recognises those micro businesses achieving growth across various metrics and having a robust plan to deliver sustained financial success and impact.

Open to micro businesses with turnovers below £250,000 across all sectors, judges will look for:

• Strong financial performance relative to size
• Organic growth and effective use of limited resources
• Inspirational leadership and effective management in a small business context
• Innovation in products, services, or processes
• Exceptional customer service and engagement
• Engaged and productive employees
• Ethical practice and profit with purpose

SCORING AND WEIGHTING

In this category judges will compare the extent to which each candidate has demonstrated excellence in the following areas:

• Employee & Customer Engagement 
• Leadership & Innovation
• Organisational Ethics & Policies
• Financial Performance & Growth

PROPORTION OF OVERALL SCORING

20% Employee, 25% Leadership, 20% Organisational, 35% Financial

ENTRY STATEMENT

In a summary of no more than 350 words, please describe what your business does, the market in which it operates and what differentiates you from your competitors. Please include your key business achievements that are significant for your market sector or industry. (Please note that should you become a finalist the answer to this question will be used in external PR & Communications to explain who you are)

In no more than 1200 words, explain why you should win this award using the bullet points below as a guide:

• Employee & Customer Engagement 20%
  • Provide evidence and case study examples of how employees and key stakeholders have been recruited, retained, motivated and optimised to deliver growth objectives.
  • Provide case study examples and top line data to demonstrate how you have increased your customer base or market penetration over the last 18 months.

• Leadership & Innovation 25%
  • How has innovation supported growth? Provide evidence or case studies to demonstrate how an innovative product, service, solution or initiative has driven commercial success.
  • Show how the management structure, leadership philosophy and culture of your company supported growth over of the last two years.

• Organisational Ethics & Policies 20%
  • How are ethical, environmental or social impact policies or initiatives aligned with your growth objectives?
  • How does your approach to diversity, equity and inclusion align with your overall ambition for the business?
  • Explain how your ethical or diversity policy or sustainability strategy has improved employee / client attraction and retention.

• Financial Performance & Growth 35%
  • Explain your key growth metrics, including financial targets, KPIs, timescales and overall ambitions plus examples of milestones and barriers/challenges that have been overcome. Growth metrics can include adoption, subscription, lead generation, client base, headcount, NPS scores, etc.
  • How do you benchmark against your peers in terms of sales, profitability or market share?
  • How has your company performed against your growth plan and what will help you to sustain future growth?
  • Show examples and/or case studies of what has supported, or will drive further, commercial success.