Business of the Year

• Total word count should be no more than 2000 words excluding questions.
• All entries must be electronic and supporting information is not permitted.
• A maximum of 5 insertions e.g. tables, graphs or photos may be attached at the end of the entry form.
• This online form contains 9 questions. Please ensure that you answer all questions. Any entries not adhering to the rules of entry will be eliminated at the next round.
• All entries for this category from Chamber of Commerce Herefordshire and Worcestershire members will automatically be submitted into the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) awards with the potential to win not only this category but the overall award for Outstanding Achievement with a £50,000 cash prize. Please tick the box if you do NOT wish your entry to be put forward for the BCC Awards
  Please tick this box if you do not wish to be forwarded to for the British Chambers of Commerce awards.
• All entries for this category will be considered for a Business Review from Business Link West Midlands. This could take the format of a telephone call or a visit to your premises. As soon as we receive your application your details will be forwarded to Business Link who will contact you direct if your company meets the eligibility criteria.

Company Name

Contact Name

Position

Company Address

Postcode

Email Address

Website Address

Telephone Number

Mobile Number

Fax Number

Business Sector

Nature of Business

Main product/service

No. of full time employees

No. of part time employees

Legal status of company

Year trading began

Turnover for 2008

Turnover for 2009

Projected turnover for 2010

Net profit for 2008

Net profit for 2009

Projected net profit for 2010

Please provide a brief description of your business, the products or services it supplies, its customers and the markets that it operates in. You should cover:

• The nature of your business
• Your products and services
• Your customers
• Markets that you operate in

Please outline the overall trend in your sales turnover and profit development together with a brief description of key events that have led to these changes where appropriate. You should cover:

• How your sales turnover has developed
• How your profit has developed
• The key events that have led to any changes. Please provide an explanation

What are the objectives for your business over the next 3 years? You should cover:

• Main objectives for the next 3 years
• How these will be achieved
• Effects that these will have on the overall business

Please expand on a key event or change that has contributed to business success over the last twelve months. Please provide related information on product/service development, customer/consumer demand, change in business practice, workforce development etc.You should cover:

• Detailed information about the key event or change and background information of how and why it occurred
• How this has impacted on the business and the business success achieved

What are your specific business objectives for the next twelve months, including financial? How does this tie in with the key event detailed in Question 4? How will you measure performance against these objectives? You should cover:

• Specific business objectives and how you anticipate they will be achieved
• How they relate to the key event or changes described in question 4
• Your methods for measuring performance against these objectives

What makes your business stand out from the competition? What is your competitive advantage and how does your business performance compare to the competition? You should cover:

• Reasons why you think your business stands out from the competition, e.g. products, services, customer care, price
• What you consider your one competitive advantage to be
• Comparison of business performance compared to the competition, and research conducted to come to this conclusion where possible

What initiatives do you undertake to develop your staff? Please provide examples to demonstrate the impact of training and development on your business. You should cover:

• Details of staff development initiatives, and how they were put into practice
• The impact that this training and development has had on your business, e.g. operations, profitability, work/life balance etc.

** Please give examples of how specific strategies undertaken by your business have driven growth. Outline the strategy and the impact it has had on your business. Choose a maximum of four strategies, covering areas such as marketing, workforce development, customer service and customer loyalty, environmental impact, financial planning and control, supplier relationships and management, operations, IT, and innovations.You should cover:

• Brief details of up to 4 strategies which you feel have driven growth in your business
• Growth achieved and main impact that each strategy has had on the business

** Please provide a short summary of why your business deserves to win this award and what your company would do with the £50,000 prize if you should win the British Chambers of Commerce Award for Outstanding Achievement.You should cover:

• Summary of main reasons why you feel your business stands out from other entrants and deserves to win £50,000
• An explanation of how you would use £50,000 if you won the Award for Outstanding Business Achievement

**Questions will be used to supply additional information as part of the judging of the British Chambers of Commerce Award for Outstanding Business Achievement.

Attachments

Please attach any supporting documents by clicking the browse button below. Please be aware that if you have attached supporting documents it will take slightly longer for the submission to send, depending on how big your documents are.

File 1