East Midlands Women of Worth Awards 2010

• Introduction
• FAQs
• Instructions and Terms
• Booking Form

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTRANTS
The East Midlands Women of Worth awards aim to celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurial, forward-thinking business women from across the region. These women play an important role in today's society, providing inspiration to other East Midlands women and encouraging them to pursue their dreams of starting-up and running their own business.

There are three award categories:

Small Business of the Year
The company must employ 10 people or less, be sustainable and made giant strides in the quest to achieve its goals

Most Innovative Business 
For the business that can demonstrate entrepreneurial flair, capitalising on an original and attractive product/service

Business Woman of the Year 
For a woman who has achieved outstanding success with her business. An inspiration to up-and-coming businesswomen

To nominate yourself or a woman/women of your choice for a Women of Worth Award, please fill in the application form (BOOKING FORM) online. Hard copies of the form may also be requested. It is advisable that you consult the Hints and Tips, and the Terms and Conditions sections below before filling out the form.

How to enter

Entering the East Midlands Women of Worth Awards is easy, just follow these simple steps.
 
1. Application form (BOOKING FORM)
Have a look at the three categories and think about where you or a nomination of your choice would fit. Once decided, complete the application form on-line or email it to:
wow@kc-jones.co.uk  

The closing date for receiving entries is 5pm, Friday 15th January 2010.

2. Interview
After the closing date has passed, a judging panel will review each entry based on common criteria. Interviews with will be held at the beginning of the week commencing Monday 1st February 2010. In order to make their decision, the judges may request to visit the nominee's premises at a mutually convenient time.

When the finalists have been chosen, arrangements will also be made for filming to take place at their premises, in order to create video segments to be shown at the awards ceremony.
 
3. Awards
The winner of each category will be announced at the Women in Business conference on Thursday 4th March 2010 at Pride Park Stadium, Derby.

Hints and tips for completion of your entry form

1.   Go for it! There is no room for modesty when filling out the form. Wherever possible, provide specific information to support your nomination. For instance: 

• What challenges has the nominee had to overcome in order to be successful in business?
• How has the nominee's business grown in terms of the number of employees; turnover; profitability?
• What significant achievements can you identify? e.g. development of new products or services; export successes; notable contract wins; expertise in specific markets etc.
• What else does the nominee do that sets her apart from other business women? e.g. charitable/voluntary work; involvement in business networks; people management skills etc.

Basically, the more detail that you can include to support your entry, the stronger it will be.

2. Please fill out every section of the form. It is vital that we know as much as we can about the entrants so that the judges can make well informed decisions.

3. Download the form and work on it offline. This will give you the opportunity to make amends and allow you the time necessary to submit a top class application.

4. Take into account the circumstances of your nominee's business. We like a bit of context. Bigger is not necessarily better, smaller businesses stand just as much of a chance of winning.

5. Try to stick to the word count guidelines if possible. We are looking for quality not quantity. A clear and concise argument is always better.

6. Have fun with it. Poetic license, humour and creativity are always welcomed. However, remember that simple and straightforward language can say more than elaborate jargon.

7. Give real examples of the nominee's business, including any confirmed future actions you/they are planning.

Terms and conditions for Women of Worth Awards 2010

• Businesses from all sectors are welcome to enter the awards providing that the owner is a woman or a woman owns more than a 50% equity stake or in the case where the entrant is not self-employed they must be a Senior member of staff and making a significant difference to the overall success of the Company.
• The business trading address and origins must be within the East Midlands (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland).
• All sections of the form must be filled in.
• The entry forms submitted will be viewed by the judges on the panel only.
• All nominees must be over 18.
• For the Small Business of the Year category, the company must have ten employees or less.
• An individual may nominate as many women as they wish to but for each nomination a separate application form must be completed.
• The judging panel may request a visit to any of the shortlisted candidates at their premises.
• Any entries found to be false or bogus will be disqualified.
• Completed forms and any supporting evidence e.g. letters of recommendation, newspaper clippings will not be returned to the applicant.
• The winners will be announced at the East Midlands Women in Business Conference being held on Thursday 4th March 2010 at Pride Park Stadium, Derby so please ensure that you and/or the nominee will be available to attend this conference.
• Filming of the finalists will take place prior to the winners being announced at the Women in Business Conference when the winners are revealed. Please ensure that you and/or the nominee are happy to be filmed at business premises, or wherever the judging panel deem suitable.
• There will be PR work around the awards, including the possibility of photo sessions and interviews involving nominees, candidates and winners. If you are not happy to participate in this PR activity, please let us know in writing when you submit your form.
• The judges' decision is final.