1. To Boost Your Business
Awards can always be seen as an excellent opportunity to boost investment. Obtaining an award from a professional body like ICB, especially for Accounting Firm of the Year, Bookkeeping Practice of the Year and Finance Employee of the Year, are big factors to enhance your corporate profile or individual CV thus giving potential clients or employers one more reason to hire you. 2011 Bookkeeping Practice of the Year Winner, Karen Jewell Ltd, says "Since [winning the Luca Award] we have surged forward. We had a big mention on the local radio and features in business magazines. We had a photo-shoot, both in the office, studio, and on location. We have had new clients and been approached by local accountants who have seen the magazine articles and are looking for a freelance bookkeeping service they can offer their clients. The same for bank business managers who refer their business customers to us."
2. Publicity
Winning an award is an excellent opportunity to show off. This is your chance to engage local audiences and potential clientelle. Hire a publicist (or create a press release for yourself) and send it off to local media stations. Moolchand Dubey, Winner of Student of the Year 2011, was featured alongside nominee Leisa Turnbull in local Scottish newspaper, The Scottish Daily Records (See below). And it's not just the winners that have been getting publicity; Leisa Turnbull is being featured in October's issue of Women and Home magazine. It will be on newstands in September, so make sure you get yourself a copy to hear all about our famous 'mumpreneur's' success story.
Leisa Turnbull and Moolchand Dubey featured in
The Scottish Daily Records newspaper
3. Networking
As your business grows, entering awards can be hugely valuable for their networking benefit. Actually winning can become a secondary concern. The dinner is attended by MPs, Chartered Accountants and representatives from the big accounting bodies such as ICAEW, in addition to your fellow members. You will also have a chance of representing ICB at external events in the future, allowing you to cast your target clientelle net that much further.
4. External Auditing
Entering the Luca Awards also means being externally judged, so you can treat entering as a form of external audit, with the judges assessing the service you offer against those of other bookkeepers. Not only will you be able to boost staff and office moral and efficiency but, simply by applying, you can use this event as a means to thank your staff for their hard work by taking them to 'The Ball,' more familiarly known at The ICB Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Held at The Savoy, London, the central location for prestigious events and celebrity spotting, this is your chance to have your night of glamour.
Karen Jewell and her team receive the award for Practice of the Year
5. Meet the Prince
It's not everyday that you get to be in the same room as royalty and as a patron of ICB, HRH Prince Michael of Kent (The Queen's cousin) is the Guest of Honour at The ICB Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Should you win an award, you will be handed your Luca Statue by the Prince himself and will be granted a photo opportunity so that you will have photographic evidence of your achievement to treasure for a lifetime.
This is your chance to shine. Take pride in the work that you have done and nominate yourself (or get someone else to nominate you) for a 2012 Luca Award. Applications can be downloaded from www.bookkeeperssummit.com Deadline for entries is 3rd September so make sure you get your application in fast.