Small Business Person of the Year
National Small Business Week Awards
Are you the next Small Business Person of the Year? We think so!
For more than 50 years, the Small Business Association (SBA) has celebrated the achievements and contributions of entrepreneurs through National Small Business Week (NSBW). One way they do this is with the annual NSBW Awards, which are broken down into categories that recognize excellence in categories like exporting, disaster recovery, contracting, resource centers, and more.
These awards are given to SBA-assisted businesses that have excelled in their industry and community over the past three years. Business owners are encouraged to nominate themselves or another entrepreneur who meets all of the requirements by January 11th.
You can learn more about the full list of awards and criteria on their website.
Small Business Person of the Year Award
One of the most sought-after accolades is the Small Business Person of the Year Award. This award recognizes one business person from each of the 50 states, Washington D.C., Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam for their achievements and success. In order to be considered for this award, you must have received assistance from the SBA, and have been running a business for at least three years at the time of the nomination.
Application Requirements
In order to be considered for the Small Business Person of the Year Award, you will need to complete the nomination process by January 11th at 3:00 p.m. EST. Each nominee will need to submit:
A nominee background form
This form will ask you to fill out generic information like your name, business name, address, and other identifying factors.
A nomination form
On this form you’ll share why you should be considered for this award, including information on your business’ growth over the past three years, your financial health, and more.
A photo of the nominee(s)
You will need to include an original 8” x 10” or 5” x 7” photo of the nominee(s).
You may also submit supporting documents that show the impact you and your business have had on your community or industry. These may include things like press releases, letters of recommendation, news clips and more. Unfortunately, videos will not be considered in the judging process.
Evaluation Criteria
The Small Business Persons of the Year nominees will be judged at both the state and national levels. You can learn more about how your state’s review process works here. This means nominations are assessed on five key factors:
Staying Power
Does your business have a long history of proven success? Maybe you’ve recently expanded to a new market, overcome acquired a competitor, or moved to a larger location. The selection committee wants to see that your business is stable and that your leadership has fostered growth.
Employment Growth
Small businesses play an important role in job growth. To be considered for Small Business Person of the Year, you’ll need to show how many new positions you’ve created in the past three years.
Financial Growth
You will need to demonstrate an increase in sales, net profit, and net worth from the past three years (2017-2019).
Response to Adversity
Over the past three years has your business faced challenges? What were they, and what decisions did you make to overcome them?
Community-Oriented Projects
Business owners are an integral part of their communities. Show the judges how you’ve contributed to your community outside of your standard business operations.
Representing Deaf-Led Businesses
We at CSD SVF want to make sure Deaf entrepreneurs get the recognition they deserve. If you and your business meet the criteria for any of these awards, we encourage you to submit a nomination. We see your hard work and commitment, let’s make sure the rest of the business community does too! Submit your nominations at www.sba.gov/nsbw by Tuesday, January 11th.
