ActionCOACH and My Business congratulate the winners of the 2007 Awards
for their deserved success.

Plenty of action at the My Business Awards

Around 500 businesses from across Australia, spanning a remarkable range of activities, entered the 2007 ActionCOACH My Business Awards. From this diverse group, some 27 finalists were selected and, at the Dockside Venue at Sydney’s Cockle Bay on October 5, the winners of the eight business categories were announced.

The 300 people present - family, friends and colleagues – enthusiastically applauded as the eight winners were invited individually to the rostrum by master of ceremonies, David Koch. Their acceptance speeches – emotional, forthcoming and often amusing – provided real insights into the entrepreneurial dynamics of creating and running a business. The winners had typically conceived an original business concept, and converted their passion into a successful reality.

David Koch warmly congratulates Gary Nickless of Nelson International

Along the way they had picked up their share of knocks as they overcame an initial lack of resources and finance to build their businesses. Proving that you can build a new business in virtually any area of the economy, the 2007 finalists included action adventure outfits, recruitment firms, IT security and hot-shot gaming gurus as well as mining services and novel e-tailers . Finance, importers, manufacturing and wine exporters, automotive aftermarket, savvy delivery devices, honey specialists - you name it, they were all in the ActionCOACH My Business awards mix.

Congratulating the finalists, My Business Editor, Peter Stirling, said that “competing for customers, competing for recognition was in the blood of entrepreneurs. The great aspect of these Awards is that it encourages people to strive to succeed, and to do the very best they can to achieve their goals. The Awards are a celebration of entrepreneurial excellence, regardless of who are the ultimate winners on the night:.

He thanked the sponsors of the 2007 awards: ActionCOACH, Cisco, GIO, Imagine Essential Services, Provident Inventory Finance, the NSW Business Chamber, NEC, Melbourne IT, and Optus. “ Without the fantastic support of our sponsors, we would not be able to mount these awards each year. Their generosity in supporting the awards can really be seen as a support for the entire small business community, whose representatives are here at this ceremony.”

From the 27 finalists, the eight winners were announced by David Koch, with Katherine Sampson’s Healthy Habits healthy food chain being announced the overall winner of the ActionCOACH Award for Outstanding Excellence.

The winning businesses were:

Click company name to visit their website.

The benefits of being a My Business Award winner are not confined to the one night: the glow lasts long afterwards, as My Business found when revisiting last year’s winners (see our report in the October edition). The 2006 winners, who were on hand to congratulate the 2007 crop, included Amy Wilkins and Scott Ehler of Active Kidz; Brian Altona and Sinan Kaya of Ashop Commerce; Clyde Campbell of Machinery Automation and Robotics, and Garry and Wendy Visontay of Fruit at Work.

The sparkling backdrop to this years Awards

Wendy Visontay delivered some warm and encouraging words to finalists, saying “Our involvement in last year’s My Business Awards and the PR that followed increased the awareness of health and well-being in the workplace and propelled our business forward.

“Since our involvement with the My Business awards, business has boomed. A year later we now employ eight staff and have another 40 contractors involved in the business. Winning the My Business awards at such a crucial time – in our fourth year of business – was invaluable, and really demonstrated to us that Fruit at Work was an idea of radical simplicity whose time had come.

“If I had to list the three biggest benefits of winning the awards, they would be credibility; that successful businesses have a story, and that constant networking can lead to some very strong strategic alliances.”

Not all award winners started out from day one with dreams of building their businesses. Katherine Sampson, founder of the Healthy Habits fresh food chain, and winner of the ActionCOACH Outstanding Excellence Award and The Cisco Award for Best Young Business - did not give many early indications that she was bound for a career of building a highly successful food retail chain.

Leaving school at 16, she married early and had two children. Buying her first sandwich bar in Melbourne’s east, she began growing her business and by her mid 30s she had three fresh food bars. Feedback from her customers gave her the confidence to take the next major step in building the business: franchising the Healthy Habits chain.

Katherine says that the key sales factor – differentiator – was always to be cutting-edge health brand. “One that makes people feel good about themselves, and [a brand] which they can make an emotional connection to,” she said. “Our brand is bright, vibrant and playful and helps to fuel energy.”

Innovation is a key characteristic of success businesses and Healthy Habits has developed ‘Mini Habits’ as a successful offshoot. Launched last year and aimed at kids, it is a fun and nutritious pack that contains half a sandwich, a drink, a toy and an activity sheet.

“Our plan is to offer a truly healthy alternative to the highly tempting but unhealthy treats and toys offered by fast good giants, and offer Mini Habits at an attractive price,” Katherine explained. The healthy novelty has paid off by attracting more customers. And in another smart promotional move she has partnered with Buena Vista and Disney Pixar making use of the movie Ratatouille which “has lifted our profile, especially among kids.”

It was these types of initiatives, driving the success of Healthy Habits, that attracted the judges and clinched the Best Young Business and Outstanding Excellence Awards.

Jeremy Carter from ActionCOACH with Katherine Sampson

Proving that you can develop a successful business concept in virtually sphere of activity, Health Protect International (HPI), founded by Nicson White – at the ripe old age of 20 – has grown its business by tackling things that, well, bug us.

Based in Oxenford on the Gold Coast, HPI provides a mattress sanitisation service through Australia and New Zealand, mainly to hotels. It opened its door for business in December 2005 and, in the 2006-07 financial year, - its first full financial year - its sales were an impressive $1.5 million. This year’s revenues are likely to get a healthy boost through the Healthy Hotels initiative, the brainchild of Nicson, who has trademarked the product. His early success has won him the GIO Award for Best Small Business, against some tough competitors.

Speaking at the event and presenting the GIO Award for Best Small Business was Gerard McDermott, Executive General Manager of GIO Business Insurance Sales & Service, who said “The entrepreneurial vision of Nicson White has been instrumental in creating a successful business, and Health Protect International has demonstrated a passion for understanding and consistently meeting customer needs.

Nicson said he was “surprised, pleased, elated” to win the GIO Award. “And it made 110 other people very happy – family, friends, my licensees, and my staff. “It’s valuable, practical and exciting, there are many benefits,” he added.

In presenting Kristina Nicholls of manufacturer, Production Parts, with the Award for Best Medium Business, Matthew Nolan, Managing Director of Provident Inventory Finance made the point that the company was now beating out some of the largest companies in the world.

“Winning numerous highly contended contracts of precision made steel products used in aerospace and other high tech equipment… it was evident that Production Parts have implemented best practice policies that have enabled them to meet the rigorous standards required in such an exacting industry,” Matthew Nolan commented.

And proving that you’re never too old to start a business, retired scientist Peter Hutchinson found a new lease of life two years ago when he established Smartburn, winning the NEC Award for Best Technology in an SME. Peter’s initiative in setting up a business after spending decades in a laboratory as an employee, was an instructive contrast with Nicson White, whose company was founded about the same time as Smartburn, but who himself has barely left school.