This will be the last blog from us peeps here at The Awards People for 2019 (huge applause or tears of disappointment?  Not too sure what we’re hearing there…).

So, in Frank Sinatra style we’re having a jolly good think about how we have been ‘Doing it Our Way’ for the last 12 months.  By that, of course, we mean that we have been earning a crust, but doing so whilst having rather a lot of fun too.

It’s been a quick year (OK, 365 days as usual, but we feel like it has flown by) and we’ve seen a real step change in the way that businesses are approaching awards. Whilst we do still come across the occasional company who have never even considered that there might be such a thing as an award for a business, we’re now mostly speaking with business owners and managers who have had at least some degree of award experience.

We’ve gotten our little selves (as opposed to the little elves, who we never let out of the office) out and about this year and have attended many Business Expos.  It’s been a genuinely lovely thing to do and there have been some fabulous conversations with some immensely interesting people doing very interesting things. We’ve had a chuckle here and there when people have asked us whether we make award trophies or print Thank You cards – or even sell Champagne – all thanks to our very sparkly stand and its celebration-related accessories which can sometimes confuse!

Even this, however, has been a wonderful conversation starter and we’ve gone on to hear about the amazing achievements of those who generally believe that they are simply doing ‘business as usual’.  The modesty and humbleness never fails to surprise us, and I think we’d all agree that sometimes the hardest ‘sell’ we have to make is to convince someone that they are indeed award-worthy and that what they see as ordinary is actually extraordinary.

Businesses are definitely realising the value of winning the right award.  Anyone who has been lucky enough to lift a trophy (or even got through to the all-important finals) has experienced the almost instantaneous uplift in profile and felt the benefit of the opportunities associated with the awards process.  The only tiny negatives we tend to hear relate to how time consuming the applications can be and how writing about one’s own achievements can sometimes be a little uncomfortable.  Now, coincidently, we know some people who can help out with both of those things…

What will the shiny New Year ahead bring for The Awards People?  More of the same please plus the launch of our fabulous online 8 week course called The Awards Blueprint!  Plus we’ll keep on meeting extraordinary people and will continue to have as much fun as we possibly can whilst helping ambitious, driven businesses to thrive and grow.

Here’s to another successful year for The Awards People and another successful year for all of those who want to be award-winning… again and again and again!