Rochdale Business Awards: Young Entrepreneur & Start-up Business

The count down is on the Rochdale Business Awards 2011 and budding business men and women, young entrepreneurs and proud business owners are being encouraged to put themselves forward for one of the nine categories.

Nominations for the awards can be made until 23 September and until then Rochdale Online will focus on the different categories, explaining exactly what the judging panel are looking for.

The nine categories for this year’s awards are: Business Man of the Year, Business Woman of the Year, Young Entrepreneur, Start-up Business, Environmental Award, Business Co-operation Award, Business of the Year (turnover more than £5m), Business of the Year (turnover £1m - £5m) and Business of the Year (turnover under £1m).

The winners of each category will be unveiled at a glamorous awards ceremony on 4 November at the Rochdale Town Hall and the nominations are currently the talk of the town.

Chairman of the Rochdale Business Awards Steering Group, Stephen Lowe of Natwest, said: “The Rochdale Business Awards represent a fantastic opportunity for the Businesses of Rochdale to showcase their success.

“These are difficult times but many companies continue to thrive and as a bank Natwest are delighted to be the main sponsors of this event, which will enable the town of Rochdale to be proud of its business community.”

Young Entrepreneur
This award is looking for an individual who has shown the desire to succeed and who has the flair, the drive and the ambition to make it happen.

Open to those aged 30 and under on June 1 2010, this category seeks out the best young entrepreneur in Rochdale.

The winner will be able to demonstrate to the judges a high degree of entrepreneurship, great potential to succeed and a well-defined vision for the future.

Start-up business
The winner will be able to demonstrate that from the initial seed of an idea they identified an opportunity in the marketplace; developed, manufactured or sourced a product; took this to customers and successfully made sales.

The judges will take into consideration sales growth, profit achievement, number of people employed, and evidence of a satisfied customer base.

To qualify, your business should not have been operating as a trading entity before January 2010.

To enter the awards visit: http://www.rochdalebusinessawards.co.uk/form/index.html