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Awards

Small Business of the Year Applications

Tips for Application Success

  • Meet the Deadline. Complete and submit the online application by Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.
  • Complete Every Section. Each section of the application will be reviewed and assigned a weighted score by an independent panel of judges. You are strongly encouraged to include as much content as possible and not to leave any section blank. While we do wish to review a robust and complete application, we also encourage you to be succinct and polished in your responses to ensure your most important points stand out.
  • Read the Application Entirely Before You Start. Before beginning, you should become familiar with the application. Reading through it a few times will help with gathering the information needed to complete it.
  • Additional Content & Research is Not Reviewed/Conducted. This is a very competitive process, and our judges have many of applications review and rate in a short amount of time. Because of how time intensive this process is, they are only able to review the content included in the application packet. Please do not submit any additional materials that are not requested, and please note that the judges will not have any time to do additional research on a company apart from the application.
  • Save Your Answers in a Word Doc. To help prevent any technical issues and frustration, we highly recommend answering all application questions in a Word document and transferring them to the application form when they are finalized, and you are ready to submit.
  • Enlist Help. You may find it helpful to divide up different sections of the application amongst different departments at your company or with the strongest writers on your staff.
  • Ask for Testimonials. We encourage you to ask some of your most loyal and satisfied clients for their opinions and testimonials.
  • Check it Twice, Submit Once. Be sure to review your application for spelling and grammar before submitting.
  • Be Specific. When providing numbers and specific examples, please use exact figures whenever possible.
  • Be Authentic. We encourage you to be authentic and share the good, the bad and the ugly of your small business journey. And most importantly, our judges want to know how you overcame any adversity or challenges, and what you learned along the way.
  • Community Service Counts! Do not underestimate the importance of community service. It is helpful to include the community service hours from all of your employees not just the owner or CEO.
  • A Winning Application Takes Time. Start the application process early. It will take more time than you anticipate and we strongly encourage you to not wait until the deadline to begin.
  • Seek Feedback. Ask someone you know to review your application before submitting it. Feedback from a trusted source can be very helpful in crafting a competitive application.

 

If you have a question regarding any aspect of the application please take advantage and reach out to Jani Dix at jdix@cobbchamber.org or 770-859-2335.