Finalists from around Australia were presented with awards at the Australian Home Based Business Awards ceremony held in August during the Australian Business and IT Expo.
The awards attracted a diverse representation of the home-based business sector - an industry on the rise, with more than 67 per cent of small businesses based in the home. The best-performed businesses in the areas of merchandising, business services, trade services, hospitality / farming and personal services were selected.
Federal Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, the Hon. Dr Craig Emerson M.P., presented the Australian Home Based Business of the Year Award to Networking World’s Brenda Thomson of Victoria, who was also the category winner for Business Services.
The other 2008 category winners were Darren and Tracey Bradley of Scherbra Automotive Group (Victoria) for Trade Services, Sophie Lee of Space4 (New South Wales) for Personal Services, Marlene Meier of Pocket Book Publishing (Victoria) for Merchandising, and Fiona Chambers of Fernleigh Free Range (Victoria) for Food and Hospitality.
Awards organiser John Gannan said the judges were looking for businesses that showed innovation in each of the five award categories. He said the awards were a great opportunity for small businesses to gain recognition for their products.
"The awards are about recognition, which builds self confidence, self esteem and professionalism. An increase in recognition leads to an increase in business."
John believes that step one is winning the award and the next step is to promote the win to benefit the business.
People are ditching the traditional workplace and opting to combine lifestyle and work to run their own businesses from home creating a dynamic and diverse network that is shaping the way people go to work.
From traditional trades of plumbers and carpenters to specialized Internet based marketing and giftware operations the diversity of home based business is immense.
Entries for the 2009 Awards will be accepted from March 2009.
Note for publicity providers: the Australian Home Based Business of the Year Award winner, Brenda Thomson, can be contacted on 1300 790 997. For more information contact JPG Media Pty Ltd on 1300 781 980 or email: info@jpgmedia.com.au
Entries for the 2009 Awards will be accepted from June 2009. |
