Salute to Small Business Award Categories
Note: Small businesses can apply for ONE award category. Past Category Award and overall Small Business of the Year award recipients are not eligible to reapply for 5 years from the date of their award presentation. Nonprofit Community Impact award winner is not eligible for the Overall Small Business of the Year. Commerce Lexington Inc. has not only streamlined the Salute to Small Business Awards application, removing some redundancy and allowing for better descriptions of the success of the business, but has also reduced the number of award categories from eight to four. In addition, the number of employees for a business to be considered has been increased to under 150 employees (full-time or some combination of full- and part-time as indicated in the awards application.
BUSINESS SUCCESS AWARD:
The best small businesses within a community not only provide exceptional products or services but have become part of the fabric of the city. This award exemplifies both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, good management practices, overall financial performance, and workplace culture and employee relations are the primary criteria for this category. Tell us about unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.
ENTREPRENEUR AWARD:
This award celebrates a visionary entrepreneur who has turned an idea into a successful and growing business. The individual must serve as a majority owner and operate or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with at least a three-year track record. Evidence of success as measured by sales and profits, increased employment opportunities created by the nominee’s business, development and/or utilization of innovative or creative business methods and demonstrated entrepreneurial potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth.
MINORITY BUSINESS AWARD:
The Minority Business Award recognizes an ethnically-owned member business, which is defined by Commerce Lexington Inc. as a business that is 51-percent owned, operated, and controlled by a person within the following racial and ethnic groups: African American (individual of Black race of African origin or parentage); Hispanic American (Latin American culture, origin or parentage); or Asian American (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Indochinan, Malaysian, Fillipino, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Island culture, origin or parentage). Tell us about the unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.
NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD:
To be considered for this award, the organization must highlight its services, fundraising efforts, its impact and return on investment, ability to inspire and engage volunteers, maximizing its output and reach to a wide variety of groups and people within the community. Nonprofit Community Impact award winner is not eligible for the Overall Small Business of the Year.
BUSINESS SUCCESS AWARD:
The best small businesses within a community not only provide exceptional products or services but have become part of the fabric of the city. This award exemplifies both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, good management practices, overall financial performance, and workplace culture and employee relations are the primary criteria for this category. Tell us about unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.
ENTREPRENEUR AWARD:
This award celebrates a visionary entrepreneur who has turned an idea into a successful and growing business. The individual must serve as a majority owner and operate or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with at least a three-year track record. Evidence of success as measured by sales and profits, increased employment opportunities created by the nominee’s business, development and/or utilization of innovative or creative business methods and demonstrated entrepreneurial potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth.
MINORITY BUSINESS AWARD:
The Minority Business Award recognizes an ethnically-owned member business, which is defined by Commerce Lexington Inc. as a business that is 51-percent owned, operated, and controlled by a person within the following racial and ethnic groups: African American (individual of Black race of African origin or parentage); Hispanic American (Latin American culture, origin or parentage); or Asian American (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Indochinan, Malaysian, Fillipino, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Island culture, origin or parentage). Tell us about the unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.
NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD:
To be considered for this award, the organization must highlight its services, fundraising efforts, its impact and return on investment, ability to inspire and engage volunteers, maximizing its output and reach to a wide variety of groups and people within the community. Nonprofit Community Impact award winner is not eligible for the Overall Small Business of the Year.