Local Business Awards – The Rewards of Getting Involved with The Shoalhaven Business Awards

This year the MMJ Commercial divisions and more particularly the Business Sales & Acquisition team made the decision to play a role in the Shoalhaven Business Awards. With an increasing proportion of our business sale listings coming from Berry, Nowra and Jervis Bay we thought it was time to give back to the business community in the region.

MMJ’s involvement took three forms:

Sponsorship of the Large Business (>20 employees) Excellence Award
Assisting with the judging of the Small Business (5-19 employees) Excellence Award
Promoting the event to our database of business owners and potential buyers

The sponsorship of the Large Business Award was fairly simple – MMJ paid a sponsorship amount which helps fund the awards presentation amount and the ongoing and highly valued work of the Shoalhaven Business Chamber.

The three finalists were:

Excellence in Large Business – Sponsored by MMJ Wollongong
• Nowra Farmers Market – Fruit & Vegetable Retail/Wholesale
• GJ Gardner Homes Shoalhaven – Home Construction
• Kimberlie & Co – Home Cleaning

With the winner being the superb team at GJ Gardner Homes Shoalhaven – who give back so much to the region (including their support of the House That Convoy Built which is also an MMJ project). This is in addition to their core business of helping people build their dream home. It was an honour to present the award to owner/operators Sean Vickery & Nathan Fay and their team.

The Small Business Excellence category had an enormous number of entrants – a real indicator of the energy in the Shoalhaven business sector. From an initial field of 16 written entries the judging team, which I was part of, were able to select 8 deserving finalists. The diversity in the industries these businesses operate in was remarkable – including music tuition, bridal wear, landscaping, physiotherapy, auto mechanics, plumbing, pest control and accommodation. Two similarities of all the finalists were they were very good at their core business and they were trying something different.

Excellence in Small Business
• Stella Studioz
• South Coast Brides
• Landscapists
• Medicine in Motion Health Group
• Motatec
• J&T Dale Plumbing
• Affordable Pest Control
• Pleasant Way Motor Lodge

All finalists attended a one hour face to face interview, during which we were able to get a better understanding of:

The challenges the business had faced and how they had overcome them
The planning process the business uses to forecast revenue and cashflow

What they do differently to their competitors
A marketing initiative they have used successfully in 2022
How they helped their employees develop their skills
How their business gives back to the Shoalhaven community

Whilst I was initially daunted by the time required to conduct these interviews and analyse the responses, in the end I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Meeting with business owners is a large part of my job as a business broker, and it reminded me how satisfying I find learning about how each business is unique.

We heard about the challenges of the environment and externalities in a time where these impacts were enormous with bushfires, floods and yes that pandemic. For business owners to find ways to prosper in these times, to “pivot” or find help wherever they could and still maintain their own mental health was truly inspiring.

Through all this their focus on their teams and their customers remained resolute. In addition the positivity towards the years ahead, and the initiatives they are putting in place gives me great confidence in the Shoalhaven region.

The winner in a close finish was the incredible team at Stella Studioz, led by inspirational business owners Sian Ludlow and Sam Tacey. This performing arts tuition studio is enmeshed with the Shoalhaven community and provides tuition to vocalists, performers and musicians with a view to creating performance opportunities. Their commitment to developing their team by providing Certificate 3 Music training was notable, as was their development of the region’s largest recording studio. They have also developed and operated community programs including the “Music for the Mind” mental health initiative.

The excitement when this award was announced was a true testament to how popular the business is amongst it’s many students, staff and their families. With more great initiatives being rolled out in the next 12 months this truly is a business to listen out for.

Being able to promote the Shoalhaven Business Excellence Awards to the MMJ Business Sales & Acquisitions community was also a pleasure. The awards are highly regarded, as is the Shoalhaven Business Chamber. We were able to get the word out to our database of more than 7000 business owners and business buyers across the South Coast, Illawarra, Southern Highlands and throughout Sydney. I’m positive there are many potential business buyers who are now looking more closely at the Shoalhaven region for their next business investment.

The MMJ Wollongong team were also fortunate to attend the awards gala evening at The Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre– which was an extremely impressive event. The unique Steam Punk theme was captured in the decorations and pre-event entertainment which created a real buzz which continued through the evening.

I would not hesitate to recommend to other businesses to get involved in their regional business awards program. Sponsor, judge, promote and attend – meet these inspirational business owners and get a better understanding of their journey.

Congratulations to the organisers and good luck to all the Shoalhaven category winners who now progress to the 2022 Illawarra IMB Bank Business Awards on October 14th.

Full List of Shoalhaven Business Excellence Winners

Business of the Year
Nowra Farmers Market

Outstanding Business Leader
Renee Knight – Caresouth

Outstanding Employee
Jessica Bezant – Landscapists

Outstanding Young Business Leader
Alex Stronach – Medicine in Motion

MMJ - Excellence in Business (21+ employees)
GJ Gardner Homes Shoalhaven

Excellence in Small Business (5 – 20 employees)
Stella Studioz

Excellence in Micro Business (Less than 5 employees)
Hill to Air

Highly Commended – The Marketing Clan

Outstanding Start up
Banksia Support Services

Highly Commended – Shoalhaven Occupational Therapy

Excellence in Innovation
Flagstaff Group