2019 Telstra ACT Business of the Year awards

It takes courage, persistence and resilience to run a business. Last night’s 2019 Telstra ACT Business of the Year awards recognised the capital’s best.

With around 29,000 businesses in the ACT, it’s no mean feat to be on stage at these awards, now in their 27^th year.

Winners at last night’s gala event, held at Gandel Hall at the National Gallery, were chosen across four categories: Medium and Making Waves, Small and Succeeding, Emerging and Energised, and Social Change Maker.

And the winners are …

Coordinate Group, a marketing and communications consultancy, took home both the 2019 Telstra Medium and Making Waves Award and the Australian Capital Business of the Year.

Water Tight Canberra, a plumbing and gas-fitting company, won the Small and Succeeding Award.

New Level Landscapes, a landscaping and gardening business, won the Emerging and Energised Award.

OzHelp Foundation, a not-for-profit mental health program provider, won the Social Change Maker Award.

The national awards will be held in Melbourne in November.

Telstra says small and medium businesses are a driving force in the economy, both locally and nationally, employing more people in Australia than the big corporates.

A record number of nominations flowed in for this year’s awards – 21,000 from across Australia – more than double last year’s entrants (ACT figures are not available).

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn says, “These businesses have inspired us all with their resilience, courage, incredible commitment, and their ability to find new solutions and new ways of working”.

The judging of these long-standing awards is rigorous, with Telstra saying that those in the room last night are in the top 1 per cent of businesses in the country.

Keynote speaker Dr Catherine Ball, who recently created ‘World of Drones Education’, spoke about what it means to take that leap of faith to start a business and for owners to back themselves in business.

“Owning your own business can be both liberating and terrifying. You have to be open to change … Not just how far you have come but how far you can go,” said Dr Ball, a previous Telstra award winner.

Dr Ball said businesses need to dare to think over the horizon. She congratulated winners and finalists for having the determination to put themselves out there for the awards.

2019 ACT FINALISTS

Medium and Making Waves

• centreRED
• face2face Recruitment
• HorizonOne Recruitment

Small and Succeeding

• Axis Hairdressing
• CIC City Industrial Cleaning
• Define Fitness
• Workplace Research Associates

Emerging and Energised

• Accelerate Physiotherapy
• EPL Electrical
• Parbery Consulting
• The Markets Wanniassa.