How enterprising women can get the recognition they deserve

Awarding women entrepreneurs

If yours is a woman-owned business, let me ask you two questions that are probably “no-brainers”:

  • Would you like to spend 28-March 1, 2015 at The Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami?
  • Would you like to be recognized for the work you’ve done building a financially successful, thriving business; exhibiting leadership at the local, state, national or international level; and mentoring and giving back to support other women in business?

If you’ve answered yes to those questions, you need to nominate yourself for a 2016 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. Winners will receive great recognition and publicity for themselves and their businesses. They’ll find their stories written up in local, national and even global media outlets. Further, each woman recognized will be featured in Enterprising Women magazine.

The award is sponsored by Enterprising Women: The Voice of Women Entrepreneurs and the deadline for nominations is midnight Nov. 1, 2015. By the way, the reason I asked two questions at the top of this article is because if you can’t be at The Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove during the event, you can’t enter. All winners need to be in attendance. Here are the other criteria:

  • Your company is at least 51 percent owned and managed by a woman;
  • You are a woman who owns, manages and controls the business with a partner, and you own at least 33 percent of the business; or
  • You are a woman entrepreneur who leads a company that has obtained venture capital and, as a result, you now hold an equity position of less than 51 percent in your company.

Winners will be selected in six different categories and the categories are based on the size of your enterprise with the smallest having up to $1 million in annual revenues and the top category being those enterprises that have more than $100 million in annual revenues. Within each of those six categories, several women will be recognized. You can see the 2015 winners here to get an idea of the contest’s scope.

The event is a great conference as well. There will be plenty of seminars that will help you keep up with the latest business trends and you’ll have many opportunities to network with like-minded businesswomen. Women who can make things happen for you in your future will all be in Miami and that’s a gathering you don’t want to miss.

I hope you enter and if your schedule doesn’t allow you to make the trip this year, start planning right now for the 2017 conference.