More than 60 women-led small businesses were recognized for their achievements at the 3rd Annual Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards, highlighting the growing power of female entrepreneurship in Australia.
Australia’s top-performing tradies and female small business leaders have been honoured at the 2024 Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards and the2024 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards, held in Sydney on Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August, respectively.
Touted the ‘Logies of small business’, the glittering gala events saw approximately 1000 small businesspeople from myriad retail, services and manufacturing industries converge at The Star on each Awards Night. Triple Olympic gold medallist, Stephani Rice, was among the VIP guests in attendance and provided inspirational addresses on the power of resilience in professional sport as in small business. Both major recognition awards programmes attracted entrants from all Australian states and territories and were comprehensively judged over multiple rounds by an independent panel of dozens of small business experts.
The stringent judging criteria spanned various aspects of small business operations including short and long-term growth strategies, profitability, eco-friendliness, innovation, marketing initiatives, customer service quality and charitable and community support – to name but some of the judging criteria.
WINNERS: 2024 Australian TRADES Small Business Champion Awards:
Swapping their high-vis for red carpet glamour, more than 50 of the nation’s most dynamic, innovative, and best-servicing tradies were crowned at the second-annual Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards, hosted by Nine News’ Peter Overton. The Trades Awards paid tribute to the vital role of small businesses in the trade sector as the backbone of the nation’s construction industry, and a significant contributor to Australia’s overall social and economic prosperity. The Awards also spotlighted trades-based small business owners’ invaluable contributions to their local communities and to their fields of specialty – including their encouragement of future generations of Aussie tradies. The award for 2024 Young Small Business Champion Trades Entrepreneur went to Anthony Antoun of Mr and Ms Group – a family-owned, design, construction and landscaping business based at Birrong in New South Wales.
Jet Plus Plumbing, owned and operated by Victoria’s Luke Kennedy, took the title of Australian Small Business Champion Trade Leader; while NSW-based Andrew Vanny Plumbing won the 2024 Champion Tradie title. Australia’s best Large Builder went to Ruby Homes of Box Hill in NSW; and prestigious accolades were also presented to small business operators across automotive industries, architecture, engineering, gardening, roofing, electrical businesses, pest control, painting, tiling, fencing, flooring, cleaning, manufacturing and more.
“Especially relevant this year as we continue to grapple with a housing shortage, urgent need for more skilled tradespeople and other undoubtedly stressful and unprecedented challenges in trades industries, this programme was deliberately designed to celebrate the millions of hardworking small business tradies who positively contribute to the country in so many ways,” said Steve Loe, Awards Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions, which coordinates the Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards.
For a full list of 2024 Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards winners, visit championawards.com.au/trades.
WINNERS: 2024 Australian WOMEN’S Small Business Champion Awards:
The biggest celebration of women in small business saw more than 60 prestigious accolades presented at the third-annual Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards, hosted by Nine journalist and TODAY show presenter, Jayne Azzopardi. The evening’s most highly-anticipated award – 2024 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion ICON – was won by Vicki Clare-Geluk of Plie Groove’n’Shuffledance school at Cromer, NSW.
The epitome of a savvy trailblazer who turned her business from a one-woman-show to an award-winning performing arts and sports school that now operates across multiple campuses with more than 30 staff and 1000 students, Plie Groove’n’Shuffle has achieved considerable growth under Vicki’s leadership.
Extremely active within Sydney’s Northern Beaches community, delivering a variety of volunteer-based initiatives designed to foster good mental health, self-esteem and coping strategies for young people, Plie’s unique programmes and nurturing environment under Vicki’s headship also cater to athletes with additional needs. With a diverse background as a Director, Author and Marketing Strategist, Kristine Young of Bella Venezia Italian restaurant at Mooloolaba in Queensland, won 2024 Australian Small Business Champion Influential Woman.
The award for 2024 Young Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur was presented to Rise Up Occupational Therapy Services’ Director and Senior Occupational Therapist, Cassandra Cagorski, for her inspiring achievements in Allied Health services as well as exemplary leadership of her small business team.Indi Livas, Founder of the Monday Food Co, was named 2024 Small Business Champion Woman Entrepreneur. With a variety of socially conscious and eco-friendly elements to her business which benefited significantly from Indi’s appearance on the television show, Shark Tank, Indi grew up on a farm in New South Wales and is a qualified yoga teacher. She has a background in naturopathy and raw food production that led her to creating the Monday Food Co, which she aspires to grow into Australia’s leading gut friendly health food company.
In a beauty trifecta for Queensland, aesthetics and beauty business coaching company JadeStart took top gong for Professional Services, the Cosmetic Specialist category was won by Bobbie Charles Skin & Cosmetic Clinic, and Queensland’s Lust Minerals won the Beauty Product category. However, among the year’s most competitive categories with more than two dozen finalists, the Beauty Services award was presented to NSW-based business, Isabella Loneragan Skin. With a focus on holistic health and bespoke facial treatments, as well as educational courses for fellow industry professionals and a product range called Ragan Skin, the Founder of the business, Isabella Loneragan, was also applauded for her influence on the industry via effective media engagement strategies.
Spanning capital cities as well as rural, regional and suburban towns, the array of more than 60 winning women-led small businesses this year also includedBusiness Coaching category winner The Alternative Board, Quakers Hill East Combined OSHC Inc for Most Inclusive Employer, Environmental Business Tiny Tinsand Wollondilly Women in Business for its success in aiding its members’ businesses to grow and connect with community.
According to Australian Government data, female small business owners currently represent more than one-third of all small businesses; and recently releasedresearch from Commonwealth Bank suggests more and more Australian women are choosing to start a small business or side hustle, with women opening up 43.2 per cent of all new business transaction accounts during the 2023 financial year.
For a full list of 2024 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards winners, visit championawards.com.au/womens.
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