From Little Things, Big Things Grow
So, a big shout-out and massive congratulations to all the outstanding businesses who’ve made it through to the finals for of the 2022 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards!
Though I have to say, it’s the ‘Outstanding Micro Business’ award that always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. To qualify for this category, you must have a minimum of one staff, and a maximum of just four – not many hands on the tools.
These are the businesses where many hats are being worn by very limited heads – often just the one.
These are the businesses that regularly begin as left-field new ideas driven by passion-filled people with a huge dream, but very limited resources.
These are the businesses which, should they continue to grow, will be employing our kids of tomorrow.
So, indulge me a little here, and allow me to introduce you to the four finalists. Drumroll, please…
Kiddo – oh, how I wish this app was around a few years ago when my boys were younger. Kiddo is a babysitting app founded by a Brissie mum, Rebecca Dredge. Kiddo solves a massive problem for parents and carers, and with just a few clicks, your very own Mary Poppins (temp only!) will be knocking at your door, allowing you some well-deserved R & R. Very cool.
Styling Station is a business for good. Sure, they offer styling sessions, but they do so much more than that. On the back of their styling sessions, they also help vulnerable women in the community, and they’re also champions of the environment by repurposing clothing that had been branded as environmental waste. I love how this business is giving back to our community.
Ok, so a candid upfront admission: my knowledge and understanding of all thing’s art is, well…very basic at best. In fact, it’s less than basic - so I’m not going to pretend I know what I’m talking about. Instead, I’ll just hand over to Vast Yonder they can tell you themselves (from their About us page):
Vast Yonder is an experiential creative agency based in Brisbane. Our capabilities are built around the arts, technology and human experience; executed by a transdisciplinary team of artists, curators, creative producers, developers and designers.
And last, but certainly not least, Vickie Saunders and Charlotte Woods are the amazing ladies behind The Brand Builders. Their vision statement sums up the biggest problem that The Brand Builders solves:
“We’re passionate about elevating Athletes in and beyond sport”.
And it’s the ‘Beyond Sport’ piece that really makes me smile – I believe it’s when athlete’s sporting careers come to an end that they truly face their biggest challenges. Some bend. Sadly, some break. The Brand Builders exist to help them to win all over again.
These are our four wonderful finalists for this award - all deserve to take out this honour, but like Highlander, there can be only one!
You can see the complete list of finalists here, and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner at City Hall on Friday, October 21st. If you miss the winner’s announcement, don’t worry, we’ll be shouting them from the rooftops!