On Wednesday 18th April, we dusted off our high heels and attended The Regional Awards in Cardiff; a ceremony that recognizes and celebrates local business. We were attending both as nominees for the Small Business award, and sponsors of the New Business Award.

The most anticipated award of the night for us, was of course, the award we were nominated for. The Small Business Award recognizes small businesses that don’t fit into another award category, but still awards their efforts as a small business. We were humbled to be nominated for this award, as we identify ourselves as a small business, that supports other small businesses with their marketing and networking needs. The winners were selected on a three-stage process: an application written by us, a public vote, and a panel of judges. Despite the grueling procedure and the tough competition, we were announced as The Regional Awards’ Small Business of the Year.

As our first award as a magazine (our Marketing Manager Alice picked up the Employee of the Year award at the latest Business Growth Awards), we were proud to call ourselves an award-winning magazine. Gemma, our Managing Director, says ‘I am absolutely thrilled to bits that we won this award. It’s nice to see the hard work from our team to be recognized’. It was an overwhelming win. We felt proud not only to call ourselves an award-winning magazine, but to be recognized for our hard work as a small team. Alice, our Marketing Manager, says ‘I am speechless. I feel so proud to work for such a deserved team’.

After several selfies with our trophy, we were proud to present the New Business Award; which recognizes a range of local businesses less than a year old, that have made a breakthrough in their own business area. We announced the winners as Barney & Beau: a modern nursery & kids lifestyle store that stocks quality baby products for the modern home. In just a year, Mia has built a business from the ground up while raising her four children. As our Managing Director, Gemma, is a mum of three, building a business with children to care for is something close to our hearts, so we were proud to present this award to Barney & Beau.

Business awards are a greatway for to gain recognition and showcase your success, as a business big or small. It’s a great reward for our hard work, and we would like to thank our team and advertisers at the magazine who helped us get here. Finally, we couldn’t have won this award without the public support from our readers, we appreciate the amazing support. This is our first award, and we hope that it’s not our last, so keep watching this space.