Banking on success

The Bank of Queensland Geraldton has been named the winner in the franchise business category at the West Australian Regional Small Business Awards.

Owner-manager Jenny Addison was on hand to collect the award and said she was overwhelmed because her business was recognised in what was a hotly contested category.

“I was just very pleased to be nominated as a finalist,” she said.

“I didn’t really have any expectations because there are a lot of very good businesses out there and… it was the largest number of applicants and submissions that they had ever had.”

Ms Addison said an emphasis on future planning had driven the growth and success of the BOQ Geraldton branch and helped her overcome the challenges of a competitive market and a slow economy.

“I’ve really tried to work very hard on my business rather than in it, so I’ve done a lot of planning about how I wanted to move forward,” she said

“I’ve been trying to get the right staff and structure in place so that we can provide our clients with the best possible service.

“It’s all about making sure that we look after our existing clients, and for the new ones, that we give them the best possible products and service that we can.”

The awards were presented earlier this month in a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Perth, and each business will receive $1000 and a 50 per cent scholarship for the Business Growth Program at Curtin University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, worth $7500.

WA Small Business Minister Sean L’Estrange said there were more than 214,000 small businesses in WA, with more than 53,000 in regional areas.

He said small businesses contributed an estimated $44 billion a year to the gross State product.