The British Small Business Awards, in association with the Federation of Small Businesses, celebrates the nation’s leading sole traders, micro-businesses and small companies – as well as the service providers and advisers that help them start, run, grow and succeed.

I’ve been writing for SmallBusiness.co.uk for many years, and over that time I have spoken to thousands of companies about the challenges, pressures and excitement of running a small business today. Many have developed into much larger organisations, taking on more and more staff, developing and innovating their products and services, and challenging the giants of UK trade. Others have remained successful as smaller outfits, the local businesses that are so important for high streets and communities, and assume the clichéd but very legitimate mantle of ‘engine room of the economy’.

Personally, I have taken great satisfaction from interviewing company owners at an early stage and watching their business blossom over the ensuing years. The confidence of an early-stage entrepreneur can seem baseless at the start of the journey. Some ideas are convincing, others not so much. But what all successful company owners share is an unshakeable belief in their offering and determination not to give up, allowing them to realise their dream. That indomitable spirit will be recognised and celebrated tonight.

Rewarding the companies that bolster the economy

It’s so important that they are celebrated; small businesses don’t always get the recognition they deserve. So often losing out on column inches to corporates and industry competitors with big budgets for marketing, it is high time the small business sector is rewarded for its efforts in creating world-leading products and services, promoting entrepreneurship and boosting Britain’s economy.

The concept of starting a business is a romantic image for many; you can escape the rat race and turn your passion into profits overnight! But life is not always so straightforward for small businesses. Battling hard on slim margins, working 80 hour weeks to keep the wolf from the door, keeping up with regulatory change; it all takes a special type of person, and not everyone is equipped for the task, making it all the more commendable for those who make it work.

Our event celebrates not only the successful small businesses of our economy but also the larger companies that provide services and products for them, bringing together all of the actors in the small business economy that allow it to flourish.

We would like to send a special thank you to our sponsors, the The Federation of Small Businesses, Close Brothers Retail Finance, KPMG Small Business Accounting, Salesforce, Vistaprint and Yell, and our partners, the Forum of Private Business, the Department for International Trade, StartUp Britain and Growth Business, without whom the evening would not be possible.

We look forward to seeing you at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London, tonight.

The British Small Business Awards event is sponsored by: