ABCC Awards: Past winners share their success stories

The annual dinner and awards ceremony of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce is a flagship event to acknowledge the remarkable achievements of businesses across Greater Birmingham and the West Midlands and to highlight the positive impact they have had on the Asian community.

The event holds a special place in the Greater Birmingham business calendar with past winners including a diverse set of businesses from small startups to large scale corporations.

Winning or getting shortlisted for an award is guaranteed to raise your business profile in the region, as proven by the following testimonials from past winners.

Kamran Saleem, Sharon Bell, and Gurdas Singh shared their experiences of applying to an award and eventually going on to win them.

Kamran Saleem, the director of MotorServ UK won the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year and Outstanding Small Business of the Year awards. His business was later deemed as the Outstanding Overall Business of the Year 2022.

Sharon Bell, chief executive of Services for Education won the Outstanding Charity of the Year award while marketing consultant at WANAMA, Gurdas Singh won Outstanding Young Achiever of the Year Award.

Kamran Saleem

What inspired you to enter ABCC Awards 2022?

Kamran Saleem: The main inspiration to apply was my team at MotorServ UK. The team work very hard and go above and beyond, not only for the customers, but for the community as well. I thought that these hardworking individuals deserve recognition and wanted to put ourselves forward to motivate this team even further.

Another reason we entered is to celebrate the successes we have had to date, and gain publicity and awareness through an award.

Sharon Bell: We wanted to shine a light on two ground-breaking initiatives: our music service and our school support service. The ABCC awards was one of the best ways of achieving this.

Our Music Service has created the UK's largest world music and percussion department - bringing the full breadth of music to Birmingham, reflecting the city's diversity.

Our School support service has implemented an innovative programme - Health for Life - which has engaged with 226,000 children and adults in Birmingham to encourage healthier family lifestyles.

Gurdas Singh: I had close friends and colleagues that had previously applied for an award and I witnessed how this had set them on a positive trajectory. I was also inspired by how the ABCC community celebrates the brightest talents and businesses.

Sharon Bell

What have you and your business gained from winning an ABCC award?

Kamran Saleem: It's been a challenging year following the award win, but it has kept spirits high in the team and helped us to power on through all the adversity and problems we have encountered. It's given us recognition and a lot of assurance in the marketplace, and we have gained a lot of new clients from across the Chamber network.

Sharon Bell: In short: independent, respected assessment of our work and credibility - particularly amongst our partners and our funders with whom we work so closely. But above all, the award was a great cause for celebration for our hard-working teams.

Being judged ABCC Outstanding Charity of the Year demonstrates that we are doing the right thing, it helps us attract the talent that we need to further develop in the future, and it provides us with great opportunities for publicising our work and our achievements.

It has also opened doors to meet different communities who may be interested in supporting us - perhaps working with us or becoming a trustee.

Gurdas Singh: Credibility.

Winning an ABCC award has highlighted me amongst ABCC members. People are aware of me and it has put me on the map. I am more recognisable because of it.

My clients have confidence in my work and regard me as a safe pair of hands. Since the win, I have been able to work with other ABCC members.

Gurdas Singh

What advice can you give to businesses thinking of submitting an entry for the ABCC Awards 2023?

Kamran Saleem: Three words: 'Go For It!'

You don't know until you try, and the application process really does help you gather your thoughts, and helps you summarise everything that you may have been doing as an organisation.

The application process will help you to see what aspects you may be lacking in, and what you can do in future to make it happen for you. 2022 was the year for us, but we had tried and failed before, so persevere and who knows, 2023 or 2024 may be your year as a business owner!

Sharon Bell: Step back from your day-to-day work, think about your accomplishments and what makes you and your team most proud - and then capture it in an award entry.

Preparing an award entry will enable you to focus attention on achievements and assess where improvements might be made.

At a practical level, make sure you answer the questions, make it an enjoyable read - and capture the vitality of your organisation.

Above all, allow yourself the time needed and involve your team in its preparation. An award win is for the organisation as a whole. Engaging with staff in the process is a great way of demonstrating that the award is for everyone.

Gurdas Singh: Prove every point that you make in your application; back up your answers with metrics, qualitative/quantitative data from current case studies.

Don't be afraid to disclose certain information and be vulnerable to show your journey.

Keep it short and sweet. Start with a problem, explain how your solved it and provide evidence.

The ABCC annual Dinner and Awards will be held at The National Conference Centre on 18 November.

The deadline for submitting an application is at 5pm on Friday, 8 September.