The ultimate business ‘cheat sheet’

With nominations closing on Sunday, June 28, Laura and Billy Brady — the husband-and-wife team behind Brady Electrical — are urging fellow business owners to take the leap and put their hand up.

The Kyabram business has taken home the excellence in manufacturing and trade award in 2024 and 2022, and was shortlisted in 2019.

Laura said that each of the three times they entered, the nomination process served as a genuine health check — a chance to honestly assess where the business stood.

The first time they nominated in 2019, Laura said they found many shortfalls in the criteria they weren’t meeting.

In 2022, they overcame those shortfalls, hitting their stride to win the category outright.

“When we first entered, you realise in hindsight how amateur you were back then,” Laura said.

“The criteria actually gives you a cheat sheet to understand what you should be doing in your business.”

Beyond the paperwork, the process opens doors to connect with like-minded people who truly get what it means to run a business — and the challenges that come with it.

Billy and Laura both participated in the Good to Great Leadership Course with C4EM after going through the awards process and meeting people that had done the course.

They both said the course had been highly beneficial to investing in their business, and have since put some of their staff through the same course.

Billy is quick to point out there are plenty of reasons to enter — but if he had to pick just one, the networking potential would win every time.

"Apply for it with the intent of not winning, but with the intent of just networking and learning,“ he said.

"As long as you go in knowing that you may not take the win away, you will definitely get something."

Nominations are open for the following award categories until Sunday, June 28, at 10pm.

To nominate a business, head to campaspemurraybusinessawards.com/enternow