Blog No 3: April 2021
PUSHING FOR AWARD RECOGNITION FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS AND WHY?

It felt appropriate to talk and create a blog about awards and their importance this week, it is a week where the Network Cork Awards entries are due in by this Friday 16th April and the Cork Business Association will host the Cork Business of the Year Awards ceremony on Saturday 17th April virtually. It also almost feels a little like the ultimate award now to get outside our 5K zone from 12th of April and go somewhere else within our own county!!
I have been a member of Network Cork for over a year now and considered myself too new to enter these awards, but no I was told not at all, that several categories would fit me and my journey perfectly so I am going to give it a shot – why you might ask? Well let me tell you, my reasons and these too should resonate with some many other SME’s who want to gain business recognition from their peers.

PROOF
I needed to prove to myself that my business idea and journey is worth the effort, that it is a viable business idea with realistic goals and expectations, and I can do this. It is those questions we ask ourselves in the early years of a business, is my focus right, am I targeting the right direction… I may be right, or I may be wrong but maybe entering the awards will help me to figure this out….

HIGH ACHIEVER
I have always been a high achiever, constantly challenging myself to find a better result to a problem, a better solution, working through solutions as I run miles and miles training for a marathon (Some advice: there is nothing like running to work through a problem, it is almost as if the skies clear and the answer presents itself out of the sky).
Always needing to see the challenge in a role or project I undertook, I have this really box called my challenge box all my life and it never seems to fill up…. I will always look for ways to challenge myself, this is one of many…

DREAM
Others dream about winning the lotto, jetting away in a private jet, being swept away by a knight in shining armour, for me it has always been my dream to be successful in my own business, I had this vision of myself in a pair of high heels and a briefcase walking down South Mall in the heart of Cork City as I glide to my very own office!! I recall many times in many ways over the years considering this idea or that idea to start a business… many of them hairbrained as it just was not possible at that point in my life journey until I got this opportunity and who knows perhaps Pinnaklo Ltd will have an office on the South Mall yet!!

BUSINESS RECOGNITION
Even in these times of a pandemic that we are living through, business recognition has never been more important, over the past 12 months, I have seen more creativity in business than I have in the past 10 years, digitization and creativity outside the box has allowed many business to continue and thrive. When that awards application comes in, do not park it until the last minute, make it a priority for your business, something that I plan on doing for me and my business in the months and years ahead. When I attended the Cork Chamber annual dinner back in February 2020 which seems like a lifetime ago, I watched on as our female president guided us through the awards, I said to myself then, that I will be up on screen at these awards one day and that is one of my business goals.

As I finalise my application for the Network Cork Awards, I look forward immensely to attending the Cork Business of the Year Awards next Saturday evening, dressing up in my finery, lavishing the lovely treats from the Presidents Taste of the City at Home dinner and enjoying watching many of those colleagues who have become very valuable to me in the last number of years step up and put themselves forward for awards, I wish them luck and hope they wish me luck too.
Do not think twice,just go for it…

Noella Carroll,
Managing Director, Pinnaklo Ltd