The Youbee Media team are celebrating once again! We’re thrilled to announce that we’re ‘New Business’ finalists in the Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAs). The Enterprise Vision Awards are a dedicated celebration of women in business. Here’s a little bit more about the EVAs, why our nomination means so much to us, and the joys of being an all-female team!
What are the Enterprise Vision Awards?
The EVAs are a special event; the UK’s largest annual award ceremony focussing solely on women in business. Now in their 12th year, the EVAs continue to honour the achievements of outstanding professional women. Competition was especially intense this year, with over 1,500 nominations for the judging panel to assess. In previous years, only businesses in the Northwest of England were eligible for nomination. However, 2023 opened the awards to female professionals from across all of the UK.
Heather Waters (NatWest Regional Enterprise Manager - Northwest) has been involved in judging EVAs candidates for 10 years and she appreciates the economic value and employment opportunities created by these driven, hard-working business owners. Heather says, “As the UK’s biggest business bank, [NatWest] knows that female-led businesses have a vital role to play in the economy and we are committed to championing the potential of female entrepreneurs. The EVAs is a fantastic opportunity to both recognise and celebrate the success of women in enterprise and we look forward to this year’s event and hearing the inspiring stories that the awards shine a light on every year.”
Celebrating achievements of women in business
The good news is that now, year on year, opportunities for women in business are increasing. However, despite this growth, female leaders are still more likely to lack the confidence needed to scale up; they worry about the economy and don’t access funding as easily as their male counterparts. The number of programmes and incentives for businesswomen and passionate female entrepreneurs are out there, yet many still struggle to find the right support.
According to the 2023 Rose Review , in 2022 more women in the UK became business founders than ever before. This is part of a positive trend; since the Rose Review’s launch in 2019, female-led business incorporations have more than doubled. But we still need to change the narrative, as indicated these findings:
- £250bn could be added to the UK economy if women matched men in starting and scaling businesses
- Just 14% of the overall UK angel investment community are women
- In the 2023 report, just 16.8% of all active companies in the UK were female-led
- Women are STILL twice as likely as men to mention family responsibilities as a barrier
So, despite recent progress, female business-owners are still in the minority and their development can be restricted by outdated gender expectations. This is why the EVAs make such an important statement about the value of female professionals. It’s important to celebrate these women’s achievements and the incredibly hard work that goes into making their dreams a reality. The EVAs are a rallying point, a beacon of encouragement and hope. They provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to meet with and be inspired by their peers. Coral Horn, founder of Enterprise Vision Awards comments “The EVAs encourage women to aim high and have their voice heard, they are the gold standard for female enterprise. All our finalists should be hugely proud of their achievements, the competition was intense and highly contested. Good Luck to all the finalists!”
“The EVAs are a rallying point, a beacon of encouragement and hope. They provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to meet with and be inspired by their peers”.
Youbee Media, award-winning agency
Youbee Media are no strangers to award nominations and winner’s events. Despite only being in our second year of business, we’ve already received nominations for multiple industry awards (including the Yorkshire Choice Awards, FB Fashion Ball and SME Business Awards). We won The Prestige Awards ‘Marketing Consultancy of the Year’ title for two years running. As a young company, part of our growth strategy involves enhancing our credibility and finding ways to showcase our industry skills. To this end, we identify select award opportunities each year. However, our entry for the Enterprise Vision Awards came as a real surprise - we were nominated by someone in our network (thank you, whoever you are!) – and to be selected as finalists from such an amazing talent pool is a genuine honour.
The Youbee Difference
Youbee Media’s personal approach to social media management helps us to stand out in a saturated market. We’re recognised for going above and beyond, from creating personalised marketing workshops, to building real relationships with clients and with partners in our network to creating the best results. Our marketing consultancy wouldn’t have achieved as much as quickly as we have, without support and signposting from some valuable sources. For instance, we’ve been incredibly grateful for assistance from funded programmes such as AD:VENTURE and the female-centric #WECAN programme, which have allowed our enthusiastic team to learn, grow and gain accreditations.
As an all-female unit, Youbee Media hugely support organisations such as Blossom Training & Development, endorsing their message of female personal safety and confidence. We’ve supported local charitable organisations since Youbee Media was founded, and Blossom Training is one of the companies we wear our heart on our sleeves for. The Youbee team attended a fully funded workshop in September 2022, spending an involved training day with the Blossom leaders. The experience was immensely empowering and had a huge impact on the team.
Looking inwards at the team, Youbee Media is proud to have recruited two apprentices, giving them a strong and nurturing start to their marketing career. In addition to developing young talent, Youbee Media also created the necessary accommodations and flexible routines to employ a disabled team member, giving her a new lease of professional life and bringing more diversity (plus years of valuable experience) to the team.
As a close-knit unit, we regularly hold in-house skill sharing workshops - and engage in a monthly ‘Social Club’. The Club’s specific purpose is to take staff away from their desks and workloads, creating a conscious opportunity to relax, chat and strengthen our team bond, in accord with our ‘Mindful Employer’ status.
As Youbee Media looks towards our third year in business, we will continue to build a positive work culture with a strong team bond...and keep on shooting for those prestigious awards!
