Do you have a favorite small business in Cobb County? Or do you have a business you think is worthy of recognition?

The Cobb Chamber is seeking nominations and applications for its 2022 Small Business of the Year awards, with a deadline of Friday, February 25 to nominate a business and March 21 to apply for an award for your own business.

The Chamber describes the history of the awards and the award categories as follows:

In 1982, the Small Business of the Year awards were established to honor the important role that small businesses play in the Cobb community and the economy. For the 2022 competition, the Cobb Chamber will name the 2022 Small Business of the Year, the Top 20 Small Businesses of the Year, the Businesses to Watch – businesses that have launched three years ago or less – and the Next-Level of Excellence award. New for 2022, the Next-Level of Excellence award recognizes companies that have exceeded SBA size standards and are continuing to excel. 

Business owners can nominate themselves or other businesses. Nominees and applicants must:

• Comply with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s size standards.
• The applicant must be the owner, partner or major shareholder of the business, and active in its day-to-day operations.
• The business must be financially stable and operational for a minimum of three years with the exception of the Businesses to Watch, which is less than three years.
• Businesses must be a member of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce at the time the award is presented.

Applications are judged on “business growth and performance, business challenges, unique and innovative approaches, community involvement and contributions, company culture, and employee relations.”

For the Small Business of the Year competition an evaluation team will choose and top 20, then narrow it to five finalists.

For Business To Watch and Next-Level of Excellence applicants, a team will choose the top three applicants for each category, and a winner will be chosen from those three finalists.

The winners will be announced at the Small Business of the Year Breakfast on Monday, May 16 from 8:45 to 10:00 a.m. at the Coca-Cola Roxy.

Submit nominations and applications at https://bit.ly/3IY6J7k.

For more information on the Small Business of the Year Awards or to become a sponsor, contact Jani Dix at 770-859-2335 or jdix@cobbchamber.org.