‘‘It’s not what you know, but who you know,’’ WSABE Award winner Jim Taggart said at the launch of this year's awards in Parramatta, yesteday.
‘‘Well, that saying is redundant now.
‘‘It’s now not who you know, but who knows you.’’
Speaking at the launch of the 2012 Western Sydney Awards for Business Excellence, Mr Taggart — the 2011 Excellence in Finance and Insurance Products and Services award winner — was clear about the value of the awards.
It gave a business exposure and credibility, he said.
Vanessa Cullen, whose company Forward Thinking Des
View a gallery of pictures of the WSABE Award launch, taken by Gene Ramirez, by clicking on the image below:
ign won Business of the Year in 2011, agreed that success in the awards had given her business credibility in new markets.
‘‘Seeing four girls in an office, all under 35, and giving them half a million dollars for a (shop) fit-out . . . you wouldn’t do that unless you had confidence and (the award) has given us that credibility,’’ she said.
The WSABE awards, run by the Parramatta Business Chamber, are now in their 22nd year and its organisers had some significant new ventures to announce at the launch.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Karen James said the bank was a proud sponsor of the awards, considering it shared it’s 100th anniversary with the chamber this year.
‘‘Western Sydney is the third largest economy in Australia,’’ Ms James said, ‘‘and has more than two million people.’’
Ms James said a goal of hers was to celebrate women in business and announced that this year WSABE would split it’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in to categories for men and women.
Following Ms James, Parramatta MP Geoff Lee explained why he thought the business awards were so worthwhile for businesses in western Sydney.
‘‘By being a finalist, or even a nominee if you’re lucky enough, to get that external validation for your business is just so important,’’ Dr Lee said.