Disappointed. Not defeated.

Yes, I am rather disappointed that I did not win the Businesswomen's Association's Regional Business Achiever Award. It would have been really wonderful to be recognised for all the hard work that we do. Having developed a unique reputation measurement tool, managing a high performing team, writing a book, hosting an international reputation conference, and running my first marathon while juggling all of this was clearly not enough, or what the judges were looking for. Be that as it may, it is what it is.

I do still feel like a winner and here's my winning speech:

Thank you to my Mom for all her support and guidance; my mom visited me for the first time in many years, this in itself is a huge win for me. Thank you to my rock and partner Mark for all of his support. (A side note, Mark does not do social gatherings, so he even donned a suit for the occasion, which meant a huge amount; another win!). To my amazing team, thank you! Without them, we couldn't do what we do. (Having my Cape Town team with me, and the Johannesburg team sharing their support throughout the day really meant a lot; their hard work and dedication makes everything that we do possible. I really wanted to win it for them more than anything else. The beautiful huge bunch of flowers in my office from them really touched me, and puts a smile on my face every time I see and smell it). A big thank you to our wonderful clients, thank you for entrusting your reputations with us. Thank you to Margaret Hirsch for nominating me. Thank you to the BWA for creating the platform to recognise dynamic, successful businesswomen. Thank you to all the sponsors for the amazing prizes! Through the process, I have met the most incredible people.

One of the key lessons I learnt, is that our unique selling proposition (USP), isn't quite what it should be, seeing that our offering was referred to as 'PR' when our service was explained as part of a promotion that the BWA are running. Also, if I am 100% honest, I don't think the video quite captured what we do as succinctly as it could have. It's back to the drawing board for me to get our messages refined.

So, even though I did not win, I walked away incredibly enriched and grateful for the whole experience.