It can often feel daunting and overwhelming for those starting out to enter an established and thriving industry.
However, those in Birmingham's business community make sure to nurture and encourage not only the current but the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Our 2021 Birmingham Post Business Awards will celebrate this with the Young Businessperson of the Year category which is designed to recognise someone that has made a big impact in the industry despite their young age.
Whether they are a business owner or employee, the finalists have excelled in their field despite being under 35 years old.
The online awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday June 15 - Please email nikki.kandola@reachplc.com for more information and to learn about sponsorship opportunities. The ceremony will be hosted on our new virtual events platform The Awards Room which gives nominees and sponsors the chance to experience real-time networking, with guests grouped together on their own tables. Follow the hashtag #BPBAwards for updates on social media. |
Andrew Cove
M3 Agency is a full service marketing agency based in the West Midlands. The company works with some of the region's biggest brands, including MG, Marstons and West Midlands Safari Park as well as many much smaller brands locally.
After previously working with Birmingham brands such as Gymshark and SevenCapital, at 30 years old Andrew became M3 Agency's digital marketing director. With a passion for helping local businesses go global and putting Birmingham on the map at every opportunity, Andrew took the leap from in-house to agency life in order to make more impact for these businesses. His passion is evident in all of his work and he maintains a positive approach in all situations.
He takes the time to do plenty of fundraising for the community, for example running the Birmingham half marathon last year and raising the most money by a single person for LoveBrum.
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Phil Davis
Established in 2011, 3D Facilities Support is a family-run business that pride itself in facilities management and innovative engineering solutions.
At the young age of 25, Phil Davis already has nine years of experience in engineering, managing his own team, sales and business strategy. He joined the business at 16 as a trainee apprentice and has developed an abundance of qualifications to advance through job roles, currently completely his final year of a Building Services Engineering degree at De Montfort University.
His current service manager role sees him managing his own team of 14 engineers, sub-contractors and premium clients. Phil prioritises raising awareness about the importance of developing youth skills and his strong links with local technical colleges. Within Phil’s team there is a culture for recruiting and training new apprentices.
Phil enthusiastically engages in charity events and supporting the local community. In February 2021, he supported the Sutton Coldfield Youth Council with their series of youth career webinars, and he and his colleagues supported the YMCA Sutton Coldfield's 'Sleep Easy' event by sleeping outside from 7pm to 7am to raise £5,570.
With his passion for the engineering industry and focus on customer needs, he has aided the development of the family business even through the difficult past year. Covid-19 did have an impact on the business but it is emerging with an increase in business activity, advancements in technology and a greater subscription of clients.
Sophie Drake
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Story Comms is PR agency that works with business big and small to help them tell memorable stories through various PR services.
Account director Sophie has a passion for the region and has a creative mind that thinks of long-term brand legacy, not just short term hits and clicks. A people person, she bonds with clients to fully understand them as people, while also mentoring and nurturing the talent around her.
She is passionate about young people and is the first Local Enterprise Partnership Board Director for Young People in the 海角视频 on the GBSLEP Board, representing the voices of the city’s youth and driving youth policy and engagement. She is a big advocate for supporting local educational institutions, having delivered a number of workshops and speaker slots to students.
From delivering award-winning campaigns and client work to spearheading new businesses and marketing at Story, Sophie has been recognised at every step of her career. This includes in the Birmingham Chambers Future Face of Comms in 2016, Business Live 30 under 30 in 2017 and more recently, PR Week's 30 Under 30.
The full list of 2021 categories and sponsors is:
- New Business of the Year - sponsored by
- Small Business of the Year
- Manufacturing Business of the Year - sponsored by
- Covid Defiance Award
- Professional Services Firm of the Year
- Property and Construction Business of the Year
- Third Sector Organisation of the Year - sponsored by
- CSR Project of the Year - sponsored by
- International Trade and Export Award
- Young Businessperson of the Year
- Company of the Year (chosen from the category winners) - sponsored by