"IT'S NOT worth all the fuss and bother!" How often have we heard bosses in small companies say something like that when an enthusiastic employee has suggested that they might enter for some competition or other?

Not that there's any shortage of choice. The world is full of opportunities to enter into business competitions. A Google UK search on "business competition" gives around 12 million hits.

They are not all competition opportunities, but a quick glance reveals that many of them are and that every sector and category of business is covered.

Incidentally, who do you think was at the top of the first page? Why, none other than our very own Venturefest Yorkshire with its business awards. Now how do they do that?

So should young businesses make it a priority to look for appropriate competitions to enter? And, if so, why?

For those of you who were lucky enough to be present at the Evening Press Business Awards at York Racecourse last week, there would only be one answer and that is a resounding "yes". And why?

The single, clearest message that came through was the crucial importance of people in successful organisations.

Now this is nothing new, of course, but seeing and feeling the enthusiasm and commitment of people to the success of their business emphasised the valuable role played by such competitions.

This is why it is so important that even very young companies, where time and other resources are usually so limited, look for opportunities both to enthuse their staff as well as to test their capabilities by competing with similar businesses.

There are plenty of competitions to go for, ranging from Young Enterprise in schools, through a whole range of competitive opportunities for undergraduates and on to the many competitions and awards open to young, growing and mature businesses.

Many of the competitions are local but others can be national and even international in their reach, such as the Ernst And Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Some competitions result in the compilation of league tables, as seen in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, which rank the relative growth rates of high-tech companies.

There are also awards that carry great prestige, the most notable of which are the Queen's Awards for various contributions to the national good, such as exporting and innovation.

Over the past few years, we have seen some of York's top firms featuring in many of the prize lists for awards both regionally and nationally, and including Queen's Awards to industry.

The commonality is that the winning businesses, almost without exception, demonstrate a passion for developing and empowering their staff.

This was nowhere more obvious than when The Balloon Tree Farmshop and Caf won the 2005 Evening Press Business of the Year Award last week.

Here was a little business, nurtured out of the fields at Gate Helmsley, with more than a quarter of a million visitors and a turnover of £850,000 - five times their predictions. The whole team was there to celebrate the success ... and celebrate they did!

But there were no losers among the finalists because every entrant was improving their business through people involvement and team building.

So, rather than wait for someone to suggest that you enter a competition, why not look around you to find an appropriate opportunity to target.

The pay-back to the business always far outweighs the inputs and the correlation between successful businesses and competition entries is clear.

As with Investors In People, it is not the piece of paper that counts, it is team building and the involvement of staff.

That is why competitions such as the Evening Press Business Awards assume an importance to local economic development far beyond the mere award of prizes, important though they are.

Updated: 10:52 Wednesday, November 23, 2005