Presented by:

For over a decade, Greater Louisville Inc. has celebrated outstanding small businesses with the Inc.credible Awards. Sponsored by Strothman & Company PSC, the Inc.credible Awards recognize top small businesses in the following categories: 

> Very Small Business of the Year
> Small Business of the Year
> Innovation/Technology Utilization
> International/Global
> Health & Wellness
> Greening/Sustainability
> Inclusion
> Non Profit   

Online nominations were held from April 22 - May 10, 2013.

Those who submit nominations are anonymous. The final step in the application is to complete a company profile, which GLI sent to all eligible nominees. Eligible companies do not have to be a GLI member, but must have opened their business prior to January 1, 2010. They should have 100 employees or less, be locally owned and operated, and have not won an Inc.credible Award in the past 3 years. There are no fees associated with the application.

When you submit the company profile, you are automatically entered into the Small Business of the Year or Very Small Business of the Year category (For-profit only). Companies also have the option to apply for up to two additional awards: Innovation/Technology Utilization, International/Global, Health & Wellness, Greening/Sustainability and Inclusion. Non-profit organizations must complete a separate profile for the Non-profit Impact Award. Profiles are scored by a select group of 50 business and non-profit professionals in the Greater Louisville region. If you have questions about the awards process, contact Marie Branum at 625.0226 or email awards@greaterlouisville.com.

Winners will be announced at the Inc.credible Awards Luncheon, held on Friday, August 23, 2013. Join 500+ business and community leaders to honor the region's top small businesses.

See photos from last year's Celebration of Small Business >>

2013 Inc.credible Award categories:
 
Very Small Business of the Year Award (1-9 employees) - Sponsored by:
Company must exemplify both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, growth in employment, number of years in business and overall financial performance are the primary criteria for this category.

Small Business of the Year Award (10-100 employees) - Sponsored by: River City Bank
Company must exemplify both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, growth in employment, number of years in business and overall financial performance are the primary criteria for this category.  

Innovation/Technology Utilization Award - Sponsored by:
Company must have demonstrated ability in adopting and utilizing technology to directly increase productivity, efficiency, revenue and/or profits. Additional criteria include informed decision-making process around technology adoption, strategic implementation and ability to measure results of utilization.

International/Global Award - Sponsored by:
Company must have significant importing or exporting business and/or be a champion or enabler of global business to qualify for this award. Additional criteria include percentage of business activity that is international and creative marketing to the global market.

Health & Wellness - Sponsored by: Humana
Company must actively encourage healthy and well-balanced lifestyles and embrace activities that promote wellness in the workplace to employees, their families, community and customers. Additional criteria include health risk assessments, support for physical activity and healthy eating programs, educational sessions, and incentives for participation in wellness programs.
 
Greening/Sustainability Award - Sponsored by: Harshaw Trane
Company must have green products or purpose or have extensive green practices to quality for this award. Criteria include written policies, goals and metrics for green practices, provision or use of alternative energy and/or energy efficient products or services, or produce or manufacture a green product or service.

Inclusion Award - Sponsored by:
Company must demonstrate a commitment to inclusive hiring, buying, selling and/or be a champion of diversity and inclusion in order to qualify for this award. Additional criteria include inclusion-focused business policies and practices, goals and measurements around inclusion, and demonstrated community involvement as it relates to inclusion and diversity.

Non Profit Award - Sponsored by:
Applicants must be a Greater Louisville area 501(c)(3) organization, at least 3 years old and have a local governance and management structure in place. Non Profits are only eligible for this category.