Guest Blog by Joanna Hill of Sid Hill Transport, 2022 Enterprise Vision Awards New Business Winner

Not only did the news of my nomination for an EVA Award come as a surprise to me, but to hear my name announced as the winner at the awards ceremony that I was the winner of the 2022 Enterprise Vision Awards New Business category came as a massive shock!

I hadn’t prepared anything to say and as I walked up to the stage to collect my Award my mind was spinning – “what is going on”, I thought, is it really me?

Almost a year on, and I’m sitting, reflecting about how winning an EVA has impacted on my life and our business…. and obviously in a good way! Sid Hill Transport Ltd has evolved so much in the last year, but I’ve also changed as a person. 

Winning an EVA has given me confidence in myself and my abilities – I now believe that I am doing a good job, and tell myself this every day.  Throughout my career I’ve lacked a bit of confidence, and have been self critical, but working for myself and being able to reflect on my achievements, I now find it easier to say ‘I did that’, or ‘I made that happen’, and see the positives more. 

I received so many lovely comments from well wishers after the event which made me feel like a celebrity!

It was a real boost for me, especially on the night celebrating with my husband and business partner, my family and closest friends.

Winning an EVA certainly helped our business achieve recognition and it has been invaluable in raising our profile especially when talking to customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. We spread the word by displaying it on our website, my LinkedIn page and our other social media channels, and it was fantastic to be able to forge new connections this way.

In fact I would say that I have become a victim of my own success!!  Having a busy personal and family life and being so operational in running our thriving, successful business has meant that I haven’t been able to get involved in as many networking events as I would have liked. However, what this  highlights is that we are still a New Business, and as such, I cannot take my foot off the gas! Winning the Award doesn’t change the way I need to work, it just reinforces that what I’m doing is right and that I need to continue doing more of the same.

The Transport sector is so fast moving, ever changing and risky! You have to be agile, adaptable, flexible, forward thinking and dynamic, and at the same time able to learn new skills that will improve and take the business forward as we grow.  For example, the fluctuation in fuel costs hit us hard, and we had to think about building new income streams and customer retention strategies, at a time when our competitors were undercutting us.

We are currently investing in our team so that we can lay down some firm foundations, and learn new skills so that we communicate efficiently.

I’ve realised that I love my job as Sid Hill Transport Ltd Finance Director, and that by drawing on my previous career experiences as an accountant in several different sectors, I’m still learning every day; no two days are the same, but I wouldn’t be anywhere else doing anything else.

I love that I can say that…. after all, if you don’t love your job, what’s the point ?!