It is hard to believe that the Telstra Australian Business Awards have notched up 20 years. Yet they have! It has been an incredible journey both for businesses that have participated in the Awards and of course, for the Awards programme itself.

The Awards were started in 1992 in conjunction with Australian Governments to recognise the achievements of small and medium enterprises and to encourage them to strategically plan to grow their business.

From its outset, the stories of how small business owners have taken their vision and created successful businesses, have been inspirational.

This year we celebrate the 20 years of the Awards and to mark this milestone we have published an eBook that tells the stories of the 20 national Awards winners from 1992 to 2011.

As I wrote in the foreword of the book, Australia’s small and medium businesses really are the lifeblood of our country. Small business today accounts for almost half of all employment and contributes more than a third of industry’s value to the economy, while medium businesses account for a further 22 per cent of economic output.

Reflecting back to 1992, there were 800,000 small and medium businesses in Australia.  Now, with the growth in independent contracting, there are more than two million.

When I speak to small business owners from around the country, I am always amazed at their tenacity to take their idea and turn it into a business.

In the book you will read how some of the winners started out in a spare bedroom with a single idea, and are now recognised as leaders in their field. Some have even taken their business into international markets or become part of global organisations.

These are examples of local success, domestic expansion and international growth and each of their journeys make for fascinating reading.

I definitely encourage you all to have a read of the book – I found it inspirational. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

www.telstrabusinessawards.com