Dynamic Business Magazine cover star Valerie Khoo’s Sydney Writers’ Centre won the coveted Micro-Business category at the NSW Telstra Business Awards on Friday.
Sydney Writers’ Centre was competing against four other finalists in this major category, with the award presented at the NSW Telstra Business Awards black-tie dinner at The Westin Hotel in Sydney. As a result, the Sydney Writers’ Centre now goes on to compete at the national Telstra Business Awards, announced in August.
The Awards define a micro-business as one with five people or fewer.
Microbusiness is one of the fastest growing sectors in the NSW economy, making up 88 percent of the State’s small businesses.
Founder and director of the Sydney Writers’ Centre Valerie Khoo attributed the Centre’s success to the community of students who support it.
“This award is really the result of our students and customers – it’s because of them that we have been able to build a large community of people who are interested in all forms of writing.”
The Sydney Writers’ Centre was founded in 2005 in Milsons Point, starting with only six students in its first class. The Centre is now host to more than 2400 students each year from all over the world.
One key area of growth has been in its online courses, which are accessible to anyone in the English-speaking world who has access to the internet.
Another key growth strategy has been in the area of business writing. “We find that so many people struggle with writing letters, emails and documents at work,” said Valerie. “Basic skills in grammar and punctuation have also been lost. So we’re helping people learn a simple framework to ensure their business writing is professional and correct.”
The Sydney Writers’ Centre has 3 full-time staff and features more than 20 expert presenters. “We’re thrilled that our presenters include top journalists, authors, bloggers and business communicators in the country,” said Valerie.
