Closely linked with the Young Business Executive section, the two categories recognise people aged 18-35 – those who have built outstanding careers either within an organisation or, like these five residents, out on their own.

The winners of the business awards will be announced at a gala evening on Friday, August 4.

Ben is the managing director of Transwest Fuels, a partnership between him, his brother, and another set of brothers.

Born and bred in Tamworth, he was working across Australia in fuel, chemical and general transport when the idea of a wholesale fuel business started kicking around.

The ‘doors’ opened in February last year, drawing bulk fuel from NSW and Qld.

“We distribute fuel around the north-west; everything from putting fuel into service stations to commercial, industrial and civil – such as bus companies and broadacre farmers,” Ben says.

The latter is a major reason the business got started, and is also an area Ben hopes to expand.

“Farmers work seven days, so that’s what we do,” he says.

“When a farmer rings up and says, ‘Can I get fuel?’ the big guys were saying, ‘Yeah, you can get it next Friday’. They keep bank hours, whereas you can ring us any time of the day.”

Ben says he felt farmers were also “copping it … in regards to price”.

He says they now have about 5000 retail customers per week through about nine service stations including his own Kootingal North Store, and sell “tens of twenties of millions of litres per year”.

Ben says anyone starting a small business “has to have guts, and live and breathe it”.

“My advice for anyone is you’ve got to be passionate about what you do, that’s number one,” he says.

“Have great staff around you, treat them really well and they will take care of your customers.”

KRISTEN OWENS

With four children, Kristen Owens says it was a perfect fit – pardon the pun – for her to go into the maternity wear business.

“Being a mum myself, I understood how precious a time it is, and knew I wanted to do what I could to support other mothers, even if it was to only make them feel beautiful and comfortable,” she says.

Kristen and her husband bought online maternity wear store Angelbub as a “very neglected” but very promising business in 2014.

After operating and building the business from home, the family moved to Tamworth, where Kristen was born and bred.

“We realised that there was very little in the way of maternity available – not just in Tamworth, but in the region – so we were inspired to open our very first bricks-and-mortar store here,” she says.

That was in February. A few months later they bought a second shop in Merewether.

Kristen says she never really considered herself “an entrepreneur”, as her initial motivations were simply to contribute to the family income while a stay-at-home mum.

“I have only ever seen myself as a small business owner looking to make it into something that will last,” she says.

“I have found, however, that people are very supportive upon realising we’re not some huge, impersonal corporation.

“Particularly since opening in Tamworth, we’ve been overwhelmed with the positive response and how many people really want to support local business. It’s very encouraging.”

She says she wants Angelbub to keep growing, “to be first name people think of when they think ‘maternity’” and to expand into baby wear and accessories.

“I’d love to open more stores, particularly in regional centres where their access to quality maternity clothing and accessories is severely limited,” she says.

“As a sufferer of postnatal depression myself, something which affects so many mothers, I am passionate about supporting mothers.”

Amy Gilpin started her mobile dog bath and grooming business about nine years ago when she was working full-time as a vet nurse.

Doggy Chi Day Spa offers hydrobathing, blowdrying, clipping, grooming, and even spa service such as a goat’s milk or green tea and mud bath wash, and canine massage.

“Back when I started vet nursing, there were no groomers, basically, so everyone would come and get the vet nurses to groom,” Amy says.

“Clients were asking for a lot more: they didn’t want just a shave back, they wanted different cuts and styles, and I found that no one else was really doing that, so I decided to start up.”

She operated her business part-time around her job, and went full-time almost five years ago about the time her first son, Zane, came along.

She can see up to 10 dogs a day and, depending on the breed, the same dog every six weeks.

Amy says regular visits let her pick up if the dog has any suspicious lumps, and keep the dog’s coat and skin in good shape.

“One of the biggest challenges is educating everybody that it needs to be done year-round, it’s not just something they can do once a year,” she says.

“Generally if you do leave it for that once a year, by the time they need to be groomed they’re quite matted from having their coats on over winter … that experience can be a traumatic one.

“Getting them done more regularly gets them used to it and they really enjoy it after a while.”

She’s even been asked to do cats, but she thinks both species will be happier if she sticks with only dogs in her van.

At the moment, Amy’s operating her business only from home, around her second son, six-month-old Samual.

She says being able to work around her young family is one of the best parts of being an entrepreneur.

Other positives are deciding on the business’s direction and day-to-day operation – and these responsibilities can also be the downsides.

She’s a first-time nominee and finalist in the awards, and says it’s a “great honour and privilege”.

Amy says her clients are “everyone from the farmer with his kelpie to stay-at-home mums or the busy business owner”.

“I think the thing that all brings us together are dogs and the love we all have for them,” she says.

Chris started his first business 20 years ago, which doesn’t seem so incredible – until you realise he’s only in his very early 30s.

He’s another young entrepreneur whose business – and not just one – stems from his own interests.

He now runs Chris Watson Travel, specialising in country music festival tours; Tamworth line dancing festival Mayworth; a Western dance boot import company; Fiji country music festival Tunes in the Tropics; and line dancing classes.

The latter is where it all started at the age of just 12; he says it was a “pure accident” that “organically grew”.

“There weren't many kids dancing in Tamworth at that time, and there were even less doing the harder dances – the fast, new, fun stuff that I wanted to do – so I started a kids’ class to try and encourage other kids to come along,” Chris says.

“About two or three years into that, all these adults turned up at my kids’ class because they like the fun and fast dances we were doing.”

Chris now runs five classes a week – it was seven but he’s just too busy at the moment – and most attract about 40 people.

He was only about 15 years old when the seed of a travel business was planted.

“I had a group of line dancers who wanted to come to New Zealand; I had been there a lot teaching dance and competing in dance,” he says.

“I walked into a travel agency in Tamworth and said, “I’ve got about 20 people wanting to go to New Zealand. I’ve put together an itinerary. Can you quote it?”

“The lady was a bit flabbergasted and said, ‘Oh, you’re going to need a credit card to book it, and you’re going to need passports’.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t have a credit card’ but I pulled out a pocketful of everyone’s cash …

“For about four or five years I ran tours through another travel agency, and because of that ended up in the industry.”

His charity line dance weekend, started in 2005 and now known as Mayworth, has become the largest of its kind in Australia, bringing in about 1000 visitors from seven states/territories and seven countries this year.

Chris hasn’t forgotten people less fortunate in life, though – his line dancing and travel clients have helped him raise $58,000 for charities including NA Care (Fiji aid), Ronald McDonald House and McGrath Foundation.

Chris says his wife Gemma, “no matter how crazy or scary my ideas are, not only supports me but works hard alongside me”.

He says he’s “very thrilled” to be a finalist.

“More people are taking a risk and investing in our city, which is fantastic, so to be recognised as one of those people is a great thrill, it’s a great honour.”

A side-gig has become a main event for Jane Brennan, director of Ivory Lane Event Styling & Hire.

Married to Joel in 2013 in Tweed Heads, Jane was surprised to see the range of wedding products and services available there compared to Tamworth.

A high school teacher with a strong artistic streak, she saw not only a business opportunity but also an avenue for her creativity.

“There was a gap in the market and I was looking for a different outlet as well,” Jane says.

“School’s great – I love teaching and I love being around kids – but I don’t get time to produce my own art anymore and I don’t paint as much anymore, so I was looking for something that I could do.”

They started out simply lending their own wedding items to friends, and the Brennans’ first event was a wedding just a few months after their own.

Their first big investment was a vintage sofa for $150, and they now offer everything from conceptualising and planning an event, to hiring out equipment, erecting marquees and furniture, decorating and lighting the venue, and breaking it all down at the end.

The business has grown so much that last year they did 82 weddings, including six in one day – and that was just in the warmer months.

Jane took on the role of Calrossy’s creative and performing arts department head at the start of this year, and Joel is in a mining supervisory role at Narrabri.

Both working full-time in their jobs, the Brennans’ “side-gig” has become so in-demand they’ve now hired a business operations manager, Courtney Renshaw.

Jane says she and Courtney handle are the creative side, while Joel is “the backbone to the business, the muscle” who builds, moves and erects furniture.

Jane says she sets goals but is not “regimented” about it, and her success has come down to two main factors.

“It’s all just been luck and relatively smart decisions, I suppose,” she says.

She thinks wedding have changed a lot in the past 10 years.

“People are really investing in the look and feel of the event, and that is equating to their guests’ experience,” she says.

“They want people to walk into whatever space it is – the venue or the marquee – and just go, ‘Wow!’ …

“It’s really big on aesthetics and textures and really putting who the couple are as people into the wedding, and you can do that through your choice of furniture and lighting and flowers, and where you get married.

“They want that point of difference; they want their wedding to reflect who they are as people.”

Jane says she’s had sleepless nights wondering whether she’s achieved what the couple wanted, but “we’re so open to communicating with our clients and ... get to know them as much as we can within the timeframe given to make sure we are nailing their day”.

“It is a lot of pressure, but I try not to think about that too much.”