That is the take from the organisers of the Otago Business Awards launched on Thursday night.
The awards, run by the Otago Chamber of Commerce, include major sponsors Westpac and the Otago Daily Times.
"It’s a way in which we can celebrate business and what it means to be in business," chamber chief executive Dougal McGowan said.
The theme for this year’s awards — for which there are 18 categories — is journeys.
"What we’ve been so amazed about is the journey we’ve been on to get to today," Mr McGowan said.
He said sometimes the people involved in a business forget where it started.
"We forget the bad parts, we forget the good parts and we just look at where we are at the moment. This is a great way to reflect. Stop, pause, reflect."
Mr McGowan and Westpac business area manager for the lower South Island Phil Moore discussed whether or not it was right to have the awards this year around the time of the lockdown.
"We didn’t know what was going to happen.
"We were quite passionate about trying to make it happen because we know how important it is for people to be able to celebrate."
Mr Moore said the environment meant it was more important to have the awards.
"You can just get caught up in the doom and gloom. If you read enough negative press here and there it becomes self-fulfilling.
"We like this stuff because it takes away from that negativity and says ‘actually, celebrate. If you’re doing a good job, tell people’."
