Elle Cecil
Amid the glitz and glamour of the 2022 Geelong Business Excellence Awards’ (GBEAs) presentation event, local Geelong businesses were celebrated for their innovation and creativity at GMHBA Stadium.
Perhaps the most successful business on the awards night was Custom Neon, taking home both the Medium to Large Business Award, sponsored by EML, and the prestigious Business of the Year Award, sponsored by LBW Business + Wealth Advisors.
In what was initially a maternity leave project, Jess Munday, together with husband Jake, launched Custom Neon out of their garage in 2018, with sales unexpectedly exploding almost overnight.
Producing custom brightly-lit, colourful, waterproof neon signs, Custom Neon was deserving of the Business of the Year Award, which recognises organisations that are holistically successful. Aspects of this success include community engagement, customer service, staff satisfaction, recency of growth and overcoming challenges.
Now Jake, Jess and the Custom Neon team have offices in the United States and United Kingdom supplying both business-to-consumer and business-to-business. They supply products to everyone from local Geelong shops, right up to big names such as SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Having also won the 2020 GBEA Digital Engagement Award and the 2021 GBEA Medium to Large Business Award, it’s clear that Custom Neon is outstanding in its field.
The 2022 GBEA judges were thoroughly impressed with Custom Neon’s success, both overall and since its last win at the 2021 GBEAs.
The judges noted Custom Neon’s progression to a new, custom designed headquarters in North Geelong was indicative of its global success. Other aspects of the business’s prosperity include a very active approach to sustainability, staff engagement, high quality goods and exceptional service to customers around the globe.
“To start from their garage in 2018 and now have a global business, with USA and UK markets and onsite teams in those countries, is amazing,” the judges stated.
The 2022 Geelong Business Excellence Awards were proudly sponsored by LBW Business + Wealth Advisors, celebrating clever, creative and connected businesses in Geelong and the Bellarine, as well as the Surf Coast, Queenscliff and Golden Plains regions.
