TECNET of Tokyo, Japan, was recognized as a Distinguished Honoree (honorable mention) for Most Innovative Company in Asia in The 2010 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards program. (The 2012 IBAs are now accepting entries. Get your entry kit here and submit entries by the April 11 early-bird deadline for discounted entry fees.) As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, we will be talking to a number of organizations around the world on how being honored in one of our business awards competitions has helped their business. Here we speak to the innovation award-winning CEO, Kiichiro Suda, about the role their Stevie® Award honor has had in increasing profits.
How has being a Distinguished Honoree in The 2010 International Business Awards helped TECNET to promote its brand? 
First, we found that the actual process of entering the IBAs—preparing and filling out the application—was extremely useful for us, because it made us focus on our business plan and strategy.
When we received the IBA results, we announced the award on our corporate website, in handouts, and in our recruiting media. We also shared the news with colleagues, posting the news on 30 different social media sites in Tokyo.
Although TECNET had actually been in deficit in the five years prior to when we submitted our IBA entry in 2009, we began to see a turnaround after we were named a Distinguished Honoree in 2010. By 2011, our profits had doubled, and we expect to double those profits again (400% over fiscal year 2010) by the end of this year.
What event has had the most impact on your business over the past ten years?
We started TECNET from nothing in 2005. The biggest event for us was the Lehman Brothers financial crisis in 2008, after which we had to completely restructure our business. TECNET had its first monthly surplus in December 2008, but right after that went into deficit again. We struggled for another 18 months but eventually got back into profit by overhauling the organization and improving the quality of our service.
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