Cade Lucas
Starting a new business can be hectic, something Annalisa Cannizzaro from M&A Support Services knows all too well.
Ms Cannizzaro helped establish the Werribee based NDIS support provider in February 2022, and along with entering a rapidly growing area like disability services, getting the company up and running meant time was scarce.
Thankfully, Ms Cannizzaro found enough time to enter last year’s Wyndham Business Awards.
“It makes you look at your business, so you’re on your business rather than in your business,” Ms Cannizzaro said of the application process which she found especially useful while starting a company from scratch.
“As a new business you don’t look at things like strategies and growth, you’re too busy running things and doing the day to day,” she said.
As well as allowing them to take a big picture view of their business, entering the awards had another benefit for M&A Support Services: they won.
“The biggest thing for us is that it’s put us on the map” said Ms Cannizzaro of what winning last year’s New and Emerging category has meant for her business.
In addition to increased awareness and visibility, Ms Cannizzarro said the award has given her the opportunity to improve and develop further.
“There’s been a lot more networking and we’ve been able to do a lot more courses and be involved in more business training.”
For M&A Support Services that business involves assisting the burgeoning number of people accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“We help people that are on the NDIS understand and implement their plan. We’ve got participants as young as 7 months and as old as 64. Anything from autism, intellectual disabilities all the way up to physical disabilities like muscular dystrophy” said Ms Cannizzaro of the range of clients M&A caters for.
While M&A is a new player in the NDIS space, its employees have a combined 200 years experience in the disability sector.
Ms Cannizzaro herself came to the sector from the corporate world in 2006 and said that while M&A Support Services is a business, a commitment to helping people drives what they do.
“We love what we do and we wanted to make a difference our way”.
Entries for the 2023 Wyndham Business Awards close on June 13 and winners will be announced at a gala event on September 1.
