Chester Mojay-Sinclare, Founder & CEO of Charity Checkout is one of 75 leading industry professionals judging 18 categories at The Lloyds Bank National Business Awards UK 2015. He joins some of the UK’s best known business leaders, advisors, influencers and entrepreneurs to be on a panel of five, alongside Sir Malcolm Grant, Chairman of NHS England, and Lord Karan Bilimoria, CBE, judging The Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship.

A university prodigy himself, the category is close to home for Chester who said, “I was still at university when I launched Charity Checkout and acheiving national recognition for our success has helped us to grow from strength to strength. The National Business Awards is well supported by industry leaders and I am delighted to be meeting fellow entrepreneurs and representing the charity sector as such a high profile event.

Here he gives some top tips to success for anyone starting up a new business or charity.

1. Stay on track

At Charity Checkout we help charities to increase funding through digital channels. We offer everything needed to collect and manage online donations and payments – from a website through to the payment platform and management suite. Any new products and services are aligned with this overall strategy. Charities using our services don’t compete with other brands or adverts on their donation pages but run tailored campaigns which enhance their donor relationship and acheive greater returns.

2. Listen and learn

We researched how charities are adapting to modern technology. Our findings were mirrored by others so we dug deeper to discover that, whilst a number of charities have a website, nearly half of them weren’t mobile optimised. This is at odds with donor behaviour where mobile giving is leading the way and Google penalises sites that are not mobile friendly. When we launched our new websites product tailored to the charity sector, needless to say, it came with mobile optimisation as a standard feature.

3. Avoid mixed messages

Limited resources can result in compromises which fuel lost learning, repeated mistakes and fire fighting. Tools are designed to help a process but still need effective technological and marketing knowledge to get the most out of them. Guard the reputation of your brand and be consistent so audiences truely know who you are and what you stand for. Not only will they remember you but they’ll be able to tell others about you and endorse messages on your behalf which help you to stand out from the crowd.

The National Businss Awards are open to organisations of all sizes from all sectors across the UK. They are the UK’s most prestigious independent business recognition platform with particular emphasis on excellence, innovation and ethical business. Now in its 14th year, The National Business Awards connects the nation’s professionals through its annual awards ceremony when the overall winners are announced. This year’s Gala Dinner takes pace on Tuesday 15th November at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.