A company of the year award has also been introduced to acknowledge some of the long-standing businesses.
"We're quite special and we wanted to acknowledge those businesses and industries."
People can either nominate someone else or enter themselves for the awards.
Lawton was also excited because Toi Ohomai was offering business coaching through the online entry.
"It's about us supporting our entrants past the awards. We want them to be the best they can be. How do we make sure they are successful the next day, the next month, next year?" she said.
"We're excited because I think we're going to another level and celebrating our city."
Early-bird entries close on July 2 and all entries close on July 19. The finalists will be confirmed on August 30 with a judging weekend on September 15 and 16 and a gala dinner and award presentation on October 5.
All entries should be made online at wrbea.awardsplatform.com.
The Awards:
Industry Awards: Excellence in Primary Industries, Excellence in Property and Construction, Excellence in Retail, Excellence in the Service Sector, Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality, Excellence in Small Business.
Business Awards: Bilingual Business Award, Social Licence Award, Innovation and Disruption Award, Not for Profit, Employee of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Major Awards: Rotorua Business Excellence Awards Supreme Winner, Rotorua Company of the Year, Rotorua Business Person of the Year.
