LOCALS love local businesses to be able to take a short stroll or drive to their local shopping strip or centre and be assured of friendly, personalised service.

Yet local businesses offer much more. Often they are the lifeblood of local economies.

For 13 years the Leader Business Achiever Awards have acknowledged and celebrated the achievements of local business.

Almost 6000 businesses were nominated last year by their local communities across Melbourne.

This year, the Leader Business Achiever Awards will reach shoppers across Leader's 33 newspapers and 27 award regions.

Three components make up the awards: reader voting, a comprehensive questionnaire completed by finalists, and a mystery shop audit by Mystery Shopping Auditing Australasia (MSAa).

Each category winner is determined by the questionnaire and mystery shop audit results.

This year 's program is proudly sponsored by true local.com.au, MYOB, Worldwide Online Printing, the Victorian Employers ' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) and the Victorian Government.

Vote for your favourite business by completing a nomination form in this week's Stonnington Leader on Page 33 or nominate online at www.leaderawards.com.au.