Small Business Trends |
| Our Latest Guide to Small Biz Contests and Awards Posted: 14 Jan 2012 12:01 PM PST This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. Also, if you’ve entered and won a contest or award listed here, let us know so we can share your news. -
Be one of the first 50 to earn a “Green Shield” at TrustedBusiness.com, and you will win an autographed copy of the new book “Visual Marketing”, co-authored by Small Business Trends‘ CEO, Anita Campbell. To earn a Green Shield you have to get at least 100 trust points for your business. Good while supplies last. More information here.
The Medical Office Makeover Contest features a prize for larger offices with 11 or more employees valued at nearly $17,000, and a prize for offices with 1-10 employees valued at over $6,000. The highly sought after products featured in the contest include Ergotron carts; HP workstations, monitors and digital signs; Fujitsu scanners; Wasp time and attendance tracking; Nuance medical dictation, and other high-value hardware and software from Xerox, Plantronics, Fellowes, ioSafe, Meraki, and Dymo.
This holiday season, one lucky small business will win the SAP Business One Starter Package, 40 hours of professional services and maintenance from Vision33 for a year! There is no charge, no expectations and no purchase necessary to enter the Small Business Makeover Contest – all you have to do is fill out an online form and tell why you think your business deserves to win.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for its Tibbetts Awards, recognizing small-business research and innovation. The awards recognize companies that have taken part in the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Three awards will be given, one for companies that have participated in the SBIR/STTR programs, one for individuals who advocate on behalf of the programs, and a third “Hall of Fame” award recognizing companies that have a track record of success in research, innovation and product commercialization within the SBIR or STTR program. Small Business Book Awards
This year, over 100 books have already been nominated with over 2 weeks to go. Books published between November 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 are eligible. You can nominate one book – or as many books as you like, and anyone can nominate. Authors, you are encouraged to nominate your own book. Publishers and publicists can also nominate books.
Nominations for winners in eight categories will be accepted on the event's new website in a unique, open format. Every submitted nomination in every category can be viewed immediately by visitors to the site and shared to social media channels, delivering increased global visibility for all nominees. The annual gala on March 30, 2012 celebrates and honors the brightest technology leaders and innovators from across the state.
The Awards Committee of the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism is accepting nominations of local businesses for the 2011 Excellence in Small Business Award. The award will be presented at the Chamber-Tourism's Award Celebration. The category provides public recognition for the accomplishments of small businesses, those employing ten or fewer full-time employees. This category requires demonstration of growth, overall stability, a positive community image, leadership and civic involvement. Nominees do not have to be a member of the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, but must be a Fulton County business.
The 2nd Annual Amazing Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition is an initiative by Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development and The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to foster new business development in Gwinnett County, GA. The contest is open to individuals who own or manage a small business, which has been in operation less than 36 months, in Gwinnett County. The Grand Prize winner will receive $2500 cash to be used solely for the business entering the contest, a trip to Sage Software's Customer Conference in Nashville, TN (airfare, hotel stay, conference fees), one-year membership to Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, one-year participation in the Chamber's Gwinnett Business Institute program ($180 value), a consultation with an attorney from Arnall Golden Gregory ($2500 value), and research assistance from Chamber's economic development department
For the second year, Chicago-area small businesses are being recognized for their marketing success. Constant Contact kicked off the 2012 Small Business Online Marketing Contest today in partnership with the Chicago City Treasurer’s Office. The contest will award more than $12,000 in cash and prizes to businesses submitting winning entries in “Best Business Email Marketing” and “Best Overall Users of Social Media” categories, including “Rookie Awards.”
The CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards recognize California small businesses that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, promote climate friendly practices and integrate the tools on CoolCalifornia.org into their business operations. There are two award categories: CoolCalifornia Small Business of the Year Award, and CoolCalifornia Climate Leader Award. Brother Small Business Grant Program StartupNation has collaborated with Brother, a leader in small business technology, to bring you The grant program will award a total of $25,000 to five small business owners who submit the most original and creative business plan. To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar. Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award. From Small Business Trends      |
| Review of Engagement From Scratch Posted: 14 Jan 2012 05:30 AM PST
The book is a collection of essays from 30 people who are active online and who have experience building communities, along with a foreword by CC Chapman, author of Content Rules. Contributors include Brian Clark, Natalie Sisson, Evan Carmichael, Kristi Hines, Derek Halpern and Ana Hoffman — to name a few. ”Yours Truly” (me, Anita Campbell) is also a contributor, so you can expect this review to be a bit biased. What’s Inside The contributions range from big picture strategic … to detailed and tactical. The contributors represent communities numbering in the millions, to those that are compact and relatively new. The types of communities include:
Each essay has the contributor explaining his or her own experiences. Each speaks with a “been there, done that” authenticity. The contributions are thoughtful and analytical. Most are written in the first person to describe the contributors’ own experiences of what worked … and what didn’t work. Where else can you get so much expertise in a single package? There’s also Danny Iny’s (@DannyIny on Twitter) own story. He writes about building Firepole Marketing, and the painful realities of their first big promotion of marketing services. They ran a huge contest as a promotion — and in the end got zero buyers. He faced up to why the promotion failed — the company had no community to tap into. As he writes, ”A loyal and strong audience is much more than a bunch of readers — its a living and breathing entity that ties real people together. In other words, it’s a community.” When you buy the book, you also get a link to a website with access to a template for requesting guest blog opportunities, checklists and infographics about community building. An Example of Two Trends There are two trends in book publishing that we’ve seen emerge recently, and both are reflected here:
What I Liked Best About Engagement From Scratch I like the fact that the book is set up as a series of individual essays. You get to hear from a wide variety of people. Each has different experiences building different types of communities. Each essay reads as a stand-alone piece. That means you can pick up the book and read one essay, set it down, and come back to it a few days later and read another essay — without missing anything. Of course, the “separate essay” structure of the book may be disconcerting to some. Each contributor has his or her own voice and writing style. And while there are common themes that the contributors universally agree upon, there are also some points, especially tactics, that may seem contradictory from one essay to the next. I am not bothered by that, because there’s always more than one way to do things. I like a variety of input. Here’s an analogy to maps and directions: Engagement From Scratch is not one set of directions for you to follow to get from point A to point B. Rather, think of it as a map that shows multiple routes you can take to get to the same destination. You get to pick which roads and highways to follow. Who This Book is For It’s ideal for entrepreneurs starting literally from scratch to build communities. While you may have a dream and good natural instincts, your dream will be easier to achieve if you can tap into others’ ideas and how-to tips. Even if you’re on a tiny bootstrapped budget, you will find plenty of insights that don’t cost much other than your time. This book is also useful for those in small businesses that run existing online communities. No matter how thriving your community, there’s always something to improve. Finally, Engagement From Scratch will also be valuable to marketers and executives in a large company tasked with building a community for your company. From Small Business Trends     |
Trusted Business – Earn a Green Shield
Nominations are now open for the 4th Annual Small Business Book Awards. They recognize business books of special interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Last year there were 106 books nominated and 41,000 votes cast by the community.
the 2012 Brother Small Business Grant Program.
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