Here is a Short List of Awards and Competitions for Your Biz |  |
| Here is a Short List of Awards and Competitions for Your Biz Posted: 16 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT Applying for an award can bring your business added recognition and publicity. Awards also honor your employees by showing them in a tangible way that their efforts have resulted in making the company stand out. Customers pay attention to awards, too. It’s up to you to take action, however. Awards don’t happen by chance — they are part of a PR and marketing strategy. So either nominate your company or nominate a customer or client for an award and show them you care about THEIR success. Here’s a list of awards and competitions we recommend checking out: -
Use the GetResponse new Email Creator to design an email template. The best design will win $1,000. Other pries include the iPad 3 and a year’s free service by GetResponse. A panel of Judges will choose the best design based on various aspects of good email design, including: creativity, organization, communication, consistency and style. You can use a free trial account for purposes of the competition (no credit card required to sign up for the free trial). Deadline is June 25, 2012.
The 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards are now open for nominations! The Influencer Awards honor companies, organizations, apps and people who have made a meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. Impact may mean (i) providing products widely used by significant numbers of small businesses, or (ii) influencing significant numbers of small businesses by being a thought leader, or (iii) providing information or services of note to significant numbers of small businesses. Nominate here.
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is an annual international business plan competition in Michigan. The event is the world's largest business plan competition with more than $1 million in prizes. The goals of the competition are to promote Michigan as a venue for innovation and opportunity and stimulate job creation.
The New York Times Make Your Pitch Contest Submit your pitch on video, telling about your product or service, your marketing plans, your customer base. Tell what makes your business different — why it is one to watch? Do you need capital? If so, how much and what for? Most important, how are you going to make money? All video pitches that meet the submission guidelines will be featured on The New York Times small-business Facebook page and selected pitches will be featured on the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog.
The list of awards and competitions is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. 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 |
| Have What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur? Read Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck Posted: 16 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT
But there are quite a few people who do think about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. There are countless entrepreneurial assessments that quiz you on specific behaviors or success traits. Then there are the personality profiles such as Myers-Briggs or the DISC profile that try to identify specific communication or personality styles. I've recently received a review copy of a new book titled Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck: What it takes to be an entrepreneur and build a great business by Anthony K. Tjan (@AnthonyTjan), Richard J. Harrington, Tsun-Yan Sheih that takes the entrepreneurial personality profile to a whole new level. Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck was written with the purpose to leave readers with an increased self-awareness as it relates to starting and maintaining a successful business as well as some practical wisdom that you can use along the way. My impression, after reading this book, is that it's a sort of "Know Thyself" primer for small business owners along the lines of the Strengths Finder books. About the Authors This book is written by a super savvy team who have plenty of experience in analyzing successful entrepreneurs and leaders. Tony Tjan is the Managing Partner of the venture capital firm, Cue Ball Capital, and founder of the Internet advisory group, SEFER. Dick Harrington is Chairman of Cue Ball Capital. And Tsun-yan Hseih is based in Singapore and is the founder of LinHart Group, a company that counsels founders and CEOs throughout the Americas and Asia and serves on the boards of Sony Corporation and Munulife Financial. I'm really impressed with how well the book is written considering how many different authors and personalities were involved in the process. Here's an example from one of the best tips in the book:
Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck – Which One Are You? Unlike the Strengths Finder books where you first need to take the assessment and then read the book based on your results, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck is a book that you can read from start to finish. In fact, that's exactly what I'd recommend. You'll have fun as the authors take you on a journey of self-discovery that includes examples of successful entrepreneurs in each entrepreneurial profile. As in any profile, no one is all one style or another. Rather we are a mixture of all styles with a strength or predominance of one. If you are a HEART driven entrepreneur, you bring purpose and passion to the business. As the founder, iconoclast or visionary, you are consumed by a deep passion and driving hunger that you use to translate your purpose into reality. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, is a great example of this style. As a SMARTS driven entrepreneur, you are rational and focused on the facts. Your strength is steering a business by delegating and setting goals. You forge a system of accountability, articulate strategy and emphasize performance. Your biggest strength is pattern recognition. Meg Whitman, the CEO of eBay, and Jeff Bezos are good examples of SMART-driven CEOs. If you've always been a risk-taker, then your predominant style is GUTS. Guts driven entrepreneurs can react quickly and conclusively at a time of crisis. These leaders aren't afraid to make changes for the betterment of the future. When you think of GUTS driven leaders, think of Nelson Mandela or Richard Branson. Finally, if you are optimistic, intellectually curious and humble, you might just be driven by LUCK. Luck appears to be chaotic and unpredictable but there have been lots of studies done to confirm the philosophy that luck favors the prepared (for more on that, check out our review of Get Lucky). Tony Hseih, the founder of Zappos, is a good example of that profile in action. What You'll Love About Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck You'll love how the book is organized. There are only ten chapters in the book (at least in the review copy). The first chapter introduces you to the concept and explains what the book is about. The next four chapters delve into each entrepreneurial personality style; their strengths, weaknesses and strategies for success. Each of these profile chapters also contains enough research and data to make you feel comfortable with what the authors are saying. Chapter 7 is called "Pulling it Together" and this is where you'll get the quick summary of all the styles, where they shine and the limitations and obstacles that hold them back. The chapter that holds the "True North Questions" contains the ten questions that you can ask yourself and in reading the possible answers, get a virtual kick in the pants to overcome what's stopping you. Take the E.A.T in the Book or on the Site You can call this an interactive book. There is an Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test that you can take in the back of the book, or you can visit www.HSGL.com, register and take the assessment there. Once you have your profile set, you will want to go back to certain sections of the book and read it from the filter of knowing your style. Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck is a Book for all Leaders This is a book that I would recommend for entrepreneurs, business owners and even managers. If you are a leader in any part of your life, this book is a must read. With another group of college graduates coming into the workforce, this is an ideal book to get them thinking about where their natural leadership talents lie. Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck is a fantastic book that will help both entrepreneurs and managers take advantage of their strengths and take their organizations to the next level. From Small Business Trends |
Small Business Influencer Awards 2012
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? If you don't feel as successful as you'd like to be, then the answer is "YES" and if you're already successful, you probably don't think about it much.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment