Get Recognition and Valuable Rewards from These Small Biz Contests

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Get Recognition and Valuable Rewards from These Small Biz Contests Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:42 AM PDT Applying for an award or contest can bring your business added recognition and publicity. Awards also fire up your employees! Customers pay attention to awards, too. Winning awards or contest won’t happen by chance e.  It’s up to you to take action.  Here’s a list of awards and competitions we recommend checking out: - * * * * * DYMO – Win Expert Advice for your Small Business DYMO Endicia has partnered with ecommerce and business experts Marsha Collier and John Lawson to bring small business owners the chance of a lifetime: Two lucky business owners will win a 1-hour phone consultation with either Marsha or John. Ask your burning business questions, get expert advice, and discuss your management strategies with online sales and marketing gurus. Dell $100M Innovators Credit Fund Dell has launched a $100 million Innovators Credit Fund, with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs "maximize potential for innovation, speed to market and job creation." The credit fund will offer both funding and technology resources with IT support, depending on what each start-up needs. To be eligible, you must have already received some angel funding or venture capital before you can apply. Start-ups can get up to 10% of its current funding or up to $150,000 with limited credit terms. See website for details and application. Big Break for Small Business Enter by July 13, 2012 Five small business owners will receive house calls from American Express OPEN and Facebook branding experts who conduct in-depth marketing makeovers. Winners will also receive $25,000 in cash to implement the social strategies they learn from the makeovers. The local communities of the winning businesses will also benefit. Winning businesses can invite other local entrepreneurs to meet a panel of social media and marketing experts to teach them how to use social channels for their business. See website for details and to enter. Crain’s 2012 Best Places to Work in NYC Enter by July 13, 2012 This survey and recognition program is dedicated to identifying and recognizing New York City's best employers. Publicly or privately held businesses with at least 25 full or part time employees are eligible to enter. Small Business Influencer Awards 2012 Enter by July 15, 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. Rock Your Biz Blogging Contest Enter by July 30, 2012 Join BizSugar.com for the Rock Your Biz Blogging Competition through July 30, 2012, to learn some great tips on how to take your business to the next level with online networking, blogging, or social media. Gain exposure for your company and a chance to win some cool prizes including an iPad3 from Grafton Media, incorporation or LLC filings from Corpnet.com, mind mapping subscriptions from MindMaple, Amazon gift cards, and credits from JustRetweet. To enter, simply write and publish a blog post on your blog, sharing tips or advice on how to use online networking, blogging, or social media in a small business. Then submit it for voting at BizSugar under the “Rock Your Biz” category. DailyCandy Start Small, Go Big Contest Enter by August 3, 2012 The 2012 “Start Small, Go Big” contest, sponsored for the third year in a row by Ink(SM) from Chase, includes mentors from some of the biggest names in fashion, home, beauty and food including Rebecca Minkoff, Jonathan Adler, Lauren Moffatt, Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio, Lev Glazman & Alina Roytberg of Fresh, Alison Pincus and Susan Feldman of One Kings Lane, and more. Categories for entry include Fashion, Home, Food & Drink, Health & Beauty, and Digital & Tech. See website for entry details. Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Enter by August 8, 2012 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 Enter by August 29, 2012 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. PITCH NYC 2012 Enter by August 31, 2012 After hosting the successful 5th Annual PITCH 2012 in the Silicon Valley, Women 2.0 is excited to launch the inaugural PITCH NYC Conference & Competition 2012 (PITCH NYC 2012). Open to early-stage high-growth ventures around the world, PITCH NYC 2012 invites companies with at least one female in the founding team to apply. Applying companies must be in beta stage and have received less than a million in funding. They are looking for the most disruptive web/mobile ventures, connected device companies, double and triple bottom line ventures, etc. Prizes include $25k cash, services and more. See website for entry rules (you have to send in your business plan on a napkin!) 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. If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free). 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 Get Recognition and Valuable Rewards from These Small Biz Contests

Reading The Good Fail Can Make You Successful Posted: 30 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT The other day I was talking to a friend of mine who is the CEO of a local plastics company.  Somehow the conversation meandered toward the topic of learning from others' mistakes.  We talked about the blessing that it is to have someone in your life; a parent or business mentor, who openly shares the lessons they've learned in their life.  And for those who really pay attention, learning from others' mistakes can not only save you time and money, but heartaches and relationships. To that end, I'm recommending my latest summer read —  The Good Fail: Entrepreneurial Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Microworkz.  As those of you who read my reviews know, I'm not always the biggest fan of entrepreneurial war stories (but that's just me).  When I read a business book, I'm looking for practical advice and actionable strategies.  And this is what makes The Good Fail a book that I really enjoyed. What’s a Good Fail? Richard (@icarmagic) defines a “Good Fail” as a “failure that has a learning value that’s greater than the offset collateral damage.”  It’s a failure that one is unlikely to repeat, but that helps to positively develop the person’s managerial style and business acumen.   And Latman has had more than his share.  He’s started 11 different businesses, contributed to many others and stumbled through quite a few.  He’s become rather adept at failing quickly and cheaply, and that is a lesson every entrepreneur needs to have. When You Fail, It’s Personal This is Latman’s personal story and he starts it at the very beginning.  He describes his idyllic childhood in the San Fernando Valley and even tells the story of the sudden death of his girlfriend at the age of 13.  Latman’s father was a baseball player turned entrepreneur — who failed a lot. But Latman was undaunted.  He was always looking for a challenge and didn’t seem to recognize the the boundaries that hold so many of us back from going after our objectives.  But at the same time, his inattention to boundaries was often a mixed blessing.  It was that kind of perseverence that got him into college and it was that same kind of oblivion to boundaries that got him arrested and put in jail for taking VHS videos out of his work environment to watch at home. Granted, he didn’t “realize” that this was against company policy, but you can already see the pattern of going for it that would ultimately be at the root of the demise of MicroWorkz. Inside The Big Fail When you think about it, it seems rather counter intuitive to purchase a book on failure and how to avoid it.  I mean, aren’t we aiming for success? Will focusing on failure and how to avoid it actually put the wheels of the Law of Attraction in motion and draw me toward failure?  Not to worry.  Latman offers advice for “getting good” at failure and the 19 ways to avoid a Good Fail. Here are just a few of the suggestions: Build it then sell it.  Be ultra-conservative in your sales approach and enter the market completely confident in your product and your ability to deliver it exactly the way you promised it. Surround yourself with hunters and not farmers.  Hunters are proactive in their search for information and opportunities and execute with precision.  Farmers gather and process information buut don’t get much done with it. You are your own worst employee.  If you see yourself as an expert — or THE expert in what you do, then you are actually setting limitations for what’s possible in your business.  This is a variation of “not thought of by me” syndrome. Accept “No” as an answer.  Listen to what’s behind the “No” and don’t just rush in for the sake of doing what you “know” is right. Worry about success.  In the case of MicroWorkz, it was the success and PR exposure that was at the root of their downfall.  They simply couldn’t keep up. The Good Fail Can Lead to Big Success I have to admit that I enjoyed reading The Good Fail so much more than I expected.  Remember, I’m not much into biographies and war stories, and while this book had elements of both, Latman really put the focus on the lessons about failure that would really help entrepreneurs learn from his mistakes. Small business owners, presidents, CEOs and managers will really enjoy this book.  It’s an excellent read for a business trip or a quick summer vacation. From Small Business Trends Reading The Good Fail Can Make You Successful

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