Small business competition attracts diverse companies

Small businesses are flocking to a recently announced competition that will award companies a share of $50,000 in cash and advertisements in order to create more jobs in the United States.

The competition is sponsored by crowdfunding platform EarlyShares.com in conjunction with lonelybrand and CometAd. The competition was launched on September 1 and will award the top three companies that show the most promise through their small business marketing plans.

The Small Business Challenge has already attracted nominations from a wide range of startup companies, including coffee houses, manufacturers, retailers and specialty apparel designers.

“The Small Business Challenge is our way of safeguarding that small businesses, which provide value to the national economy, are not overlooked because of limited funding options,” said Maurice Lopes, founder and CEO of EarlyShares.com. “As we move into 2013, crowdfunding will open doors for more small businesses, but in the meantime, the Small Business Challenge is a way to support their growth right now.”

Submissions have been sent from every region of the country from companies that range from 1 to 100 employees.

“The SMBChallenge is an example of an emerging class of digital tools that help entrepreneurs raise capital quickly,” said Nicholas Kinports, digital strategy lead and founder at lonelybrand. “We are proud to be a sponsor of this exciting contest, and we look forward to helping the winning companies find success with digital marketing.”

The top winner will receive $25,000 in cash and marketing resources while the second and third place winners will be given $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. Each company that applied will be able to make a pitch for how the Small Business Challenge will help their business create more jobs in the United States.

Applicants must submit an application at SMBchallenge.com a receive at least 100 votes from their supporters from social media campaigns and emails. The submission process of the contest will end October 31, and 25 companies will automatically be named semi-finalists.

Many companies are settling for doing social media marketing for free, which could seem simple to some entrepreneurs while causing headaches for others. According to the Arizona Business Gazette, Facebook advertising can be a challenge, and receiving help through a competition such as the SMBChallenge could be significantly beneficial.