Big money is up for grabs for Canadian entrepreneurs once again. Telus and the Globe and Mail are bringing back The Challenge for the fourth consecutive year.
The Challenge is a yearly business contest that helps small business owners overcome their biggest business challenge with a $100,000 award. Four finalists will receive three Samsung smartphones and a year subscription to the Globe and Mail, while 10 regional winners will receive three Samsung smartphones.
“At TELUS, we’re passionate about supporting small business owners with innovative solutions that help their business thrive. Through ‘The Challenge,’ we’re able to extend this passion further and support owners that are jumping significant hurdles to achieve their business goals,” said Telus’ Jim Senko. “Due to the incredible submissions we reviewed in 2013, we are expanding this year’s competition to recognize not only the top four finalists, but also 10 regional companies that are facing unique challenges.”
Canadian small business owners are invited to submit their business challenge online at Globeandmail.com/
Katherine Scarrow, and editor at the Globe and Mail said that “whether it’s hiring sales staff, finding new markets or raising their marketing games, small businesses across the country are doing their best to get to that next level. But with limited time and money, growth isn’t always easy.”
To apply, small businesses with less than 100 employees need to write an 830 word essay about their business; a challenge their business is currently experiencing; a proposed solution to this challenge and how the $100,000 prize will help overcome the challenge; the results they expect to achieve; how their business incorporates the following values into their business: 1) community investment/commitment to charities, 2) customer service and 3) innovation.
Scarrow added that together Telus and the newspaper are searching for motivated small businesses “on the verge of greatness – all they need is that extra push.”
Four finalists will present their business challenges to a judging panel at TELUS House in downtown Toronto on June 19, explaining how they would use the $100,000. Finalists will be profiled in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. The final winner will be announced on September 18, while 10 regional awards will be given out during Small Business Week in October.
Last year’s winner was Calgary-based small business Livestock Water Recycling, which researches new manure treatment technologies in support of the less-than-glamorous but quite important work of cleaning livestock manure.