January Contest – Small Business Advocacy

Background:  Small businesses, especially solopreneurs and network marketing product representatives, as well as the general community, have relied for years on a fundamentally staple advertising tool ... the community bulletin board.

With the influx of big box stores and franchise businesses, the community bulletin board has rapidly been disappearing.  While many franchise owners and managers have a big heart for the community and would like to put up community bulletin boards, they are often vetoed by their franchise's corporate management. 

The logic of corporate management is to ensure a uniform quality of look and experience throughout its franchise locations.  The result is no bulletin board at all, or an often too-small bulletin board that requires a manager's approval to post anything.  And you might notice that even when there is a bulletin board, it's located near the restrooms or, worse yet, entirely out of the traffic pattern of the business.

The Contest:  Between now and January 31st, as you are out and about, find as many anyone-can-post community bulletin boards as possible in the Washington, DC Metro area -- VA.DC.MD.  To qualify to win, you must provide the following information on your list:  1) Business name;  2) Full business address (street address, suite # if applicable, city, state, zip;  3) A brief description of the bulletin board (or photo) and where in the business it is located (by the door, by the coffee station, etc.).  Bulletin boards that require a manager's approval to post do not qualify for your list.

The Prizes: 

• One First Place Winner ... If you send in the highest total number of community bulletin boards, you will receive:
  • A plaque awarding you "Extraordinary Washington Metro Small Business Advocate";
  • A framed photo of you being presented your award; 
  • A press release about your receiving the award written and distributed on your behalf, along with a copy for your own distribution channels;
  • A complimentary 12-workshop series for yourself or your designee at ALL ABOUT YOUniversity™, a $465+ value.
• Three Second Place Winners ... If you send in the highest number of community bulletin boards in DC, VA, or MD, you will receive:
  • A plaque awarding you "Extraordinary DC [or VA, or MD] Regional Small Business Advocate";
  • A framed photo of you being presented your award;
  • A press release about your receiving the award written and distributed on your behalf, along with a copy for your own distribution channels;
  • A complimentary 6-workshops for yourself or your designee at ALL ABOUT YOUniversity™, a $270+ value.
• In addition ... each business identified by the entries as having a qualifying community bulletin board will receive a plaque commemorating them as an "Extraordinary Small Business Advocate". 

Entries must be received by snail mail or email by midnight on January 31st, 2008.  All entries will be verified.  All entries become the property of ALL ABOUT YOUniversity^TM.   Awards will be announced on February 18.

Send complete entries (that means all your locations on one list) to:  contest@ALLABOUTYOUniversity.com or to "Small Business Advocacy Contest, 3717 Forest Grove Dr., Annandale, VA 22003."