Nominations Are Open for the Small Business Influencer Awards!


Does a special person or company come to mind when you think of someone or something important in the world of small business?  Perhaps you think of a client of yours.  Or maybe a favorite vendor or supplier, or a software app that has transformed your small business or made it more profitable.  Or perhaps you think of a favorite journalist who covers issues important to small businesses.

Whoever it is or whatever it is — nominations are now open for the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards.  We encourage you to get your nominations in by July 15, 2012.

small business influencer

Last year, the Small Business Influencer Awards saw 520 nominations.  One hundred champions were honored, and a cpacity crowd of over 225 people attend the Awards Gala ceremony in New York City (see 2011 photos and recap).

This year is already shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.  Once again we have BlackBerry as our title sponsor.  Infusionsoft has also joined us again as a category sponsor.  Thank you both for your support!

Organization Partners this year include PRNewswire and Vistage. Thank you!

Here’s a bit of the Who, What, When and Where on the event:

Who can be nominated?

Those based in the United State or Canada, and who fall in one of the following 6 categories:

  • Leaders (executives, academics, government officials, or key employees who are part of companies or other organizations serving the small business market)
  • Corporations (companies that provide products and services to the small business market, and non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and advocacy and support organizations)
  • Journalists (individual journalists, reporters, editors, broadcasters, bloggers, podcasters, freelance writers)
  • News Outlets (media companies, newspapers, magazines, broadcasting companies)
  • Experts (mavens, authors, speakers, consultants, advocates, professionals such as lawyers or CPAs)
  • Apps (software as a service  or SaaS applications, mobile device apps, and apps for tablets).

All nominations will be subject to editorial review to make sure that the nominees meet the minimum criteria as having a large positive impact on small business.  Read the full rules.

Can I nominate myself?

Absolutely, positively, yes!  You are encouraged to nominate yourself, your business or another individual or business or app.

What does it cost to nominate?

Zero!  It is free to make a nomination.

How are the top 100 chosen?

Once the nomination period ends on July 15, 2012, voting will commence.  This is where the community gets to participate in choosing the winners.  Votes can be cast once daily through August 5, 2012.  The community vote will represent 40% and then the judges will cast their votes, which represent 60% of the vote.

Who’s behind this?

The 2012 Small Business Influencers initiative is a joint initiative of Small Biz Technology (Ramon Ray, CEO) and Small Business Trends (Anita Campbell, CEO). The goal is to honor those who tirelessly support small businesses with their products, services, advice, guidance and encouragement — and give them the recognition they deserve.

We’d also like to thank our media partners who have agreed to help spread the word:  SmallBizLady, Egg Marketing and Communications, BizSugar, Basic Blog Tips, Biz Launch, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, DIY Marketers, The Founding Moms, MyVenturePad, BDPA New York, SCORE,  EntrepreneurWeek, ChamberofCommerce.com, Your Virtual Assistant, ResearchAccess, Hawkeye Management, LivePlan, Ask the Business Lawyer, Technology for Business’ Sake, Adrian’s Network, ShoutOut Enterprises, and NNEP.  Thank you!

Go nominate!

3 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

3 Reactions
  1. I hope I can be in the big league soon so I can join the future contests. 🙂

  2. Hey my name is Zach I am in intern at PayLease (www.paylease.com).

    I was just hired in the last few months and just found out about the Small Business Influencer Awards TODAY!

    Is there any chance I could still enter a submission?

    Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your time.

    Zach

  3. and if not this year, can you post/send me the dates for next year?