Saturday, November 14, 2009

Vote for Alabama Artisan and Small Business Owner to Win!

Tena Payne, owner of Earthborn Studios in Leeds, is one of only FIVE finalists in this Forbes contest! Please vote for Tena here! Here are the details of the contest:


FIVE FINALISTS ADVANCE IN FORBES’

2009 “BOOST YOUR BUSINESS” CONTEST

Grand Prize Winner to Receive $100,000 in Cash and Advertising

NEW YORK, NY (November 4, 2009) – The readers have voted, and Forbes.com today announced the five finalists in its “Boost Your Business” contest, available online at www.forbes.com/byb. Voting is now open to select the grand-prize winner, who will be announced in early December. Two Massachusetts-based companies made it to the final round. The five finalists are:

· Audissey Guides ( Boston , MA )

· Earthborn Studios, Inc. ( Leeds , AL )

· Ksplice ( Cambridge , MA )

· Naturally Bamboo ( Mankato , MN )

· NuBarter, Inc. ( Savannah , GA )

The finalists were flown to New York City to give live presentations to an expert panel of judges. Their videotaped presentations are posted on Forbes.com for further reader voting, which ends on November 30, 2009. The grand-prize winner will receive $100,000 in cash and advertising.

“When the klieg lights go on, the stress level is high, especially during the question-and-answer sessions,” says Brett Nelson, Entrepreneur Editor at Forbes. “But all five finalists prepared well and performed admirably. I am proud of them all, and they will be better fortified when stumping for capital in the real world.”

In the first phase of the contest, small business owners submitted 500-word business plans; 20 semi-finalists survived. Forbes.com users had the opportunity to review the plans and self-recorded 30-second “elevator pitch” videos before voting for their top five.

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