Beth Ewen:
bewen@upsizemag.com
dev.divistack.com
How to win
by Beth Ewen
“IF I HADN’T BEEN involved with the Upsize Growth Challenge, I don’t think we would still be in business,” said Kelly Roden, owner of Roden Iron Inc., when I reached her by phone in February for a status update.
Those gratifying words, unsolicited I swear, came at a perfect moment: just as we open the call for entries to this year’s Upsize Growth Challenge, our annual contest that matches two winning companies, each with an ambitious growth goal, with experts who can help them reach it.
In 2008 it was Roden’s turn: she was selected to participate, and she came to the first workshop feeling stretched. “In 2008 we were growing fast, probably too fast,” Roden said. “We got too big and we had way too much work.”
I was delighted to hear how far her company has come since then, and I’ll tell her latest story in the next print edition of Upsize. Meanwhile, I’ll use her words to encourage business owners to enter the 2011 Upsize Growth Challenge.
Every time we publish coverage of our contest winners I’m deluged with e-mails: How could my company or my client’s company get selected? What are the judges looking for? What should I include in my entrance form? Here is what you need to know if you want a positive experience like Roden’s.
1. Decide if you’re right for this contest. The essence of the Upsize Growth Challenge is the interaction with experts, so that the winning business owners can get advice on how to reach their goals. Business owners who are open to such give-and-take, who value the time and knowledge that the experts give to them, and who are prepared to make efficient use of the limited workshop time, draw great value from the sessions. Plus they have lots of fun interacting with the experts, fellow winning CEOs, and Upsize writers and photographers. Business owners who enter just for the publicity, and have closed minds to any ideas other than their own, don’t.
2. Enter by April 15. Nominations are now open; forms are at dev.divistack.com. Companies must have fewer than 100 full-time employees and be based in Minnesota. You’re asked for company contact information, which is the easy part. Then you’re asked for a short description of your growth goal, and the actions you’ve already taken to try to reach it. That’s the tough part, but here’s how to rise above the crowd.
3. Describe a specific and ambitious growth goal. Our judges are business journalists and business people who have covered and advised hundreds of business owners. They (and by “they” I mean “I,” since I take the lead in $19 million currently, through the opening of 5 to 8 more locations in the Midwest.”
4. Include the steps your company has already taken to reach the goal. This is the key criterion that drives our selection process: the quality of the work already done. Such description lets us know how committed your company is to your plan and how many key people are involved in the effort. Winning the Upsize Growth Challenge should be viewed as the final push you need to complete your efforts, not the initial launch to undertake them.
I look forward to seeing your entry, and sharing your quest with Upsize readers.
