National Small Business Week is April 21-25 in the United States, and to celebrate, I’m launching The Startup BizCast Small Business Week Contest. The contest is now officially underway, and below is everything you need to know in order to enter!

PRIZES

There are three prize levels, each containing items designed to help entrepreneurs, small business owners, freelancers, and even those who WANT to start a business. Startup BizCast thanks the organizations that donated prizes to make this contest possible. Here is a look at the prize levels:

The Grand Prize winner will receive the following:

• A coupon code worth $360 that can be used toward a news release distribution from premier online press release newswire PRWeb.
• A website SEO evaluation plus one hour of consultation from NetSearch Direct, a search engine and Internet marketing firm based in Richmond, Virginia. The value of this prize is $800!
• ONE YEAR of unlimited online data backup from Carbonite. This prize has a value of $49.95!
• An interview on the Startup BizCast episode that will air during National Small Business Week, during which the winner will be given a wonderful opportunity to promote his or her business to the show’s listeners!
• Logo placement and links to the winner’s website on the Startup BizCast Blog.

Two runners-up will receive the following:

• A coupon code worth $360 that can be used toward a release distribution from PRWeb.
• Links to the winner’s website on the Startup BizCast Blog and a mention of their name and business during an episode of Startup BizCast.

Total prize value, not including links and the Startup BizCast interview: NEARLY $2,000!

HOW TO ENTER

Startup Bizcast is asking entrants for help in the show’s quest to provide tips to people who want to launch and manage their own enterprise. Those wishing to help can enter the contest one of two ways:

• Participants can call the Startup BizCast Voicemail Hotline at 206-339-4366 (note that this is a NEW number - the old one is no longer working) and leave a message that includes the their full name, phone number, email address, type and/or name of their business or freelance operation, and most important, their very best advice for other business owners. Please spell any information that could potentially be misunderstood.
• Participants can also use an online entry form. To access it, click here.

Please note that incomplete entries will be discarded.  One entry per person, please.

The best small business advice, as judged by the host of Startup BizCast, will be used in an episode of the program to be released prior to Small Business Week!

Contest entries must be received prior to 9:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 12, 2008. All submissions that provide all requested information will be entered into a random drawing for the three prize levels. Winners will be notified via telephone or email on or before Monday, April 14, 2008, and will be announced on the episode of Startup BizCast that is scheduled to be published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008.