Who Influences YOU As A Small Business Owner?

When you think about your business, you’ve likely relied on other people and companies to help you grow. Think about the bloggers whose content you devour. Authors whose books you read. Companies whose apps make your work easier. These are small business influencers, and these are exactly the kind of people being honored in the

I’m the Communications Manager for Small Business Trends, as well as a Judge for this year’s awards, so I’ve been privileged enough to see all the nominations coming through.  If you look at the list of nominees, you’ll likely see familiar names.

Who Gets Your Vote?

Right now, we’re in the voting phase of the Awards (which close on September 15, 2014). You can vote for any Influencer nominee once. I encourage you to review the nominees and give a click to those you think are deserving of honor. You can also leave a comment using the Facebook plugin at the bottom of each nominee’s profile.

In addition to the Community Choice winners, the panel of Judges will select the Top 100 Champions. Winners will be announced after voting closes, and will be honored at a Gala in New York City on October 22, 2014.

Spread the Word

I would love for you to tell your network about the Influencer Awards. Here’s how you can help:

• Follow @SMBInfluencer on Twitter.
• Share the news about the Awards on Twitter using the hashtag #SMBInfluencer.
• Write a blog post about the Awards to encourage your readers to get involved.
• Send an email to your community.

Now, Some Questions for You

I want to leave you with something to ponder (and I’d love to see your response as a comment here). What makes a small business influencer? What qualities do you look for when choosing services or companies to give money to, or when looking for resources to help you grow your business? What companies are exemplary (whether they’re nominated as Influencers or not)? How can an individual or company strive to become an influencer?

When I think about the influencers on my list, they:

• Write a lot of really useful content online
• Know their industries inside and out
• Are actively involved in the small business community

Now that we’ve covered what makes for a good influencer, go vote!  There are nominees in these categories: News Outlets, Journalists,

Leaders, Corporations, Experts, Apps, Marketing Campaign, Growth Story. Remember, you can vote once per nominee, and nominees end September 15.

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