Iowans who’ve started with next-to-nothing and built successful businesses might be good candidates for the state’s Small Business Person of the Year award. Nominations are now being taken by the Iowa offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Joe Folsom is director of the S-B-A’s Des Moines District.
Folsom says, "We have ten or so different categories of which individuals and organizations can recognize businesses and champions of small businesses in their community for the contributions they have made." Those categories include: Small Business Exporter of the Year, Minority Small Business Champion of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year and Women in Business Champion of the Year.
Folsom says the top prize in the annual contest is Small Business Person of the Year. Folsom says, "What we are looking for there is an individual or a small business that has been successful in their own right within their community, the contributions to the community, the success of the business, the growth of the business over a period of time as evidenced by an increase in revenues or additional jobs that have been created."
Small business is big business in the state of Iowa, Folsom says, with 97-to-98-percent of all businesses in Iowa being categorized as small businesses. For a full list of awards or a nomination package, visit " www.sba.gov/nominationsguidelines " or contact the SBA in Des Moines at (515) 284-4522.