For Immediate Release
Contact: Joanne Randolph
Telephone: 256-213-2727

"2008 Small Business Start-up of the Year"
DEADLINE: June 30, 2008

[HUNTSVILLE, AL] - WBCNA is now accepting applications from small business owners who started a business and implemented "best practices" to improve their likelihood of success.

Statistics show that the majority of small businesses fail within the first few years and expert opinions abound about what a business owner should and shouldn't do to keep a new business afloat. According to Joanne Randolph, President of the WBCNA, there are several key factors that contribute to small business failure:

• Lack of an adequate, viable business plan
• Little, if any, marketing and advertising
• Inadequate capital or misuse of capital
• Lack of industry-related experience and knowledge
• Failure to seek professional advice (i.e., accounting, legal, financial, etc.)

If you started a business in the last two years and avoided the common pitfalls by developing a business plan, seeking the advice of professionals, etc., we want to publicly recognize you. The "Small Business Start-up of the Year" should be a model start-up for others to emulate. Applications will be accepted online at www.wbcna.org. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2007, and the winner will be announced at the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards Ceremony on August 21, 2008, to an audience of 1,300.

#####

The Women's Business Center of North Alabama (WBCNA) is a non-profit organization that helps women and men who want to start or grow a business. We provide training, counseling, mentoring, access to finances, connections, networking opportunities, and access to reduced-rate services.

____________________________________________________________________

30-Second Version

Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Joanne Randolph at WBCNA, 185 Chateau Drive, Suite 200D, Huntsville, AL 35801, or by phone at 256-213-2727 or email info@wbcna.org.