Tampa Bay Small Business Jumpstart Contest Returns in 2010 to Award Another Budding Entrepreneur with a $20,000 Prize

Tampa, FL, June 09, 2010 --(PR.com)-- At a time when many small businesses face great fiscal uncertainty, several local business entities, including Heidelberg PR, Intelligent Office and Wildfire Marketing Group, have banned together to launch the Tampa Bay Small Business Jumpstart contest. The contest winner will receive over $20,000 in pro bono business start up services to launch a company of their own.

To qualify, aspiring entrepreneurs must meet two primary criteria:

They must have decided to start a business of their own in the last twelve months.

They must not have any other full-time job – aside from trying to build their new business.

The Jumpstart winner will receive a package of services that includes internet marketing and web site development, on-site IT support, a public relations campaign, bookkeeping assistance, office space and receptionist support for nine months, life coaching, printing services and ongoing business planning and counseling. Full details on the award package are posted at www.tampajumpstart.com.

Jumpstart contest applications are now available online at www.tampajumpstart.com and the deadline to apply is 5:00 p.m. July 30.

Information about the inaugural 2009 Tampa Jumpstart Winner, Mike Mayo of Golden Vision Photography, is also found on the Tampa Jumpstart web site.

Jumpstart Origins
The Jumpstart concept originated with Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Wildfire Marketing Group and author of School's Out: A Real World Guide to Marketing Your Business from A to Z.

“There are a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs due to the economy,” Knauff said, “and that reality drove me to recruit like-minded business people who wanted to help at least one person overcome an unfortunate hardship.”

Jumpstart participant Karen Gillman, sales coordinator at Intelligent Office in Tampa, was one of the first to team up with Knauff.

“Today, with so many people facing unexpected changes in their careers, the Small Business JumpStart contributors felt compelled to provide some assistance to someone who wants to change their life in a very significant way,” Gillman said. “To start a new company after losing a job requires so many things – not to mention courage, determination and creativity – but you also need tangible resources like office space, marketing materials and advisors. That’s where we knew we could help.”

Who are the Jumpstart contributors?

Providing life coaching:

Clestine Herbert, Divine Discipline, www.divinediscipline.com

Providing public relations services:

Julie Heidelberg, Heidelberg PR, www.heidelbergpr.com

Providing virtual office services and meeting space:

Karen Gillman, Intelligent Office, www.intelligentoffice.com

Providing on-site IT support services:

Louis Ayoub, IntelliTECHs, www.intellitechs.com

Providing printing services:

David Bell, PA Printing Service, www.paprintingservices.com

Providing ongoing business planning and counseling services:

USF Small Business Development Center, http://sbdc.usf.edu

Providing Internet marketing and web site development services:

Jeremy Knauff, Wildfire Marketing Group, www.wildfiremarketinggroup.com

Providing bookkeeping services:

Laurie Arth, The Arth Consulting Group, LLC, www.thearthconsultinggroup.com

For more information about the Tampa Bay Small Business Jumpstart contest, the contributors, the application and the award package, please visit www.tampajumpstart.com.

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