Who has influenced the growth and success of your small business? When you stop to think about it, I’m sure there’s an individual or an organization that comes to mind. Well, now is the time to show your appreciation and in other words, give them some props, by nominating them as a Small Business Influencer for 2011.

Small Business Influencers Award Sponsors

The Small Business Influencers Awards are produced by Small Business Trends and Small Biz Technology and brought to you by Blackberry.  Many of you may already know Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Biz Trends LLC and owner of Biz Sugar, or Ramon Ray, founder of Small Biz Technology, and their long-standing commitment to the success of small business. Here are more details about the award and how you can nominate your favorite small business influencer.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO BE A SMALL BUSINESS INFLUENCER?

A small business influencer is a person, company or other organization that has made a meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. Impact may mean (i) providing products widely used by significant numbers of small businesses, or (ii) influencing significant numbers of small businesses by being a thought leader, or (iii) providing information or services of note to significant numbers of small businesses.

People, companies and other organizations that fall into one of the following five categories may be nominated:

• Leaders (executives, academics, government officials, or key employees who are part of companies or other organizations serving the small business market)

• Corporations (companies that provide products and services to the small business market, and non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and advocacy and support organizations)

• Journalists (individual journalists, reporters, editors, broadcasters, bloggers, podcasters, freelance writers)

• News Outlets (media companies, newspapers, magazines, broadcasting companies)

• Gurus (mavens, authors, speakers, consultants, advocates, professionals such as lawyers or CPAs)

HOW DO WE NOMINATE SOMEONE? To nominate an influencer, simply click on the “NOMINATE” button, and fill in the information on the submission form. Nominate as many people and organizations as you wish. All nominations are subject to administrative review, and may be edited for completeness, proper categories, accuracy, grammar and typographical errors. It may take up to 24 hours for nominations to be appear on the site.

Nominate Small Business Influencers

You have until July 8th to get your nomination in at which time the final judging will commence. You can keep up with the announcements and deadlines for Small Business Influencers 2011 by following Anita @smallbiztrends, Ramon @smallbiztechnology, and a dedicated account @smbinfluencer on Twitter. Be sure you take a look at the list of judges and visit their websites to expose yourself to a wealth of experience and expertise that can foster new ideas and provide solutions that can help you expand the reach of your small business.

Tagged as: @SMBInfluencer, Anita Campbell, Biz Sugar, Ray Ramon, Small Business Influencers, Small Business Technology, Small Business Trends