Next Level Challenge

Wanted: Biz owners to take ‘Next Level’ challenge

As a business owner, have you ever dreamed of having some support to help you grow your business? Or, how about a team of experts available to help you move to the next level?
And, what if you could not only have a team of experts, but also have a year’s worth of publicity about your business, at no cost to you?
ActionCOACH of Lehigh Valley and the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal have teamed up to provide such an offer — “The Next Level Challenge … Building the business of your dreams.” One lucky business will be selected by the readers of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal for a year’s worth of coaching with special consultation in IT, legal and accounting with a year’s worth of press coverage related to the business’s reaction and growth.
Would this package be worth your time to complete an entry/application? How about if that opportunity provided a value of $75,000?
If you are a business in Berks, Lehigh or Northampton counties that has $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue, a minimum of five employees, excluding the owner, and is a for-profit business that is either Business-to-Business or Business-to-Consumer. And, if you are interested in growing your business, love to learn, are competitive —and willing to commit five to eight hours each week to work on your business, you should enter The Next Level Challenge.
The selected business owner must be willing to meet weekly with the team of experts as well as provide interviews with The Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal on a monthly basis about the process and the impacts.
The “Dream Team” of professionals includes:
• Michelle Landis, president, ActionCOACH of Lehigh Valley and Small Business Advisors;
• Buddy Lesavoy, Esq., member, Lesavoy, Butz and Seitz LLP;
• Gary Frey, owner, Frey & Co., CPAs;
• Ben Spalding, president, CISS Ltd; and
• Sally Handlon, president, Handlon Business Resources LLC.
Entry/applications are available either through the newspaper, online at www.epbj.com or by contacting ActionCOACH of Lehigh Valley. Completed applications must be received by the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal business office by 6 p.m. on Aug. 21. You may e-mail entries to: nextLevelChallenge@epbj.com.
Contest rules are available on this Web page. No purchase is necessary.
Entries that are complete and that meet the published criteria will be reviewed by a team of Lehigh Valley business leaders and five finalists will be selected. These finalists will then be voted on by readers of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal. The contest winner will be announced by Sept. 30.
Move over Ty Pennington! The Lehigh Valley business community has “The Next Level Challenge … Building the business of your dreams!”

“Next Level Challenge…building the business of your dreams”
Official Rules
July 14, 2008 – August 21, 2008, Phase 1
August 22 ,2008 - September 29, 2008, Phase 2

Preliminary Information: No purchase necessary. Void outside the Pennsylvania counties of: Berks, Lehigh and Northampton. Phase 1 of the Next Level Challenge business enhancement consultation contest (“Contest”) begins on July 14, 2008 and ends on August 21, 2008. Phase 2 begins August 22, 2008 and ends September 29, 2008 with the announcement of the winner.

Phase 1 is the application process. Any business meeting the criteria listed in the official rules is eligible to submit a completed Entry Application from July 14 through August 21, 2008. Phase 2, which begins on August 22, is the review of the Entry Applications for completeness and eligibility. The submissions will be narrowed to five (5). These five entries will be voted upon by the readership of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal (“Business Journal”) from September 1 through September 22, 2008. The “winning” business will be announced September 29, 2008.

To Enter: To enter, access www.epbj.com and click on the Contest icon. Complete and submit the Entry Application form. Entry Application forms may be mailed, faxed or emailed per instructions on the Entry Application form.

All Entries become the property of the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal and ActionCOACH of Lehigh Valley (“the Sponsors”) which will not be acknowledged or returned. Each Answer must be original (that is, written by you) and in the English language. By entering the Contest, entrant grants Sponsor the non-exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable rights to use, reproduce, copy, publish, display, distribute, perform, paraphrase, translate, adapt, modify, and otherwise exploit the Entries and Answers and to incorporate them in other works in any and all markets and media worldwide in perpetuity. Entrants warrant that they have the sole and exclusive right to grant such rights to Sponsors and waive any claims against the Sponsors for and with respect to any and all claims based on copyright, trademark, defamation, privacy, or publicity, or claims for false light, misappropriation, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress , negligence or breach of contract.

Entries must be received before August 21, 2008 at 5:00 PM EST to be eligible for the Contest. Entries generated by a script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified. Entries that are incomplete, garbled, corrupted or unintelligible for any reason, including, but not limited to, computer or network malfunction or congestion, are void and will not be accepted. Video applications will not be accepted.
Entering the Contest constitutes permission to use the entrants name, city, county, state, likeness, image, and/or voice for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without any compensation.

Eligibility: Established businesses located in Berks, Lehigh or Northampton counties of Pennsylvania satisfying the minimum criteria listed on the Entry Application Form.

Winner Selection and Notification:
Phase 1 – The five (5) finalists will be selected on or about August 25, 2008 by a group of Lehigh Valley Business executives and entrepreneurs not related to the Sponsors or CISS LTD, Frey & Co., CPAs, Handlon Business Resources LLC or Lesavoy Butz & Seitz LLC. Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

- completeness of Entry Application – 20%
- potential for growth of entrant’s business –40%
- potential for the Next Level Challenge Dream Team to assist with that growth-40%

Sponsors reserve the right to extend the Contest Period or cancel the Contest if an insufficient number of qualified Entries are received. The decision of the Sponsors shall be final and nonappealable.

The five finalists may be required to substantiate information provided in the
Entry Application.

Phase 2 – Final Selection
The five finalists will be listed on a ballot in the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal. Voting will be conducted via the website – www.epbj.com. Voting will commence on September 1, 2008 at 8:00 AM EST and will conclude on September 22nd at 5:00 PM EST.
Based on the total number of votes received, with a stipulation of 1 vote per computer IP address, a finalist will be determined. In the event of a tie, the Sponsors will conduct a phone interview with the tied entrants and determine a winner based upon which entrant best articulates the need for a business consultation. The decision of the Sponsors shall be final and nonappealable.

Prize:
There will be only one (1) prize package awarded (the “Prize”) to the winner consisting of the following: a consultation for the winner with members of Next Level Challenge Dream Team. The “Dream Team” consists of the ActionCOACH of Lehigh Valley, CISS LTD, Frey & Co., CPAs, Handlon Business Resources LLC and Lesavoy Butz & Seitz LLC.

Released Parties (defined later) are not responsible or liable for any business decisions made or not made by winner following the consultation. Acceptance of the Prize is not a guarantee of any kind with respect to growth of winner’s business. Winner must be available to claim the Prize between September 2008 and October 2008 with a commitment to participate in a team consultation program through August 2009. Furthermore, the winner must agree, in writing, to allow the Business Journal to follow the progress of the consultation Dream Team through August 2009. It is understood and agreed upon by the Sponsors and Dream Team agree that sensitive information will be portrayed in only the broadest terms possible; specifics, will not released without the express permission of the winner.

All taxes and other expenses, costs, or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of the Prize are the sole responsibility of winner. The Prize cannot be transferred by the winner or redeemed for cash and is valid only for the items detailed above, with no substitution. If the Prize is unclaimed, it will be forfeited and an alternate winner my be selected from the remaining finalists. If a Prize element is not available for any reason, the remaining elements of the Prize shall constitute full satisfaction of Sponsors’ Prize obligation to winner, and no additional compensation will be awarded.

Entry into the Contest constitutes a photo , recording, appearance, publication and location release without any compensation or credit therefore. Winner will have no right of review, notice or approval of content. Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify winner at any time, if his/her /its behavior at any point is deemed by Sponsors to be disruptive, if it may or does cause damage to person, property, or reputation of Sponsors or otherwise violates the policies or if winner does not follow the rules of Sponsors at all times. These Official Rules and the Contest are neither a contract nor an application for employment.

Conditions:
By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees for entrant and for entrant’s heirs, executors, and administrators (a) to release and hold harmless Sponsors, CISS LTD, Frey & Co., CPAs, Handlon Business Resources LLC and Lesavoy Butz & Seitz LLC and their respective officers, directors, and employees (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any claim, liability, litigation, or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from such entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or his/her acceptance, use, or misuse of the Prize or any portion thereof: (b) to indemnify Released Parties from any and all liability resulting or arising from the Contest and hereby acknowledges that Released Parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the Prize including express warranties provided exclusively by the Prize supplier that are sent along with the Prize; (c) if selected as a Winner, to the posting of such entrant’s name on www.epbj.com and www.actioncoach.com/michellelandis and the use by Released Parties of such name, voice, image and/or likeness for publicity, promotional and advertising purposes without additional compensation, and hereby gives consent to such use; and (d) to be bound by these Official Rules and to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error therein or in the Contest itself, and to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsors, which are binding, final and nonappealable. Failure to comply with these conditions may result in disqualification from the Contest.

Additional Terms:
Sponsors reserve the right to permanently disqualify from any promotion any person or entity they believe has intentionally violated these Official Rules. Any attempt to deliberately damage the Contest or the operation thereof is unlawful and subject to legal action by Sponsors, who may seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law. The failure of Sponsors to comply with any provision of these Official Rules due to anything outside of the control of Sponsors or other “force majeure” event will not be considered a breach of these Official Rules. Released Parties assume no responsibility for any injury or damage to entrant’s or to any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from entering or downloading materials or software in connection with the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for telecommunications, network, electronic, technical, or computer failures of any kind; for inaccurate transcription of entry information; for errors in any promotional or marketing materials or in these Official rules; for any human or electronic error; or for entries that are stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed, lost, late, damaged, or returned. Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, modify, or suspend the Contest or any element thereof (including, without limitation, these Official Rules) without notice in any manner and for any reason (including, without limitation, in the event of any unanticipated occurrence that is not fully addressed in these Official Rules). In the event of cancellation, modification, or suspension, Sponsors reserve the right to select winner from among all eligible, remaining, non-suspect finalists. Notice of such cancellation, modification of suspension will be posted at www.epbj.com. Sponsors may prohibit any entrant or potential entrant from participating in the Contest, if such entrant or potential entrant shows a disregard for these Official Rules; acts with an intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other entrant, Sponsors or Sponsors’ agents or representative; or behaves in any other disruptive manner (as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion).

Disputes:

The Contest is governed by, and will be construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Pennsylvania and the forum and venue for any dispute shall be exclusively in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. If the controversy or claim is not otherwise resolved through direct discussions or mediation, it shall then be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by a single neutral arbitrator in accordance with its streamlined arbitrator rules and procedures or subsequent versions thereof (“jams rules”). The jams rules for selection of an arbitrator shall be followed, except that the arbitrator shall have prior arbitration experience and be licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. All proceedings brought pursuant to this paragraph will be conducted in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The remedy for any claim shall be limited to actual damages, and in no event shall any party be entitled to recover punitive, exemplary, consequential, or incidental damages, including attorney’s fees or other such related costs of bringing a claim, or to rescind this provision or seek injunctive or any other equitable relief.

Winner Announcement:

For the name of the winner, available after September 25, 2008, visit www.epbj.com or www.actioncoach.com/michellelandis or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to be received by October 1, 2008 to: Next Level Challenge…building the business of your dreams, 65 E. Elizabeth Avenue, Suite 700, Bethlehem, PA 18018.