Our Latest Curated List of Small Business Events and Awards

Here’s a selection of the upcoming small business events, contest and awards.  Check them out â€" you might find a valuable opportunity to network with your peers or win a small seed amount to grow your business.   To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

2014 BIG Innovation Awards2014 BIG Innovation Awards
December 06, 2013, Online

The BIG Innovation Awards recognize organizations and people who bring new ideas to life. Whether that idea is big or small, these ideas change the way we experience the world. We recognize every innovation that our judges deem worthy!
Hashtag: #bigawards

Dell World 2013Dell World 2013
December 11, 2013, Austin, TX

Dell World is Dell’s annual tech conference. This year it features a keynote address by Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, and one by Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal. Entertainment by CAMP FREDDY.

Small Business Trends will be there!

Hashtag: #Dellworld

WordStream’s $25,000 Marketing Makeover
December 15, 2013, Online

Win $25,000 in pay-per-click advertising budget for 2014, plus marketing tools from WordStream and Constant Contact. Grade and get paid today! Hashtag: #25KforPPC

ICON14 by InfusionsoftICON14 by Infusionsoft
April 23, 2014, Phoenix, AZ

#ICON14 is the eighth annual conference for small business, hosted by Infusionsoft (previously called Infusioncon). Over 3,000 attendees expected. Confirmed speakers include Seth Godin, JJ Ramberg and Peter Shankman.

Hashtag: #ICON14
Discount Code:  smallbiztrends  (Get an extra $100 off)

More Events

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.



TAXI Offers Inspiration for Creative Entrepreneurs, Others

inspiration for creative professionals

TAXI is a daily updated news and editorial site that provides inspiration for creative professionals such as designers, creatives entrepreneurs and others. The site marks its tenth year of publishing in 2o13 and is located at DesignTaxi.com.

Its purpose is to showcase the work of creative professionals and entrepreneurs from a variety of industries. It also provides inspiration and a way to keep up with industry news and information about new tools and techniques.

TAXI features examples of product design, architecture, photography, apps, and more. You click on an item from the main page. Then you can view a brief description of the project and the people behind it. You can also see related photos or other media. Users can browse by type of post or just view the most recent items.

Anyone can submit items or tips to the site for inclusion. TAXI also has a presence on multiple social media platforms. They include Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. The site has a community of more than 400,000 followers on all these platforms together. So those who want to receive updates can subscribe to a social media channel or subscribe via email.

TAXI is part of The Global Creative Network, founded by designer Alex Goh. The Singapore-based company includes three other sites also aimed at creative professionals and entrepreneurs.

The Bazaar

inspiration for creative professionals

This is an online Marketplace where creatives can sell their work.

Launched in 2010, the site includes anything from art prints to jewelry to downloadable products. Shoppers can search by keyword or type of item and price range. Then shop owners can sell and ship their own products directly to customers.

The Creative Finder

inspiration for creative professionalsThis is  global directory of creative professionals including illustrators, photographers, and graphic designers. The Creative Finder was officially launched in 2012, but started in beta in 2009.

Users can create a profile and upload their work. Then they can browse the work of others on the site for inspiration or to find collaboration opportunities.

Imgembed

inspiration for creative professionals

Earlier this year, Goh and his team released another site for creative professionals, Imgembed.

Imgembed is aimed at those who share images online. Users can upload photos and create image galleries similar to those on other photo-sharing sites. But Imgembed gives users a way to track where their images are used online, and even a way to monetize use of their images with a premium option.

inspiration for creative professionals

In recognition of TAXI’s tenth year online, Goh teamed up with clothing company Uniqlo to create a t-shirt design (above) sold at three of its stores.

The shirt features a squiggly line trapped in a box, which Goh said represents the creative process. In a TAXI article, Goh shared a bit about his design:

“The creative process, like many phases of our lives, is rarely a straight path. Many times, you imagine yourself taking a new turn, but in reality you are actually still trapped in the box.”

Whether you think of yourself as creative or not, entrepreneurs go through much of the same process. Sites like TAXI offer a way to be inspired and to see problems in a slightly different light.



Read “Confidence” to Build Yours and Succeed

Read “Confidence” to Build Yours and Succeed

It’s been a challenging week.  You know the kind I’m talking about. Your inner critic is running the show, nothing you do is good enough and you’re never smart enough to take on the tasks at hand. This is nothing new. This is what it’s like to be inside my brain. What, you too? Well …

Content

Usefulness

Freshness

82

Summary

Ideal for younger professionals who may feel insecure and want to build confidence in business -- the right way.

82

It’s been a challenging week.  You know the kind I’m talking about. Your inner critic is running the show, nothing you do is good enough and you’re never smart enough to take on the tasks at hand.

This is nothing new. This is what it’s like to be inside my brain.

What, you too?

Well belly up to the book review because you’re about to get an eye-full of some interesting and transformative thinking that will not only have you accepting your inner critic and low self-confidence, but embracing it.

Yes!  Low Self-Confidence is Actually a Good Thing

For at least the last thirty or forty years, we’ve been ever vigilant to avoid “low self-esteem” as if being a little uncertain about ourselves, our skills and abilities would somehow turn us into losers, criminals or something worse.

Of course there were always those psychologists like parenting expert, John Rosemund, who railed against this prevailing “psychobabble.”  He tried to convince young parents that a little insecurity and humility is actually a good thing - a precursor to success.

Today’s world now consists of an interesting mix. Folks who tend to lean more on the insecure, low self-confidence side and those who lean on the high self-confidence side.  And according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, PhD, the author of Confidence:  Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, Insecurity and Self-Doubt, there’s nothing wrong with having low self-confidence.

It’s what drives you to excellence.  And that is a good thing.

Ignore Self-Confidence and Aspire to High Competence

It’s funny that it takes two hundred pages to communicate one simple idea - that you should aspire to have high competence and not high confidence.  That’s it.

But this idea is counter to what we’ve been taught, how we’ve been raised and more importantly, how we’ve been raising our children.  So it takes 200 pages to prove it to you.

One of the things I really like about Confidence is that it doesn’t have an “introduction.”  Instead, the author has actually written a letter to the reader.  That shows that he truly understands the people who have picked this book off the shelf.  Those people are the ones looking to improve their self-confidence, as if there is something wrong with them.

I actually received a review copy of this book, but it sat sitting on my desk until I had one of those “low self-esteem” moments and picked it up for some DIY therapy.  That’s when I saw this introduction and was immediately drawn in:

“The good news is that low confidence is less problematic than you think.  In fact, although society places a great deal of importance on being confident, there are no genuine benefits except feeling good.  In fact, lower confidence is key to gaining competence, which is the only effective strategy for gaining real confidence….”

Take a Journey Toward Competence and Real Confidence

So your journey as the reader begins.  You learn to understand the distinction between confidence and competence.  It’s a good thing that the author keeps repeating this mantra because you will find yourself needing to be reminded, if you ultimately want to build confidence in business.

Confidence consists of eight chapters:

  1. Confidence Ain’t Competence - cements the distinction into your thinking and gets you excited about moving toward competence.
  2. Taking Advantage of Low Confidence - helps you to learn how to use your “low confidence” to drive you toward competence.
  3. Reputation is King - hones in on the difference between being humble and having low self-confidence.
  4. A Successful Career - shows you exactly who successful people really are and what they do.
  5. Social Confidence and People Skills - is a powerful section on how to master interpersonal skills and presentation skills.
  6. A Loving Relationship - shows you how to leverage your new-found confidence in your personal life and relationships.
  7. A Healthier Life - shows you the relationship between how confident you feel and how that impacts your physical health.
  8. Easier Said Than Done - leads you out of the theory of the book and into practicing your new perspective and skills in confidence.

It Takes a Business Psychologist to Raise Our Performance

The author, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, PhD (@drtcp) is a business psychologist.  He’s an international authority in personality assessment, consumer analytics, and talent management.  He is the author of seven books, including Personality 101 and more than a hundred scientific articles.  He is a professor of business psychology at the University College of London and VP of Research and Innovation at Hogan Assessment Systems.

Chamorro writes in a kind, gentle yet authoritative tone that will inspire the “insecure” reader and retire the over-confident ones.  Neither will wind up insulted or talked down to. Rather, each will get a new and enlightened perspective on how to reach their goal of higher performance in business and in their personal life.

Confidence is Required Reading

This book is required reading for any professional.  But I think younger professionals will stand to benefit the most because this book will interrupt that faulty thinking that confidence is at the root of success - instead of working toward competence.

If you’re like me and have a few years of work under your belt and still struggle with confidence from time to time, you’ll find this book a great diagnostic tool to help you identify exactly where you can build your skills or  perhaps which areas you should outsource or get some help with.

Confidence is a book for renaissance small business owners looking to broaden their skills and succeed.



Read “Confidence” to Build Yours and Succeed

Read “Confidence” to Build Yours and Succeed

It’s been a challenging week.  You know the kind I’m talking about. Your inner critic is running the show, nothing you do is good enough and you’re never smart enough to take on the tasks at hand. This is nothing new. This is what it’s like to be inside my brain. What, you too? Well …

Content

Usefulness

Freshness

82

Summary

Ideal for younger professionals who may feel insecure and want to build confidence in business -- the right way.

82

It’s been a challenging week.  You know the kind I’m talking about. Your inner critic is running the show, nothing you do is good enough and you’re never smart enough to take on the tasks at hand.

This is nothing new. This is what it’s like to be inside my brain.

What, you too?

Well belly up to the book review because you’re about to get an eye-full of some interesting and transformative thinking that will not only have you accepting your inner critic and low self-confidence, but embracing it.

Yes!  Low Self-Confidence is Actually a Good Thing

For at least the last thirty or forty years, we’ve been ever vigilant to avoid “low self-esteem” as if being a little uncertain about ourselves, our skills and abilities would somehow turn us into losers, criminals or something worse.

Of course there were always those psychologists like parenting expert, John Rosemund, who railed against this prevailing “psychobabble.”  He tried to convince young parents that a little insecurity and humility is actually a good thing - a precursor to success.

Today’s world now consists of an interesting mix. Folks who tend to lean more on the insecure, low self-confidence side and those who lean on the high self-confidence side.  And according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, PhD, the author of Confidence:  Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, Insecurity and Self-Doubt, there’s nothing wrong with having low self-confidence.

It’s what drives you to excellence.  And that is a good thing.

Ignore Self-Confidence and Aspire to High Competence

It’s funny that it takes two hundred pages to communicate one simple idea - that you should aspire to have high competence and not high confidence.  That’s it.

But this idea is counter to what we’ve been taught, how we’ve been raised and more importantly, how we’ve been raising our children.  So it takes 200 pages to prove it to you.

One of the things I really like about Confidence is that it doesn’t have an “introduction.”  Instead, the author has actually written a letter to the reader.  That shows that he truly understands the people who have picked this book off the shelf.  Those people are the ones looking to improve their self-confidence, as if there is something wrong with them.

I actually received a review copy of this book, but it sat sitting on my desk until I had one of those “low self-esteem” moments and picked it up for some DIY therapy.  That’s when I saw this introduction and was immediately drawn in:

“The good news is that low confidence is less problematic than you think.  In fact, although society places a great deal of importance on being confident, there are no genuine benefits except feeling good.  In fact, lower confidence is key to gaining competence, which is the only effective strategy for gaining real confidence….”

Take a Journey Toward Competence and Real Confidence

So your journey as the reader begins.  You learn to understand the distinction between confidence and competence.  It’s a good thing that the author keeps repeating this mantra because you will find yourself needing to be reminded, if you ultimately want to build confidence in business.

Confidence consists of eight chapters:

  1. Confidence Ain’t Competence - cements the distinction into your thinking and gets you excited about moving toward competence.
  2. Taking Advantage of Low Confidence - helps you to learn how to use your “low confidence” to drive you toward competence.
  3. Reputation is King - hones in on the difference between being humble and having low self-confidence.
  4. A Successful Career - shows you exactly who successful people really are and what they do.
  5. Social Confidence and People Skills - is a powerful section on how to master interpersonal skills and presentation skills.
  6. A Loving Relationship - shows you how to leverage your new-found confidence in your personal life and relationships.
  7. A Healthier Life - shows you the relationship between how confident you feel and how that impacts your physical health.
  8. Easier Said Than Done - leads you out of the theory of the book and into practicing your new perspective and skills in confidence.

It Takes a Business Psychologist to Raise Our Performance

The author, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, PhD (@drtcp) is a business psychologist.  He’s an international authority in personality assessment, consumer analytics, and talent management.  He is the author of seven books, including Personality 101 and more than a hundred scientific articles.  He is a professor of business psychology at the University College of London and VP of Research and Innovation at Hogan Assessment Systems.

Chamorro writes in a kind, gentle yet authoritative tone that will inspire the “insecure” reader and retire the over-confident ones.  Neither will wind up insulted or talked down to. Rather, each will get a new and enlightened perspective on how to reach their goal of higher performance in business and in their personal life.

Confidence is Required Reading

This book is required reading for any professional.  But I think younger professionals will stand to benefit the most because this book will interrupt that faulty thinking that confidence is at the root of success - instead of working toward competence.

If you’re like me and have a few years of work under your belt and still struggle with confidence from time to time, you’ll find this book a great diagnostic tool to help you identify exactly where you can build your skills or  perhaps which areas you should outsource or get some help with.

Confidence is a book for renaissance small business owners looking to broaden their skills and succeed.



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