Denver Will Award Small Business With Best Idea

DENVER (CBS4) - There's some good news for anyone who's looking to get a small business started in Denver.

For the first time ever the city's Office of Economic Development is offering $50,000 for the best business plan.

In addition to the funding, the entrepreneur with the best small business idea gets one year of office space and more than 150 hours of consulting in the following areas: legal, marketing, accounting and social media. The total package is estimated to be worth approximately $100,000.

The Über Sausage in East Denver is one of the small businesses competing for the financial boost. It has been around for 13 months and they still qualify.

"Something like this could really take us to the next level," owner Alex Gschwend told CBS4. "I think the thing that we got excited about was the office space but most beneficial is probably the varying consultants."

The contest is open not only to businesses who haven't gotten off the ground but also those established five years or younger with up to 25 employees.

"Small businesses are the largest job creators in the country and we want to support that," city Economic Development spokesman Patrick Giron said.

The city says the first 150 entries will be considered for the JumpStart Biz Plan Awards. So far a few dozen have applied.

Additional Resources

Applications are being taken through Sept. 14. Learn more at a special section of the Denver Office of Economic Development website.