Theresa Bradley-Banta Real Estate Consultancy in Denver, Colorado, USA won a Gold Stevie® Award in the website awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program. The company also won a Bronze Stevie® for Company of the Year-Real Estate; and Theresa won the Bronze for Executive of the Year-Real Estate. (Entries are now being accepted to The 2014 American Business Awards - get your entry kit here.) With the rallying real estate market, Theresa provides some savvy tips on how to invest wisely.

“I started investing in real estate in 2004, largely by accident,” Theresa told us. “Through my work as a business coach, I realized that I could buy a property, rent it out, and, through the income received, upgrade to a far more beautiful home/office space.  I not only made my money back—and then some—but I also had the home and office of my dreams.”

Theresa was hooked.  Since then, investing in real estate has become her life’s passion and her main source of income. “It’s really as a result of my passion that I chose to become an educator and consultant,” she told us.  Her clients are individuals who want to invest, or are already investing, in real estate-from beginners to pros with million dollar investments.

Over the years, Theresa has seen that certain rules for real estate investment do not change. “Abide by them and income will follow,” she promises. Here are Theresa’s rules:

Education Counts
Indeed it does. If you can afford a coach or consultant, allow yourself that luxury. You will save a lot of time, energy, and money in the long run. As an educator, I’ve found it is not unusual for a client to sign on with the belief that real estate requires little more than the simple desire to get rich. It takes a lot more than that, however!

It’s A Job
Sorry, folks, but investing in real estate is a job. If you have the time and energy for it, great. If not, I recommend you walk away. I occasionally advise potential clients to do just that, which is why a consultant can help big-time to prevent you from losing your shirt—or at least your day job.

The Money Factor
Another myth is that you need to have a lot of money to invest in real estate. You don’t. You just need what I call a “good deal.”  If you have that, the money is there!  So what is a good deal? It’s a property that you just know is perfect-or close to it. In other words, when those additional partners you will need to fund the deal hear about it, they will jump at it.

For example, I found a wonderful 29-unit apartment building (a multifamily dwelling) but I needed investors. I simply chose to ask my brother-in-law; then, lo and behold, two friends of his—total strangers to me—stepped in. Both loved the deal. Not only that, one was a CPA and the other an attorney, so they were able to provide both financial and legal advice. The trick to finding those investors? Just ask! Your next investor might be the person standing next to you.

The Starting Point
Many first-time investors like to begin with residential real estate. This means investing in a residential property other than your own home. I have a neighbor here in Denver who did just that several years ago, and who is now reaping millions. My own biggest triumph was my first investment property: I bought it; renovated it; and sold it.  Real estate almost always appreciates, but it’s the first purchase that—if you do it right—can change your psychology (think confidence!) and allow you to build a portfolio that reaps your own millions.

Look Around
If you’ve never invested before, feel free to begin the way I did by simply driving around and looking for properties I liked.  Picture yourself owning it. Once you set that inner intention of ownership, you are on your way!

Network
Networking is crucial to what I call the Research Phase. Start by networking with professionals who know what you need to know: real estate agents/brokers; property managers in the markets you like; even contractors familiar with the type of property you like.  In fact, any individuals who know the area you are reviewing from the bottom up.

Do Your Research
Do your research due diligence by going online to find the best resources. There are two blog posts available on my website that between them list some 15 sources for market research, including market data, demographics, and key articles.

Know The Real Numbers
Make sure you know the numbers. A mistake I see investors make most often—including the pros—is that they go with the proforma numbers given to them by agents or owners rather than having an expert go over them. You must have an experienced mentor or real estate investor on tap to help you with this. It may cost you some money (although some may do it for free), but this is something you have to do or you will make costly mistakes.

Invest In Apartment Buildings
While many beginners choose to start with a single-family residential property, as a consultant I sometimes recommend the next level up: invest in multifamily dwellings, or even apartment buildings. Investing in an apartment building is a logical first step. Advantages include cash flow from rental income, tax benefits, and property appreciation. That’s why I wrote a book last year entitled Invest In Apartment Buildings: Profit Without The Pitfalls.

The Over-Renovation Trap
Be sure to take a good look at the tenant base when researching a multifamily dwelling in which to invest. Where I so often see people go wrong—including the pros—is that the first thing they do on completing their purchase is to over-renovate the property.  Before any purchase, take a simple look around and be realistic. DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH A PROPERTY! Like any relationship, the chances that it’s going to change because you want it to are not high.  If there are beat-up cars lingering in the parking lot, it is not a given that you will suddenly attract a bigger-spending tenant base.  Or maybe the building is in a neighborhood that, no matter what you do, will never attract the tenants you’re after.

The Landlord Trap
For me, being a landlord is a joy. It’s a lot of work, but I love it. If you don’t want to be a landlord—and even having a property manager means overseeing the manager—this is not the field for you. I love being a landlord, which to me means the pure joy of providing a beautiful, well-managed space that my tenants can call home. What a gift that is to give!

Have A Great Team
Make sure you have an A-plus team around you, no matter the cost. These include contractors, property managers (if you are not choosing to manage the property yourself), financial experts, etc. The better your team, the better you will do. 

Get Educated
I’m ending where I began, because it’s crucial: Make sure you have someone on hand to educate you. A client of mine initially didn’t quite have the confidence to pull off a deal, but through our weekly sessions he now does, and he has just successfully invested in a multifamily property. It’s the confidence that counts!

For more information on investing, resources, and articles, visit www.theresabradleybanta.com. Be sure to read Theresa’s informative blog.

About Theresa Bradley-Banta
Theresa Bradley-Banta, founder and CEO of Theresa Bradley-Banta Real Estate Consultancy, is an award-winning consultant, published author, and a sought-after speaker on reality-based strategies for buying, owning, and operating multifamily investment properties. She specializes in helping clients become ever more knowledgeable about the art of real estate investing. The TBBREC client base runs from beginners to professional investors with millions in investment income.

Theresa Bradley-Banta has been featured in The Equifax Finance Blog, on the radio show Chat With Women, in Scotsman Guide, on The Lucy Ann Lance Show, in The Fordyce Letter, and in AOL’s Daily Finance, among others.

As the final round of judging for the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service begins, we would like to acknowledge the 129 professionals worldwide who participated in the preliminary round of judging.

Recognized as the world's top customer service awards and sales awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer service offer a wide range of categories to recognize the achievements of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals.

The preliminary round of judging, conducted from November through through mid-January, determined the Finalist nominations in this year's competition that are eligible to be considered in the final round of judging.

The following professionals participated in preliminary-round judging of the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  We thank them for their time, insights and interest.

Teresa Allen, Owner, Common Sense Solutions, Shreveport, LA, USA
Amal Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor - Kuwait, Kuwait
Mohammad Alreeh, Lt. Col., Ministry of the Interior, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Johnny Anderson, Vice President, Bulldog Solutions, Austin, TX, USA
Dmitry Aristarkov, Executive VP, National Association of Contact Centers, Moscow, Russia
Tristan Averett, Associate Manager - Enterprise EHR Support, Allscripts, Salem, OR, USA
Sam Baddeley, Senior Manager, Sales and Customer Service - Management Consulting, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Paul Bilodeou, VP Sales and Marketing, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC, USA
Jill Blankenship, CEO, Frontline Call Center, Eastsound, WA, USA
Angela Blevins, VP Customer Care, Bluegreen Corporation, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Jeanne Bliss, President, CustomerBLISS, Pacific Palisades, CA, USA
Bob Botelle, Exec VP Merchant Services, Chief Customer Officer, Litle & Co, Lowell, MA, USA
Nick Broadbent, VP Global Support, DataCore Software, Reading, IN, USA
Jim Brodo, SVP Marketing, Richardson, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Peter Bush, CEO, New Swansea Bay, Port Talbot, Australia
Lucia Caron, Manager - Customer Support, Enterprise Intelligence Solutions (EIS), Verint Systems Inc., Herndon, VA, USA
Ana Castellanos, VP, Chief Human Resources Officer, Oakwood Temporary Housing, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Patrick Cheeseman, Head of Customer Support, Hotel Tonight, San Francisco, CA, USA
Peter Chiarelli, Sales Manager - Advertising Sales, Cablevision, Woodbury, NY, USA
Jackie Coffey, Director, Government and Consumer Markets, Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida, Point Vedra Beach, FL, USA
Michael Conley, Director of Operations Mid Atlantic, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, North Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Ruth Cox, Client Support Manager, One Call Now, Troy, OH, USA
John Cushman, VP eSales & Service, AT&T, Bedminster, NJ, USA
Kelly Dantas, Media Director, SDI Distributor, Yonkers, NY, USA
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbis, SC, USA
Jim de Jager, Operations Director, UPC DTH Leasing S.à r.l., Howald, Luxembourg
Jim Dickie, Principal, CSO Insights, Denver, CO, USA
Kevin Dominigue, VP, Customer Services, TRUMPF, Inc., Farmington, CT, USA
Alan Dowler, Operations Manager, Hamilton Jewelers, Princeton, NJ, USA
LaVon Edwards, Director of Sales, Century Link, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Annette Eland, Claims Customer Service Manager, Esurance, Rocklin, CA, USA
Ted Elliot, CEO, Job Science, San Francisco, CA, USA
Anita Ellis, Director of Sales, Calderon Textiles, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Ron Essig, VP, Products & Services, Marriott Vacation Club, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Andrew J. Filipowski, Executive Chairman & CEO, SilkRoad Technology, Winston Salem, NC, USA
Laura Fischer, Customer Service Coordinator, Kohl's Department Stores, Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Simone Fojut, Chief Editor, SFO Medien GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany
Dave Forsberg, EVP Sales & Marketing, Marketstar, Ogden, UT, USA
Heisha Freeman, EVP Sales & Marketing, The Move Management Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Chris French, VP, Customer Success, Globoforce, Southborough, MA, USA
Michael Galante, Speaker, thesalescoach.com, Preston, MD, USA
Stephen Giersch, Director Instructional Design, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Orlando, FL, USA
Stephen Gill, President - Consulting, SGA, Derby, United Kingdom
Robert P. Gillespie, Executive VP, New York Community Bancorp, Cleveland, OH, USA
Stanley Goodrich, Public Relations Manager, SYSPRO, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Robert Gregory, VP of Customer Support, Media Temple, Marina Del Ray, CA, USA
Jimmy Griffith, Director, Solution Center Operations - Extended Protection Solutions, Assurant Solutions, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Judy Guffee, Senior Manager Customer Service, med fusion/ ClearPoint Diagnostic Laboratory, Louisville, TX, USA
Heidi Guzman, MBA - Customer Service, Consorcio Kairos, Villahermosa, Mexico
Gabriel Heijmer, Innovation & Development Manager, Swedavia AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Jim Heininger, Founder, Dixon|James Communications, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phillip Horvath, SVP - Professional Services, Merchant Partners, Redmond, WA, USA
Jennifer Hrycyszyn, Vice President, Greenough Communications, Boston, MA, USA
Tunde Hubina, Customer Care Director, UPC DTH S.à r.l., Howald, LA, Luxembourg
Linden Ingram, EVP Sales, Imparta Inc, Austin, TX, USA
Tyson Jacques, Customer support manager, Hoteltonight, Dover, NH, USA
Jeanne Jalufka, Sales Marketing Consultant, Pearson, Corpus Christ, TX, USA
Kala Jarugumilli, Sr. Manager, Customer Success Operations, NetApp, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
JP Jones, Owner, Collipsis Web Solutions, Tulsa, OK, USA
Meltem Karateke, President, IMI Conferences, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey
JoAnn Kay, Customer Care Director, Graduation Source, Port Chester, NY, USA
Chad Kestner, Director, Client Sales & Service, RCI, Carmel, IN, USA
James Koons, Chief Privacy Officer, Listrak, Lititz, PA, USA
Elzbieta Krawczynska, Quality Specialist Trainer, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, Poland
Suresh Kuppahally, SVP, Engineering, Operations and Customer Success, Replicon Inc, San Mateo, CA, USA
Yamini Kurup, VP Customer Experience, Aditya Birla Financial Services, Mumbai, India
Michael LeBarron, Lead Engineer, Gemvara, Rockland, MA, USA
Verna Lee, Marketing & Business Development Consultant, McTech Corp, Cleveland, OH, USA
Shane Lewis, Asst VP of Sales, Sundance Vacations, Kennett Square, PA, USA
Scott MacGregor, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Flo-Tech, Middletown, CT, USA
Jennifer Maldonado, Sr. Program Manager, Global Client Experience, Cornerstone OnDemand, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Deb Matthews, Director - Customer Experience, nexVortex, Herndon, VA, USA
Rowena Maxwell, Senior Principle - Customer Service, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Lauren McKenzie, Customer Service Representative, JumpSport Inc, San Jose, CA, USA
Colin McKillip, Chief Executive Officer, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada
Curtis McLaughlin, Customer Support Manager, AllClear ID, Austin, TX, USA
Chad O. Mills, COO, Carahsoft Technology Corp., Reston, VA, USA
Jay Mitchell, President, Mereo, LLC, Irving, TX, USA
John Monroe, Director of Communications, Stellar, Irving, TX, USA
Brian Moriarty, Vice President North America Sales, General Cable, Highland Heights, KY, USA
Jane Mullins, Sr Support Manager / Director, Technical Support Management Professional, Hayward, CA, USA
Michele Nylander, Client Relationship Director, CallMiner, Inc., Fort Myers, FL, USA
Brock Omohundro, Sr. Operations Manager - Training and Development, John Hancock, Portsmouth, NH, USA
Julius Orayo, Regional Head- Customer Services, The Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya Limited, Nairobi, Kenya
Jacque Plair, Director - Americas Deployment & Corporate Services, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder and CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Jeanette Ramey, National Customer Service Manager, Empire Today, Northlake, IL, USA
Bryan Rand, Vice President, North American Sales, SDL International, Plano, TX, USA
Mark Repkin, Chief Revenue Officer, iPromo & Memory Suppliers, Morton Grove, IL, USA
Peter Rifkind, Director of Client Service, UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions, Inc, New York, NY, USA
Charlie Riley, CMO, PLS 3rd Learning, Buffalo, NY, USA
Nick Robertson, VP of Sales & Marketing, kCura, Chicago, IL, USA
Elizaveta Rybinskaya, Customer Care Director, OTTO Group Russia, Moscow, Russia
Megan Ritchie Saffitz, Director of LEED Support, US Green Building Council, Seattle, WA, USA
Randy Selleck, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA, USA
Behar Sensoz, Customer Complaint Management Specialist, Turk Telekom, Istanbul, Turkey
Tibor Shanto, President, Renbor Sales Solutions, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Ramin Shokrizadeh, Product Manager, FreshBooks, Toronto, Canada
Gary Shumaker, President, C2 Solutions Group, Inc., Reston, VA, USA
Manu Singh, Contact Center Manager, Dubai First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Alec Stern, Founding Team, Vice President Strategic Market Development, Constant Contact, Waltham, MA, USA
Manfred Stockmann, President, Call Center Verband Deutschland e. V., Berlin, Germany
Doug Storbeck, Sr. Director of Operations, KM, Plymouth, MA, USA
Fred Stickroot, President, HomeNet, New Port Richey, FL, USA
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Central Settlement Services - Santander Group, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, Poland
Jeff Tang, Senior Manager, Technical Support, The Active Network, The Active Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Will Tarrant, Co-Founder/Owner, Service Metrics Group, Plano, TX, USA
Özge Tekalp, Directr - Alternative Sales Channels, Türk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Lucas Tennant, SE Regional Vice President, Sales - Payroll Division, Benefitmall, Franklin, TN, USA
Christopher Tepas, Chief Marketing Officer, Emkay, Itasca, IL, USA
Bob Thomas, Director of Business Development, Prorizon Corporation, Kennesaw, GA, USA
Corina Toader, Senior Associate Operations, WNS Global, Bucharest, Romania
Ron Torten, VP, WW Sales, Inphi, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Cathy Townend, Product Manager - CSA Travel Protection, Europ Assistance, San Diego, CA, USA
Tina Turnbow, Regional Scheduling Manager, Solis Women's Health, Addison, TX, USA
Abdiel Urriola, Sales & Marketing, Puma Energy, Panama
Lori Van Dyke, Manager of Customer Care, Access One Inc, Chicago, IL, USA
Vincent Vanden Bossche, Managing Director, Call Communications, Ottenberg, Belgium
Chris Vassan, Communcations Lead, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raleigh Triangle Park, NC, USA
David Vasquez, Customer Care Executive, Ally Bank, Charlotte, NC United States
Shelley Verdejo, Director, Facilities, Acquisition & Adminstrative Services, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Washington DC, USA
Madalina Vilau, Managing Partner, Expo Media, Bucharest, Romania
Laura Walter, Corporate Marketing Manager, Enterprise Fleet Management, St. Louis, MO, USA
Jeremy Watkin, Director Of Customer Service, Phone.com, Poway, CA, USA
Tim Watson, Vice President - Mobile Applications, Parentlink, Provo, UT, USA
Matt Weston, Director, Client Services, TradeKing, Charlotte, NC, USA
Floor Wijburg, CEO, W&I Consultants, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Rusty Williams, Co-Founder, Align Sales, Wayland, MA, USA

Interested in judging the 2015 awards?  Apply to be a judge here.

Finalists in the 8th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals, were announced today.

A diverse group of organizations and individuals around the world are among those recognized in the customer service awards, contact center awards, and sales awards categories.  Organizations with Finalists in multiple categories include AllClear ID, Bluegreen Vacations, Cars.com, Delta Air Lines, DHL Express, EMKAY, FedEx TechConnect, Canada's FreshBooks, John Hancock, Lennox Industries, LiveAnswer, Marriott Vacation Club, Marsh U.S. Consumer, Parlant Technology, PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, Property Insight, Richardson, Salesforce, SoftPro, SurePayroll, Inc., Turkey's Turk Economy Bank, ValueSelling Associates, VIZIO, Inc., Turkey's Vodafone, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. For a full list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Sales. 

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced during a gala banquet on Friday, February 21 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Tickets are now on sale.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 36% over 2013.  Finalists were determined by the average scores of 129 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.  Entries were considered in 43 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 43 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers. 

More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, to take place January 27 - February 5.  

Beginning today, the general public will be able to cast their votes for their favorite providers of good customer service in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service Department.  Voting is open at http://www.stevieawards.com/Service.peopleschoice. Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service in multiple industries will be determined in mid-February and honored at the awards gala in Las Vegas on February 21.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and supporters of the eighth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the BusinessTalkRadio Network, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.

Submit your entries today at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales

Tuesday, January 14 is the final entry deadline for the 2014 (8th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. These are the world's top honors for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries.

Review the entry kit now - you'll find it online, here. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the 2014 awards.

There's a lot that's new and different for the awards this year, including our new Grand Stevie Award trophy.

Finalists will be announced on January 22.  All Finalists will ultimately be named Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winners.  The winners will be announced during a gala banquet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 21.  (Attendance isn't required to win.)

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the worklife of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals:

• Individual Sales Performers
• Sales Teams and Departments
• Sales Achievements
• Individual Customer Service and Contact Center Performers
• Customer Service/Contact Center Achievements
• Customer Service Departments
• Solution Providers to Sales and Customer Service Professionals
• New Products and Services used by sales and customer service professionals

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

P.S.  Need a few extra days to enter?  Contact us.

We've just published a 5-minute video about how to enter the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, The American Business Awards.

WATCH IT NOW

Our brief video covers all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the ABAs.

All individuals and organizations within the U.S.A. -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the ABAs. The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Our business award categories include: annual report awards, app awards, company/organization awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, information technology awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, public relations awards, support awards, and website awards, among others. See all corporate awards categories.

The entry deadline for the 12th edition of The American Business Awards is March 26. Late entries will be accepted through April 23 with payments of a late fee.  Nominations should cite achievements since January 1 2013. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site and app entries - it does not matter when they were first published.

Get your entry kit for the ABAs – it contains everything you’ll need to know about how to prepare and submit entries.

Questions about how to select categories or submit entries?  Contact us at help@stevieawards.com, +1 703-547-8389.

 

The Stevie Awards, the world's premier business awards programs, have just published a brochure about our 2014 sponsorship opportunities.

READ THE BROCHURE HERE

The brochure outlines the opportunities associated with our six awards programs in 2014, including two new programs - the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the forthcoming German Stevie Awards.

Among the benefits that are available through Stevie Awards sponsorships are:

• The ability to submit an unlimited number of entries to the sponsored program without having to pay entry fees. This benefit can be extended to sponsors’ clients as well

• The right to name and confer one or more honorary Stevie Awards upon your customers

• A full-page ad in the official program of the event

• Up to 100,000 banner ad impressions on the sponsored program’s web site and in the weekly Stevie Awards Update e-newsletter

• Tickets for the sponsored awards banquet

• At least 10 minutes of stage time to present awards at the sponsored event

• Logo identification in all photographs and video clips of the sponsored event

• Hospitality and display privileges, before, during, and/or after the sponsored event

• Editorial coverage, in the form of an interview or profile, in the Stevie Awards blog and e-newsletter

We welcome the opportunity to customize sponsorship benefits to suit your needs.  Contact Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher for details.

We've published the Gold Stevie Award-winning entries in The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition.

READ THEM HERE

Now you can read the full-text of the entries that nearly 300 judges around the world deemed to be the best in their categories.  They are a treasure trove of case studies about how organizations of all types around the world are innovating, growing, or operating at peak performance.  (If you plan to enter the IBAs in 2014 - entries open in late January, join the mailing list for the entry kit - they are great examples of entries that the judges scored highly.)

Here are some examples of the great stories of achievement you'll find among the 2013 IBA Gold Stevie Award winners:

• Finland's Rovio Entertainment, the people who addicted you to Angry Birds, the winners for Company of the Year in Media & Entertainment
  
  
• The impressive and innovative management team of Best Doctors, Inc., winners of a Gold Stevie for Management Team of the Year
  
  
• Globe Telecom of the Philippine's highly effective marketing campaign, a Gold Stevie winner in the marketing awards categories
  
  
• A groundbreaking technology by Spain's Jofemar, incorporated into their Gold Stevie-winning new product awards nomination
  
  
• The impressive entry in the HR awards categories by India's Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, a Gold Stevie winner for Human Resources Department of the Year
  
  
• The sparkling website of Korea's Hyundai Motor Company, Gold Stevie winner in the website awards categories.

What will you learn from reading Stevie Award winning entries?

1. You'll develop a sense of the types of entries that judges score highly

2. That Stevie Award-winning entries are compelling and well-written

3. That they aren't always about world-shaking or industry-changing innovations

4. If you win a Stevie Award you'll be in very prestigious company!

Join the mailing list now for The 2014 International Business Awards and you'll receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's issued in January.

What were we thinking??!  With the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads, we forgot to announce that the video clips of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business presentations are available! 

Watch the videos here.

The 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business were presented in New York on Friday, November 8.   More than 400 women and their guests from around the world gathered to recognize the achievements of amazing women entrepreneurs, executives, and employees who won this year's Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards.  See the complete list of winners here.

What will you learn by watching these videos?  You'll learn that

1. Some women are able to tell their whole life stories in under 30 seconds

2. Women give much better speeches than men do

3. Winning a Stevie Award can be a transformative experience for many people

Next year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries in May.  Join the mailing list so that you receive the entry kit as soon as it's available.  The program features executive awards categories, entrepreneur awards categories, marketing awards categories, PR awards categories, website awards categories, new product awards categories, and more.  All women and women-run or -owned organizations worldwide are eligible to be nominated.

We have decided to change the schedule for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, to allow more time to solicit entries, recruit judges, and ensure that the first edition of these awards are a success.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the first new Stevie Awards program to be launched in seven years.  The competition is open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.  The website at Asia.StevieAwards.com is available in seven languages, and entries may be submitted in, and will be judged in, all of those languages.  The competition features 18 categories.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be chosen on a national basis, and Grand Stevie winners on a regional basis.

Here is the revised schedule:

The entry deadline that was originally scheduled for December 4 has been changed to February 19.

The late entry deadline, originally scheduled for January 21, has been changed to March 31.

The first round of judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners by nation, will begin after the March 31 deadline.

The announcement of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners by nation will be made on April 23.

The second round of judging, to determine the winners of the Grand Stevie Awards in each category, will begin the week of May 5.  Grand Stevie winners will be announced at the awards banquet.

The first Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards banquet will take place in late May in Seoul, South Korea, the date and setting to be determined.

Get your entry kit and full details on the competition at Asia.StevieAwards.com.

Questions about the competition?  We have representatives in a number of Asian nations to help you - check out the list of them here.

♦ Download the awards dinner program book (6 MB PDF)
♦ Browse and download photographs of the awards presentations
♦ Watch video clips of interviews with Stevie Award winners

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2013 competition on Friday, November 8.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the prestigious International Business Awards and American Business Awards. The Stevie is widely considered to be the world’s premier business award.

With more than 400 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  Nations represented at the event include Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.  The presentations were broadcast live across the U.S.A. by the Business TalkRadio Network.

More than 1,200 nominations from organizations and individuals in 16 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Best New Company of the Year, among others.  More than 240 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

For the first time, Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to the five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients.  The Grand Stevie Award winners are, in descending order:

-          Melissa Sones Consulting, New York, NY U.S.A.

-          Accenture, Chicago, IL U.S.A.

-          Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Limited, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

-          VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA U.S.A.

-          Child’s Play Communications, New York, NY U.S.A.

Notable Gold Stevie Award winners from this year’s competition include:

-          Karen Drexler, Founder and Executive Chair, CellScape Corp., Newark, CA U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services – Up to 2,500 Employees

-          Giovanna Pozzi, VP Business Development and Energy Management, RTR Rete Rinnovabile, Rome, Italy- Female Executive of the Year – Business Products – Less Than 2,500 Employees

-             Carolyn McCall, Founder & CEO, easyJet,  Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom - Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa

-          Frieda Caplan, Founder, Frieda's Inc., Los Alamitos, CA, U.S.A. – Lifetime Achievement

-          Jamila Suliman Khanji, Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- Female Employee of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Procontent Sp. z.o.o., Warsaw, Poland and their campaign on behalf of Saxo Bank Poland- Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Reputation/Brand Management

-          RedBalloon, Sydney, Australia - Company of the Year – Consumer Products or Services

-          Women Presidents’ Organization, New York, NY U.S.A.- Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Eileen Martinson, CEO, Sparta Systems, Inc., Hamilton, NJ U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products – More Than 10 Employees

-          She Takes on the World Inc., Kitchener, ON, Canada- Website of the Year

-          Cenergy International, Houston, TX U.S.A.- Fastest Growing Company of the Year

-          Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT U.S.A. - Management Team of the Year – 10 or Less Employees

The 2013 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include Accenture, Child’s Play Communications, Final Salute Inc., CVS Caremark, FCi Federal, Influence and Co., Laserfiche, other, Pivot Communications, TalkSession, Inc., and VerticalResponse.

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2014 edition of the awards will open next May.  Join the mailing list to receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's available.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.