The second early-bird deadline for The American Business Awards is today, Wednesday, December 14.Here are the first steps to help you start the submission process for The 2012 American Business Awards:

1. Get your entry kit here.
2. Review the 2012 ABA categories. We have dozen of possible categories including awards for organizations, teams, departments, and individuals as well as awards for websites, videos, blogs, apps, live events, and much more.
3. Review past winners' entries here. They're great models for how you should write your entries.
4. Make the most out of your submissions and learn how to submit winning entries here.

Have questions? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com; we'd love to help you get started on your 2012 submissions!

Not going to make the early-bird deadline? Don't worry - the next ABA deadline is March 28, 2012!

As the December 14 early-bird deadline for The 2012 American Business Awards approaches, we encourage everyone to submit their entries for the 2012 ABAs. Get your entry kit here.

Below are the top 10 reasons why you should enter:

1. Improve employee morale.  
   Applying for The Stevie® Awards is a simple and affordable way to recognize your organization and employees.
2. Impress potential clients.
   Your work will not only be reviewed and honored by peers and competitors, but also by potential clients!  Use the American Business Awards categories to show off your work and achievements.
3. Global recognition and free publicity.   
   Gold Stevie Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of 600+ executives from across the country during a nationally-broadcast awards dinner that will also be streamed worldwide over the Internet.
4. Company size equality.  
   You don't have to be a big company to win a Stevie!  Small organizations have an equal opportunity to win Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies.
5. Access to your industry's leaders.  
   Many of the world's top business leaders will review your nominations during the judging process.
6. Flexible categories and newly-added categories.
   There are dozens of business award categories for individuals, companies, teams and departments as well as new categories to recognize websites, blogs, and apps!  Our ABA categories include acknowledgement of exceptional management and finance,  marketing and public relations, product development, customer service, and human resources.
7. Low entry fees. 
   The publicity that comes with winning a Stevie Award is well worth the low entry fees.
8. Earn industry status.
   The ABA is a great way to benchmark your achievements against competitors in your industry.
9. Oscar-like trophies.
   The Stevie Award trophies are among the most coveted prizes in the world and are produced by the creators of the Oscars. And now there's more of them, with the introduction of Silver and Bronze Stevies.
10. The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards. 
    You and your team deserve the kind of positive recognition that comes with being a Stevie Awards recipient.

What's your number one reason for applying for The American Business Awards?