StartupNation® Wins 2004 Small Business Association of Michigan Business to Business Service Innovation of the Year" Award

StartupNation wins Small Business Association of Michigan award for offering advice and inspiration to entrepreneurs via radio, Web, e-newsletters, coaching, and more.

Birmingham, MI (PRWEB) June 27, 2004 -- At a special awards ceremony celebrating its 35th anniversary last night, the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) announced that StartupNation®, L.L.C. has been selected as SBAMs 2004 Small Business Innovation Awards Business to Business Service Innovation of the Year." This award recognizes a remarkable and unique service launched by a Michigan-based small business.

"The judges found StartupNation's multimedia approach to communicating with the small business community to be strikingly creative and innovative," states SBAM Vice President Communications Michael Rogers. "We were impressed with StartupNation's obvious dedication to inspiring and informing entrepreneurs in Michigan and across the nation."

"As passionate entrepreneurs, inventors and small business owners ourselves, we are very proud to win this award from SBAM," states Rich Sloan, StartupNation Co-founder. With this as added inspiration, we hope to continue helping people across the country to transform their small business dreams into reality."

StartupNation is a multimedia content company that provides personality-rich information to entrepreneurs who are looking to start or grow a small business. Jeff and Rich Sloan, lifelong business partners, Michigan residents and two of the countrys top small business experts, founded StartupNation in 2001 to provide inspiration and information to entrepreneurs on a nationwide level via various media channels including:

• A nationally-syndicated, one-hour talk radio program (heard on News/Talk WJR 760 AM in Detroit from 7:00 -- 8:00 p.m., Saturdays)
• A content and community-rich website, www.startupnation.com
• Small Business Blasts, or brief, inspirational instruction and information via radio vignettes, online content, e-newsletters and printed publications
• Short-Sighted Bob" videos featuring the bobble-headed character, Short-Sighted Bob," and his hilarious small business antics and avoidable mistakes
• Entrepreneurial coaching with top small business experts via phone or in-person
• Webinar Wednesdays," online seminars where entrepreneurs learn about a particular small business topic from top business experts via an onscreen presentation and can ask relevant questions via instant messages
• Personal appearances via the StartupNation Success in the U.S." radio tour where Jeff and Rich Sloan are visiting numerous cities across the country to promote the importance of small business in todays economy, meet entrepreneurs, listen to elevator pitches, and provide information on how to start and grow a successful business

This is the tenth year that SBAM has presented the Small Business Innovation Awards. The awards program is sponsored by SBAM, Fifth Third Bank, the Small Business Foundation, The Detroit News, the Office of Intellectual Property at Michigan State University, the Small Business and Technology Development Center at Lansing Community College and Mitechnews.com.

To find out more about the award-winning StartupNation services, visit www.startupnation.com, call 1-866-55-START or e-mail info@startupnation.com.

About StartupNation® and the Sloan Brothers
Founded by Jeff and Rich Sloan, StartupNation (www.startupnation.com), is a multimedia content company which provides business smarts via an entertaining multimedia platform -- including a nationally-syndicated radio show and weekly online seminars -- which targets entrepreneurs and forward-thinking small business owners. As small business experts, the Sloan brothers have been featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine and on CNN, FOX News and CNBC.

StartupNation also teams up with companies which want to further enhance their small business focus, such as Seattle-based Washington Mutual Bank, which is title sponsor of the weekly StartupNation Radio show and has integrated StartupNation business content into its small business banking program.

For more information, please visit, www.startupnation.com or call 1-866-55-START.
###