2nd Annual Rulebreaker Awards Honor Entrepreneurs Who Blaze Their Own Trails

LAKEWOOD, Calif. - Jan. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Entrepreneurs who are breaking the rules can get their chance to shine by entering the 2^nd Annual RuleBreaker Awards contest, sponsored by Sage North America, Infusionsoft and Nextiva. Rather than honoring traditional measures of success, such as sales or growth, the RuleBreaker Awards celebrate entrepreneurs for what they don’t do—for flouting convention, forging their own path and breaking all the rules.

If you’re an entrepreneur who’s breaking the rules (or know someone who is), you can nominate yourself or others.“We’re thrilled to announce the second annual RuleBreaker Awards to honor trailblazing entrepreneurs who have succeeded on their own terms,” said Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media and a co-host of the RuleBreaker Awards.

“Ironically, the evolution of any industry comes from a revolution sparked by someone who challenges the industry—it comes from the rule breakers. That is what this award ceremony is all about, recognizing the people who revolutionize industry,” said co-host Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First.

“After the overwhelming response to the event last year, we found that some RuleBreakers revolutionize their industries and others create whole new industries,” said co-host Barry Moltz, author of How to Get Unstuck.

15 finalists and one Grand Prize Winner will receive prizes worth over $5,000, including:

--A RuleBreaker “Hammer” Trophy
--One-year subscription to Sage One (www.sageone.com), the online accounting and business management solution from Sage North America
--Free phones and service for one year from Nextiva (www.nextiva.com)
--3 free months of Infusionsoft + Kickstart Services sales and marketing solutions from Infusionsoft (www.infusionsoft.com). Three additional winners will be selected by Infusionsoft to receive a free one-year subscription.
--One selected book authored by Mike Michalowicz or Barry Moltz
--One hour of consulting time with Mike Michalowicz, Rieva Lesonsky or Barry Moltz

Nominations are open through March 31, 2015. Visit http://rulebreakerawards.com to nominate yourself or another RuleBreaker in the following categories: Service Provider, Technology Provider, Food/Restaurant, Manufacturer or Retailer.

Public voting and judging will be held in May. The panel of judges will include:

·      Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE
·      Gabie Boko, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sage North America
·      Anita Campbell, founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and BizSugar
·      Ramon Ray, Marketing and Technology Evangelist of Smallbiztechnology.com, Smart Hustle magazine and Infusionsoft
·      Shama Kabani, the CEO of Marketing Zen Group

Winners will be announced in June; the Grand Prize Winner will be honored in July at an awards ceremony held in conjunction with the Sage Summit in New Orleans.

For more information about the contest and to enter, visit http://rulebreakerawards.com.

ABOUT RIEVA LESONSKY: Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. A nationally recognized speaker who regularly addresses audiences across the country, Rieva broke the rules by becoming the first female editorial director of a general business magazine; she was SVP/Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine for more than 25 years.

ABOUT MIKE MICHALOWICZ: Mike Michalowicz is the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, The Pumpkin Plan and Profit First. Mike has grown and sold two multimillion-dollar companies and now operates his third. And if there is one thing he attributes entrepreneurial success to, it's breaking the rules.

ABOUT BARRY MOLTZ: Barry Moltz is the author of How to Get Unstuck: 25 Ways To Get Your Business Growing Again. He is a small business motivational speaker and radio talk show host. He breaks rules by having entrepreneurs stop doing what they have always done to move forward.