Canadian entrepreneurs invited to share their business challenges for a chance to win a $100,000 grant

TELUS and The Globe and Mail launch The Challenge contest March 19^th at Globeandmail.com/thechallenge

TORONTO, March 19, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS and The Globe and Mail today announced the launch of The Challenge, the second annual contest inviting Canadian small business owners to present their biggest business challenge for the opportunity to win a $100,000 grant from TELUS. Entrepreneurs across Canada are invited to submit entries at Globeandmail.com/thechallenge and will be judged by a panel that includes entrepreneurs and small business experts.

"The Challenge contest is part of TELUS' commitment to help small businesses achieve their goals," said Jim Senko, vice-president of Small and Medium Business Marketing at TELUS. "We are pleased to have teamed up with the Globe and Mail to support Canadian entrepreneurs in solving their business challenges."

To enter the contest, entrants are asked to describe the following in an 800-word submission:

• A challenge their business is currently experiencing (200 words);
• A proposed solution to this challenge and how the $100,000 prize would help overcome that challenge (200 words);
• An explanation of the results they expect to achieve (200 words);
• A description of how their business incorporates the following values into their business: 1) community investment/commitment to charities, 2) customer service and 3) innovation (200 words).

The judging panel will review and shortlist submissions to four semi-finalists. The semi-finalists will be profiled in Report on Business in The Globe and Mail and online. The final winner will be selected in the fall of 2012 and will be awarded a $100,000 grant. For full details about how to enter and to read the contest rules and regulations, please visit Globeandmail.com/thechallenge.

"Our partnership with TELUS is an opportunity to recognize and support the Canadian small business community," says Sean Stanleigh, Editor, Report on Small Business, The Globe and Mail. "Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit are key to strengthening and growing the Canadian economy, and we look forward to profiling their business challenges with our readers in the weeks and months to come."

Judging panel:

• Terry Brodie - reporter and editor, Report on Small Business
• Steve Tustin - editor, custom content, The Globe and Mail
• Sean Stanleigh - editor, Report on Small Business
• Chris Griffiths - experienced entrepreneur, currently operates a boutique consulting practice
• Jim Senko - Vice President, SMB and Enterprise Marketing, TELUS
• Evan Carmichael - entrepreneur and international speaker, acts as mentor and business consultant to future entrepreneurs

Visit Globeandmail.com/thechallenge for complete bios on each of the judges.

Last year, more than 800 Canadian small business owners entered the contest. The winner, Sandberg Labs, an agricultural testing lab in Lethbridge, Alberta, invested in new equipment and the owners reorganized the layout of their lab to improve workflow and save time.

"Winning TELUS' 2011 Challenge gave us the resources we needed to overcome a challenge every business wants - too much demand," said Angela Quinton, Co-Owner, Sandberg Labs. "The generous grant allowed us to switch from a chemical-heavy process for testing organic matter in soil, to a chemical-free method. And, in our busiest month of the year, we increased productivity and business by nearly 20 per cent!"

Canadians and fellow small business owners can join the conversation and follow the contest on Twitter via @TELUSBusiness and @GlobeSmallBiz using the hashtag #challengecontest, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/TELUSBusiness. The contest closes May 28, 2012.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.4 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 500,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit www.telus.com.

About The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail, through its newspaper, magazine, online and mobile platforms, is Canada's foremost news media company.  Each day, The Globe leads the national discussion by engaging Canadians in its award-winning coverage and analysis of news, politics, business and lifestyle.  The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, founded in 1844, Report on Business, Canada's most influential business magazine, and globeandmail.com, the newspaper's online and mobile media hub, reach a combined 5.7 million readers every month.  The Globe has received numerous journalism awards, including the international 2011 prize for General Excellence in Journalism from the Online News Association, nine Michener Awards for Public Service Journalism, and more National Newspaper Awards than any other newspaper in Canada.  The Globe and Mail is 85% owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family, and Bell Canada (15%).

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Elisabeth Napolano
TELUS Media Relations
416-906-9830
[email protected] 

Kristen Marano
Environics Communications
416-969-2730
[email protected]