Small Retail Business Origin Story Contest 2019
For the second year, we want to celebrate Small Business Saturday by sharing a small retailer’s origin story. Tell us your story or the story of a small retail business you love for a chance to win!
Acuity is hosting an essay contest to celebrate the passion and hard work behind every small retail business. Your essay should tell us how a small retail business that you know of or are a part of was started using 1,000 words or less.
To qualify for a prize, your story must be about a small retail business. We have defined small retail business as a company that is privately held with less than 200 employees that sells merchandise to the general public. Businesses who consider themselves restaurants, wholesalers, or suppliers may also be considered retail by this definition. Professional services do not fall under this definition.
Contest entries are accepted from August 1 through September 30, 2019.
Acuity Insurance
Marketing Department
Retail Contest
2800 S. Taylor Drive
Sheboygan, WI 53081
All eligible entries will be evaluated and scored by the contest judges based on the following criteria:
The entry with the highest total score will be deemed the First Place Winner, the entry with the second highest score will be deemed the Second Place Winner, the entry with the third highest score will be deemed the Third Place Winner, the entry with the fourth and fifth highest score will receive honorable mentions. In the event of a tie, the entry with the highest score for originality followed by creativity will be deemed the winner from among all tying entries. Winners will be notified on or before October 15, 2019
Acuity, A Mutual Insurance Company, will use reasonable best efforts to notify the winners. In the event a winner cannot be located within five days of the judging period, the winner shall forfeit the prize and we may elect another winner. Each company or charity that receives a check as a result of winning must submit a completed W-9 prior to winner claiming a prize; instructions can be found here. Winners may also be asked to create a video for social media promotions.
We received some great small retailer origin stories last year. Read the stories of the winners below:
First Place Winner - Jason Thigpen, Owner of Texas Heritage Woodworks
Second Place Winner - Caitlin Brotz-McNitt, Owner of Olivu 426
Third Place Winner - Kristina Uriegas-Reyes, Owner of Hello Tallulah
Small Business Origin Stories Winners - 2019
FAQ's
Have questions? We have answers.
That is okay! We just want the business owner to review your submission, so that they can confirm it is an accurate representation of their business.
The Contestant must be an individual person. You are welcome to work together, but one person needs to be the Contestant responsible for the submission and receiving the prize.
Yes! We would love to hear your story from your perspective!
Each entry will be evaluated individually based on the judging criteria and one winner for each prize will be determined.
Unfortunately, no. We will only accept one entry per Contestant.
New to the rules this year, we added a 1,000 word limit. If an essay is submitted that is more than 1,000 words, it will not be considered. You will be asked to revise and resubmit your essay with 1,000 words or less.