March 5, 2013

PlanetSoho Announces “The Leap” Contest Designed to Inspire Future SOHOs

PlanetSoho invites SOHOs to celebrate living the entrepreneurial lifestyle by sharing the moment they took “The Leap” in a social media contest with cash prizes

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PlanetSoho, the leading provider of easy-to-use online management tools and services for small office / home office businesses (SOHOs), announced it is gathering inspirational stories from SOHOs and small businesses. In a social media contest called “The Leap,” PlanetSoho invites all SOHOs and micro-businesses to share the inspirational moment they took the plunge to be their own boss.

The Leap contest is open to any of the 25 million US and 500 million global SOHOs operating today, including the more than 1 million members connected through the PlanetSoho network. The Leap contest is designed to encourage anyone who has a great business idea but may be mentally stalled by the fear of running his or her own business.

“The first step in following your passion is making the decision to just start doing it. That’s what people struggle with the most,” said Ron Daniel, founder & CEO of PlanetSoho. “By creating a social platform for successful SOHOs to tell their motivational story, we hope to inspire other talented people to stop delaying and take their own leap to personal and professional fulfillment.”

The contest will be held from April 18 to May 31 with the following criteria:

• Any owner of a SOHO business is eligible to enter for free
• Visit The Leap website and watch the inspirational video here
• Upload a written story of the moment of epiphany that changed your professional destiny
• Share your entry with your own social networks
• PlanetSoho chooses the winners based on inspirational moments
• First place: $3,000. Second place: $2,000. Third place: $1,000

“We found that the number one reason established SOHOs did not start a business earlier is because they didn’t know where to start. That is exactly why PlanetSoho exists,” said Yuval Lev, contest director. “We give you everything you need in our suite of business services for a hassle-free launch and operation of your own SOHO. We encourage you to take the Leap and follow your dreams - there is no better time to start than right now.”

The Leap contest comes on the heels of PlanetSoho’s newest suite of cloud-based features, including Soho Storefront and Soho Premium, which are designed to help SOHOs run a business without any hurdles. Benefits of Soho Premium and Soho Storefront include:

• Pre-populated storefront through the users’ PlanetSoho site
• Customizable templates for all back-end needs, including invoicing and estimates
• Easy marketing features such as group emails, custom domain names and guaranteed page views
• Secure cloud storage and data backup
• Round-the-clock customer support
• Discounts and savings with partners including TurboTax, Office Depot, FedEx Office and Google AdWords

To enter The Leap contest, go to theleap.campaigns.planetsoho.com.