June 10th, 2009 by Skip McGrath

Submit an eBay business plan to eBay and you could win $25,000

eBay announced a really neat program today called the Sellers Challenge.  New or existing eBay sellers can submit a business plan. The Sellers Challenge asks entrepreneurs to answer a simple question: “How would you use $25,000 to grow – or start – an eBay business?”  Four winners will each receive a $25,000 business grant, along with marketing advice and assistance from eBay.

Entrants are encouraged to submit a business plan and an accompanying video in one of four categories:

• Current or former members of the Unites States armed forces;

• Individuals or small businesses who have not sold on eBay;

• Part-time sellers who want to go full-time on eBay; and

• Full-time eBay sellers who want to grow their business further.

 Submissions will be evaluated by eBay and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship.  Working with eBay, the Kauffman Foundation has also made available a wealth of information and resources for entrepreneurs – including tips for success, guidance for starting and growing an online business and advice on business plan development – at the eBay Sellers Challenge Web site at http://sellerschallenge.ebay.com.  I thought this was pretty cool when I saw it.  I wished I had something like this around when I started my business.  The neat thing about this is even if you don’t win, you end up with a business plan.  I looked at the materials on the Seller Challenge site and the Kauffman Foundation and this is some pretty good stuff.

You can also get some help in writing your business plan from the 2009 edition of the Complete eBay Marketing System.

See Also

• Learn How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet
  Complete training program shows you how to start this low-cost, low-risk, high-profit business