Twenty rising businesses with compelling origin stories have been selected to receive resources for continued growth from Staples

March 29, 2022, 8:30am Eastern Daylight Time

Today, Staples and business empowerment platform wiseHer announced the winners of the 'Big Small Business Boost' Contest, an initiative designed to support American entrepreneurs and small businesses on their path to success. Based on compelling submissions, twenty small businesses out of nearly 2,000 eligible entries from across the country were selected to receive $5,000 each in Staples Gift Cards. These funds are intended to help small business owners take advantage of services that will help them run and grow their businesses from anywhere, like Print and Marketing Services to help with promotion and UPS^® Shipping Services to pack and ship products.

“This year more than ever, small businesses deserve a boost from their communities to help them thrive,” said Marshall Warkentin, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Staples US Retail. “Staples designed The Big Small Business Boost Contest to help provide a variety of resources to our winning businesses – everything from assistance with marketing to bring in new customers to technology upgrades. We loved hearing the stories behind these businesses and look forward to watching them grow.”

“Reading through the origin stories of these twenty businesses and hearing how resources would propel them even further on their growth journey has been impactful for us,” said Kathryn Rose, Founder and CEO of wiseHer. “As the go-to advice network for small businesses across the country, we hope to be able to partner with Staples again in the future to provide unique ways to support our customers through their expert services.”

Get to Know the Winners

• Maranatha Education Center (Fairfax, VA): An educational center with an emphasis on providing services to underserved communities in the United States and Latin America to improve living conditions and embrace cultural differences through the gift of knowledge.
• Harlem Cycle (Harlem, NY): Harlem’s first and only indoor cycling studio, built to provide members of the community with a quality wellness option.
• My Accessibility Agent (Coral Springs, FL): A real estate broker who designed a course to provide other real estate professionals with knowledge of accessible home features and how to optimize the experience for their disabled clients.
• Penny Pickles (Philadelphia, PA): Two healthcare workers who handcrafted pickles for friends and family during the pandemic would later become the “neighborhood pickle people,” sustainably using recycled jars to fulfill orders.

To hear from the contest winners, visit staplesconnect.com/small-business.

Small Business Resources

To help support these businesses and many others on their mission to drive relationships and growth, visit the Staples Connect Community Business Directory. Businesses of all sizes can register within the Community Business Directory to connect with other business owners in their area, engage with current and prospective customers and gather tips to help them learn and grow.

About Staples Stores

With a focus on the community of small businesses and consumers, Staples Stores provide innovative products, services and inspiration essential to the new ways of working and learning. Staples Stores and Staples Connect retail locations serve millions of customers from entrepreneurs and small businesses to remote workers, parents, teachers, and students. Explore Staples Connect at a local Staples Store or online at StaplesConnect.com.

About wiseHer

wiseHer is a global expert marketplace that helps businesses and professionals get the access they need to affordable 1:1 advice to accelerate their business or careers. wiseHer's mission is to provide affordable access to the top been-there-done-that experts from around the world that can help businesses or professionals go farther, faster in their business or career. wiseHer has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc., Forbes and more. wiseHer is a social-impact organization and a portion of proceeds goes to their foundation to provide grants to women and underserved entrepreneurs and professionals.

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