Students who enter the competition will have approximately eight weeks to develop a plan for starting a business – either a real business or something they’ve dreamed about doing – and will receive one-on-one assistance along the way. Plans will be reviewed and scored by a panel of judges made up of area business leaders.

Students who enter will receive an outline explaining the type of information that should be included in their business plan, as well as a breakdown of how many points each section of their plan is worth when judges score students’ documents. Participants will also meet with a SCORE volunteer business counselor to review a draft of their plan so they can ask questions and receive input midway through the writing process.

The top 10 semi-finalists will be asked to present their plan to the panel of judges in March. The top five finalists will be guests of honor at the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Entrepreneur Awards luncheon on April 17 where the winners will be announced. The top three finishers in the competition will win a new laptop computer. Other prizes include college scholarships, college gear, gift cards and more.

The deadline to enter is Tuesday, Jan. 15. Competition details and registration are available online at the e-merge website Special Events page – http://www.e-mergewestmichigan.org/training-and-events/special-events.html. Students or educators may also contact Suzanne Velarde, e-merge program manager, at 231-724-3173 or svelarde@muskegon.org.