My Ugly Home Office Contest

Along with a host of local sponsors, COSE’s Home Business Network will award a $3,000 office makeover package and a free COSE membership to the Mimi reader with the ugliest home office. That’s enough to help any home-based business owner stash their trash and get back to being productive.

By: Ken McEntee
Date: 08/20/2008
It’s been said that a cluttered desk is a sign of genius. If that’s true, Albert Einstein isn’t worthy to carry my slide rule. Unfortunately, as I discover every day, an ugly, cluttered office may actually be the biggest obstacle to productivity.

If your ugly office is holding back your home-based business, COSE’s Home Business Network may be able to help.

Enter HBN’s My Ugly Home Office contest and you’ll have the chance to win new office furniture from Today’s Business Products—valued at $3,000—and a free one-year COSE membership—or a free one-year renewal for existing members—to help you revitalize your business. To enter, visit www.myuglyhomeoffice.com and include a photo of your ugly home office along with a 150-word essay telling COSE why you need or deserve a home office intervention. The deadline for submissions is September 30.

All home-based businesses are eligible to participate—you don’t have to be a member of COSE.

The staff at Today’s Business Products will judge the submissions and select three finalists who will be announced in Mimi. The winner will be announced on Thursday, November 6, at an HBN networking event to be hosted by Today’s Business Products.

Entrees will be posted on the Web at www.myuglyhomeoffice.com, where you will also find the complete rules.

The contest is sponsored by the Home Business Network, Today’s Business Products, Adventures in Automation and Mimi Vanderhaven.

“Offices are counterproductive when there is insufficient space for files and supplies, causing you to spend more time finding things than making money,” explains Pat Pell COSE’s Home Business Network leader.
The network was established to support the thousands of COSE members who operate home-based companies.

COSE is the small business division of the Greater Cleveland Partnership—one of the nation’s largest metropolitan chambers of commerce, with more than 17,000 members.
The mission of HBN is to provide education, advocacy, networking and resources to a diverse community of Northeast Ohio business owners who operate out of their homes. The Network strives to unite home business owners, to highlight the powerful economic impact of home businesses, to increase their credibility, and to celebrate their successes.

“I once was the owner of a home-based business, so I understand the problems that owners of home businesses face,” Pat says. “My goal is to help to ease them through those challenges with the resources we have available.”

Among the benefits of HBN membership are opportunities to brainstorm with—and gain advice from—other home business owners. HBN operates an online discussion group and organizes educational events about various topics relevant to home businesses.

How to Enter
To enter the “My Ugly Home Office” contest, visit www.myuglyhomeoffice.com and fill out the online entry form, including a 150-word essay on why you need or deserve a home office makeover. Entrants are limited to business owners. For more information, contact Pat at 216-592-2281 or ppell@cose.org.
For more information about COSE and the Home Business Network, call 216-592-2222 or visit www.cose.org.


Today’s Business Products is a family-owned supplier of office furniture and supplies based in Parma. For more information, visit www.todaysbusinessproducts.com. Adventures in Automation, based in Chesterland, is a full service provider of PC solutions. For more information, visit
www.adventuresinautomation.com.

Email This Story To A Friend

Your Friend's Email Address:

Your Name:

Your Email Address: