SEQUIM — A business with a branch in Sequim is in the top five in a national Internet contest that will net the biggest winner $20,000.
“Last I checked, we were between third and fourth,” said Daniel Jolly, owner of Clear Image Framing & Photo at 518 N. Sequim Ave., on Tuesday.
“They have just taken down the percentages to keep it interesting.”
Voting will continue until 11:59 p.m. today at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-microsoftbusinesscontest. Scroll down to see Jolly’s two-minute video on his strategies for his ventures in Marysville, Everett and Sequim.
Lessons learned
Jolly said he doesn’t necessarily expect to win the grand prize or even the first or second prize.
“I mean, a miracle could still happen,” he said.
“But third prize would be great — $5,000 and a tablet.
“That would help a little bit, [and] every little bit helps. It is all about exposure, and exposure is good, too.”
Jolly and his fellow contestants each submitted a video sharing the trials and lessons they have learned while owning a small business.
Eligible businesses are privately held U.S. companies operating for more than six months with no more than 250 employees.
Jolly received enough votes in the previous round to advance with the other top 10 recipients.
What he’d do with money
If he receives prize money, Jolly will buy new equipment at his shops, which specialize in custom framing and photography.
“The $5,000 would probably go towards a printer,” he said.
The $20,000 would be used to purchase “a little investment/toy for each of the employees. It would be a new camera, printer, computer, workstation — that kind of thing — stuff that we needed anyway.”
Jolly is grateful to the community for helping his company progress into the final round.
“The fact that we are still in between third and fourth is . . . pretty good,” he said.
“It shows that Clallam County people are voting because 1 percent [of the vote] is probably between 50 to 100 people voting.”
Jolly originally bought Clear Image, a photo studio in Marysville, in 2009.
He later expanded by founding satellites in Sequim and Everett.
For more information about his business, call the Sequim branch at 360-681-7622 or go to www.goclearimage.com.
