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The 2026 Small Biz Challenge

Our nine semi-finalists have been chosen! Watch their entry videos here and vote for your favorite small business owner. 

The top three contestants will travel to a live event in Nashville to present in front of a panel of guest judges. A winner will be announced and given the ultimate prize plus an editorial feature in an upcoming issue of Inc. magazine!

Meet the Semi-Finalists

Meet the Host

Shannon LaNier

Shannon LaNier is an Emmy award winning nationally syndicated television personality. As the 6th great grandson of President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, he is also the award-winning co-author of Jefferson’s Children: The Story Of One American Family. You can follow his fatherhood and family influencer journey along with his nearly 1 million social media followers @MrShannonLanier on all platforms, for his silly shenanigans with his wife Chandra & their 3 Little LaNiers. Make sure you go to Amazon Prime Video to watch his newest thriller film, Tyler Perry’s Duplicity, out now. 

Meet the Mentors

Julissa Prado

Julissa Prado is the Founder & CEO of Rizos Curls, a self-funded clean hair care line aimed at embracing and celebrating the beauty of curls, coils, and waves! As a first-generation Mexican-American, Julissa’s community and humble upbringing inspired her entrepreneurial pursuit. After years of making her own curly cocktail and helping her community embrace their curls, Julissa decided to use her life savings to launch her own hair care line Rizos Curls. Today, Rizos Curls is sold at Target, Ulta Beauty and Sally Beauty Mexico. 

Isaac Hetrozni

Isaac Hetzroni is the Founder & CEO of Imprint Genius, an award-winning global product sourcing and merchandising agency helping brands manufacture better products at scale. Known online as @thesourcingguy, Isaac has built a following of over 700,000 by pulling back the curtain on global manufacturing, factory-direct sourcing, and supply chain strategy.

Tori Dunlap

Tori Dunlap has helped over 5 million women build their net-worth and self-worth through her New York Times bestselling book and the world’s biggest financial podcast for women, both called Financial Feminist. After saving $100,000 at age 25, Tori quit her corporate job in marketing and founded Her First $100K to fight financial inequality by giving women actionable resources to better their money.

Phases of the Small Biz Challenge

Phase 1 [Now Closed]: From January 12th through February 22nd, eligible small business owners can enter the 2026 The UPS Store^® Small Biz Challenge by completing a short, online entry form.

Phase 2 [Now Closed]: The UPS Store, Inc., and Inc. Business Media will review all online submissions and select the nine semi-finalists. Each semi-finalist will be partnered with mentors who will help provide motivation and entrepreneurial advice as they compete in the next phase of the Small Biz Challenge. The nine semi-finalists, together with their mentors, will compete in various challenges. These may range from a variety of common skills and know-how needed to run a successful small business, such as marketing, staffing, operations, and company culture.

Current Phase
Voting Phase: After each challenge, the nine semi-finalists, alongside their entrepreneurial mentors, will share their answers for the public to view and cast votes.

Final Phase: The top three contestants will travel to a live event in Nashville to present in front of a panel of guest judges. A winner will be announced and given the ultimate prize plus an editorial feature in an upcoming issue of Inc. magazine.

The 2025 Small Biz Challenge Winners: 

Sydney Attis and Mikayla Garcia of Just Call Me Shirley

The winner of the 2025 Small Biz Challenge was Sydney Attis and Mikayla Garcia, owners of Just Call Me Shirley! Sydney and Mikayla were awarded the ultimate prize of $25,000 plus an editorial feature in an issue of Inc. magazine. Our finalists, Youngwon Lee and Amanda Wynkoop, each received $5,000.

Watch the 2025 Small Biz Challenge recap below and follow The UPS Store on Instagram to catch highlights and other small business advice and inspiration from the competition.