There's no better time to step on the innovation gas pedal than when times are tough. And right now there's extra incentive to tell the world about any creative solutions your business has applied to a tough business challenge. If you have such a story, enter it in the Business.com "What Works for Business Contest" and you could win $10,000 in cash (entry deadline: Dec. 3, 2008). The guide below has all the details on how the contest works, judging and what you need to do to enter and win. Our other What Works Guides this week all focus on innovation as well!

For updates on the latest ideas, trends and solutions for small business, visit the new Technology Channel and Money Channel pages on Business.com, where you'll find anything and everything for your business in 65,000 categories.

Your Chance to Win $10,000
Business.com's What Works for Business Contest
By Daniel Kehrer
We interrupt this recession to offer some good news – America’s entrepreneurial problem-solving ingenuity is alive and well. And to prove it, Business.com has launched the What Works for Business Contest offering nearly $30,000 in cash prizes to businesses that submit the most innovative solutions they’ve used to confront their biggest business challenges. Here's all you need to know: Read Full Guide

Make it Happen
Small Business Creativity and Innovation
By Donna Fenn
You have to be extraordinarily agile to keep up with today's constantly changing competitive environment. The best way to ensure lasting success is to make sure that everyone in your company is encouraged and rewarded for thinking and behaving creatively. Create a culture of creativity and innovation and you will: Read Full Guide

Open it Up
Guide to Open Innovation
By Jeff Crites
With Open Innovation, small business is not so small anymore. The 'New Web' can be a great equalizer, enabling the smallest of companies to tap the wisdom and creativity of consumers and experts worldwide. There are three basic methods of 'outside in' innovation: 1) Crowdsourcing (like fishing in the open sea for ideas); 2) Crowdcasting or narrowcasting (like fishing in a stocked pond); 3) Innovation Box (like a suggestion box). Here's how it works: Read Full Guide

Cast your Net
Guide to Crowdcasting
By Ned Averill-Snell
Innovation is tricky work. You hire the best minds, immerse them in your business model, and buy their confidentiality with a title and a salary. Then you hope that they come up with fresh ideas, and keep coming up with them, year after year. Inevitably, your best brains get too entrenched in your culture and stop thinking creatively. Enter crowdcasting, your weapon against stale thinking... Read Full Guide

A Boost from Uncle Sam
Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR)
By Jennifer Baljko
While a great idea may be the kernel you need to start a small business, without the proper research and development, you're unlikely to get too far too fast. There is, however, government funding available that can help ease the burden: the Small Business Innovation Research Program. To qualify for the SBIR program, a company must:Read Full Guide