Sometimes, businesses need a little help and a financial boost in order to succeed. Even owners who have a great idea might run into a number of different problems and snafus that make it difficult for them to thrive. Today, TELUS and The Globe and Mail announced that they will be hosting The Challenge for the fourth year in a row. It is a contest designed to help small business owners overcome their biggest challenges with a $100,000 award.

“At TELUS, we’re passionate about supporting small business owners with innovative solutions that help their business thrive. Through ‘The Challenge,’ we’re able to extend this passion further and support owners that are jumping significant hurdles to achieve their business goals,” said vice president of small business solutions at TELUS Jim Senko. “Due to the incredible submissions we reviewed in 2013, we are expanding this year’s competition to recognize not only the top four finalists, but also 10 regional companies that are facing unique challenges.”

Katherine Scarrow, an editor at The Globe and Mail, added that the program is designed to look for and help small businesses that are “on the verge of greatness — all they need is that extra push.”

One of the factors that hinders business growth from time to time is government regulations, like worker’s compensation. In Canada, unlike the U.S., worker’s comp is run by the government, and one incident could be difficult for owners. Not only can finances be difficult to deal with, but simply knowing the rules and what needs to be done can be cumbersome.

The Challenge is designed to make sure one small issue does not prevent a business from succeeding. In order to apply, small businesses with fewer than 100 employees need to submit an 830-word essay that explains a challenge to their business, how they plan to overcome it, how the $100,000 can help, and the results they expect to achieve. They’ll also need to explain how they incorporate the values of community investment/commitment to charities, customer service, and innovation into their business plan.

Since $100,000 can be a springboard for long-term success, there will certainly be a lot of competition for the top prize. Four finalists will present their challenges to a panel on June 19th, and the and the final winner will be announced on September 18th.