Would you like to own your own store?

[Steve]

How cool is this? A contest to win your own Ace hardware store and so far it only has 1000 contestants. That's actually not that bad of odds!

Would you enjoy running such a store?

Can you ‘Ace’ the test? (http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/business/16435609.htm) - If owning your own business has always been a dream, Ace Hardware Corp. wants to help make it come true.

The company is sponsoring a contest for entrepreneurs called Dream Ace, with the winner being set up in his or her own Ace store, worth about $1 million, in Houston.

The company has already received nearly 1,000 entries, said Christopher Boniface, spokesman for Ace Hardware Corp.

“Were looking for someone who has some sort of business and sales aptitude,” he said. “He or she must also have the entrepreneurial spirit, and home improvement knowledge would be helpful.”

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/B0109Umber2_01-11-2007_1279JDK.jpg

[Steve]

Here is more specifics:

Contestants visit www.dreamacehardware.com (http://www.dreamacehardware.com) and fill out three essay questions and take an entrepreneurial suitability test. The deadline is Jan. 31. From there, one person from each state will be chosen to go through an interview process, which includes some Ace retailers. Two finalists will attend the Ace Hardware convention in Las Vegas, where store owners will vote on the winner, who will be named March 15. That person will have his or her store grand opening June 30-July 1 in Houston.

[tiedeman]

I actually already did the test yesterday. I am part of the Ace rewards program so I got it sent to me through email. Believe it or not, it is a very long test. Expect to be around a minimum of an hour taking the test.

[Steve]

Would you enjoy running a store like that?