Mom of Four Wins Verizon's Hardest Working Small Biz Mom Contest

The hardest working mom in America? Nichole Bentley of Coppell, Texas-based Bentley Business Consulting, who was named the winner of Verizon's national Hardest Working Small Biz Mom contest.

The contest, which was open to all Verizon and Verizon Wireless customers, selected three successful mom business owners, with second place going to Rochester, N.Y., native Lisa Pelino and third place to Jennifer Manriquez from South Lyon, Mich.

Bentley, who entered the contest by submitting a creative video, operates a homebased consulting business assisting other small businesses, while juggling the lives of her four sons. "I was pleasantly surprised when I learned I won," she said in a statement. Bentley will receive $5,000 and a year's worth of home-cleaning services.

Second prize winner Pelino made a big career change, going from being a family counselor to purchasing her mother-in-law's cafe. Pelino's Sweet Dawn Cafe has since doubled in business and has allowed her to open a women's consignment boutique called Your Best Friend's Closet.

Manriquez created Bilingual Fun after noticing the increasing interest to teach children Spanish. She now plans on taking her booming business to other cities.

All three winners will receive various prizes, including a one-year platinum membership to Ladies Who Launch, a company that promotes women entrepreneurs; and subscriptions to Verizon Websites by Intuit, which will help them create or improve their businesses' websites.

Mary Yarbrough, vice president of business marketing for Verizon, said, "It certainly wasn't easy choosing the hardest working mom. We congratulate the winners and commend all the women from across the country who entered the contest."