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Imagine if "American Idol" contestants were all female business owners, and instead of singing other people's greatest hits, their talents were judged by how well they knew their own businesses.

Then you might begin to get an idea what it took for Tucson's Tiana Ronstadt — a longtime financial planner who has helmed her business, Power Women Investing, for the past two years — to win a contest putting her on track to become a million-dollar business.

Ronstadt was one of 10 national winners — and the only winner from Tucson — selected in the "Idol"-style Make Mine a Million $ Business contest recently in Scottsdale.

She was one of 922 applicants for the competition. The group was narrowed to 20 finalists, who went to Scottsdale on March 3 and spent a day preparing to go in front of an audience. The next day, the group went before an audience and judges, and presented information on themselves and their businesses. Ten winners were chosen.

Their prize package includes resources not normally available to small-business owners, such as a new telecommunications system provided by Cisco Systems Inc. and an American Express line of business credit. They'll also get business coaching, marketing and a Dell small-business computer system.

Ronstadt said small-business owners often are not viewed as being worth the time for big corporations to offer support.

"Cisco would not even look at me if I had not won this award," she said.

She's most excited about the mentoring she is set to receive, she said, because her business is unusual the financial-planning world, and there aren't many people in Tucson who can really relate to what she does and offer guidance.

Ronstadt focuses on women who are going through changes in their lives and must learn how to manage their finances in ways they've never had to before — many times because the women are recently widowed or divorced.

Make Mine a Million $ Business is sponsored by Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence, a non-profit educational group, and by Open by American Express.

The contest is the brainchild of Nell Merlino, an entrepreneur who also founded Take Our Daughters to Work Day in 1993.

Merlino said she was bothered by statistics showing that 2.6 percent of all female-owned businesses in the United States have revenues in excess of $1 million, while about 7 percent of male-owned businesses are at that threshold.

Her goal is to help 1 million women get to $1 million in revenue by the end of 2010, she said.

There now are 46,000 female entrepreneurs registered on the Count Me In Web site — www.makemineamillion.org — who have stated their intention to get to $1 million, Merlino said.

The contests have been going on around the country since 2005, and there are 140 winners who are in the same intense support program as Ronstadt, with 30 of those past winners at $1 million, she said.

Merlino said she knew Ronstadt had what it would take to win when she saw how hard she worked to prepare for the big event while in rehearsal time.

Part of the contest included a three-minute "elevator speech" that the contestants gave to the judges. The speech, about their businesses, had to touch on several specific points.

Ronstadt "came to do hers, and it was a little off," Merlino said. "She wasn't hitting the right notes in terms of what we thought would matter to the judges and the audience. She listened to everything, took notes, asked questions, wasn't defensive for a moment. And then (she) turned around the next day and did something that was 100 percent better than what she was doing."

Clients and colleagues said they were not surprised to hear of Ronstadt's contest success.

"What she says she will do, she does," said Carol Clark, executive director of the Casa de la Luz Foundation, on which Ronstadt serves as president. "Whatever she receives, it will enable her to serve her clients better. And her passion for helping women move forward, that's just a huge plus to everyone that she serves."

Marla Endicott and Merry Bowman, sisters who co-own Precision Tool and Fastener Supply, said they've come to view Ronstadt as part of the family in the four years they've been her clients.

"She is extremely intelligent and knows her business from top to bottom and inside and out," Endicott said. "She just has a phenomenal sense about her that makes you want to be her friend, makes you want to know her."

Ronstadt said she hopes more women enter Make Mine a Million contests. While no other contests are slated for Arizona this year, some of the upcoming dates allow regional or national applicants.

Winners have established an informal support network.

"It's almost like being in a special little clique of successful women all over the world," Ronstadt said.