Business 101: Expanding our Network

As a young entrepreneur and two females at that, we figured, you can never have a network that is too big...network, of course meaning people who you bounce concepts and ideas off of, people who can share their tips and advice, and people who basically are motivated by the same concept - to really see what you are capable of creating and managing.

Some places we joined: this list will be updated constantly. And as we move forward, we will keep you up to date on which ones were useful and which ones were not. Which ones wanted to sucker money out of you (like the venture forums where if they are simply the platform by which you meet someone who's willing to give you $1MM towards your idea, they get 1%), or the ones who were simply a waste of time.

• Yopos - Young Professionals (See Random: Yopos posting for more information). Network of young, business minded professionals, backed by a blog, of course.
• Netpreneur Forums - a web forum for, well, Net Entrepreneurs (hence netpreneurs). Relatively small but active board, considering the number of members. Good discussions. Most members seem to have a focus on revenue generated through blogging and other commentary-based sites.
• YoungGoGetter - web community + message board + blog for, well...young go getters (young entrepreneurs). This communty is a bit more active than Young Entrepreneur.
• Go Big Network - member listing (entrepreneurs and supposed vc's complete with member profile), message boards - basically an online networking portal. Founded by a serial entrepreneur. Comes through on its boast of being frequented by both entrepreneurs and Loot'ers (people with money to inveset in entrepreneurial endeavours). Worth the visit, and the free memebership - if you're an entrepreneur - in my opinion.
• Young Entrepreneur Forums - message board and blog (because all entrepreneurs have a blog). Good place for sharing ideas and talking to people who share similar motivations. Seems to be a consistent "first stop" amongst folks who are, to varying degrees, committed to getting their venture off the ground, but aren't sure how to go about it. Especially seems to track folks with $$$ issues.
• Entrepreneur Magazine - online component of traditional magazine. While I dig Entrepreneur Magazine, I find that a lot of their articles are information that you already know - those "seven habits of highly effective people" type articles, where you've known all along, it's just THIS person decided to take it and put it in a single condensed format. Great place for folks with home-office type ideas (ya know - my new line of eco-friendly baby clothes, homemade skin care, or even home-operated web hosting or consulting ventures) and those who are interested in franchising.
• Inc. Magazine - online component of traditional magazine. What's cool about inc - they profile smaller businesses that I find have been more applicable to what I'm trying to do. NOT that there's anything wrong with a woman who's trying to take her cookies that are shaped like a baby's rattle national, it's just not in any way related to my business or my concept. Also, more first person accounts of what did and did not work as opposed to these "10 things you should know" and "7 Things you should do" type articles that you find in Entrepreneur magazine.

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