Are you an Entrepreneur looking for social sites?
When people interact with other people in a social setting they are usually most comfortable with those people that share their interests, goals, dreams and lifestyle. While generic social network websites are fine for information sharing of a general or even a personal nature finding a website devoted to one particular business aspect can be much more beneficial and enlightening. For entrepreneurs who tend to spend even their free time cultivating connections that will advance their business the following ten websites will be useful. Between reading valuable articles and connecting with other entrepreneurs time spent on any of these will be time well spent. Ranking is based on global Alexa traffic counts.
1. LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 12
LinkedIn can be a very powerful tool for anyone trying to build a company through networking. It is especially helpful at keeping up-to-date information on those contacts that you make along the way because members will often update their LinkedIn account with new information even before they notify people in other ways. The best way to avail oneself of this networking tool is to create your profile carefully so you can be found by those looking for your particular type of service or product. Also take time to see who the people you know have in their network because connections are often made that way. This tool is one of those that the more you work with it the more it will work for you. Join and be active in groups. Reach out to others in your field. The benefits of doing so can be extraordinary.
2. Entrepreneur Inspiration Station: http://inspiration.entrepreneur.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 1,578
This website works a bit like Pinterest in that it has boards arranged by topics that users can browse. These boards are topics that inspire business professionals and entrepreneurs. Just as in Pinterest users can create their own boards and share with others. With each board on the website users can click on “inspired” to show they found it helpful. They can also select “reclip” to add it to their own inspiration board. Browsing can be done by Popular, Categories or Influencers. There are currently 22 different categories. Influencers are some well-known successful businesspeople which users can choose to follow so they never miss new content from them. It is easy to join this network – either create an account with your email address or through one of the popular social networks. You can also subscribe to their newsletter.
3. Young Entrepreneur: http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 18,634
The website is full of information to help entrepreneurs of all ages but since most of the articles are geared toward getting started in business it is most helpful to young entrepreneurs. This is not to say that young cannot refer to being ‘young at business’ rather than young in age. It is never too late to be an entrepreneur! The five sections of the website are Starting Up, Q & A, Profiles, On Campus and Video. The Starting Up section is about finance, planning, ideas, leadership, growing, marketing and social media. The website is more about information than it is about networking with other entrepreneurs although the articles do allow readers to post comments.
Global Alexa Rating: 26,818
This website is community based with a ton of information for independent business people. It was designed to be a community of peers helping one another succeed. There are three levels of
membership: Basic, Pro and ProVIP. You can read the articles without joining but to network a membership must be purchased. To get started go to the members section and pull up the member directory for your city to see just how many members are in your area. A list will come up with the various business categories along with a number in parenthesis to indicate how many are in that industry. On this same screen you will see how many total Bizniks (their term for members) you can meet, how many conversations you can join and the number of upcoming events scheduled. Users can also search for events and groups outside of their area. A great aspect of this website is that they review every new profile in order to remove spammers and others that are not real entrepreneurs.
5. The Funded: http://thefunded.com/funds/discuss
Global Alexa Rating: 203,718
Over 19,000 CEO’s, Founders and entrepreneurs are part of this online community dedicated to fundraising and the discussion of various strategies for growing a start-up business. Even if you do nothing else on the website it is a great tool for viewing the top venture capitalists and those that have been banned because they are have received suspicious reviews by members or there has been any legal action involving them. CEO’s are allowed premium access with no membership fee. Other people such as executives, advisors, limited partners and service providers can purchase a 6 month, 1 year, 2 year or lifetime membership. The website includes detailed profiles of over 4,000 funds and contact information for over 18,000 investment professionals.
6. Savor the Success: http://www.savorthesuccess.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 70,790
Savor the Success is a business network exclusively for women entrepreneurs – sorry guys! There are four different levels of membership to choose from depending on your budget and how you want to benefit from the organization. First of all users will need to decide if they want to take part only in online networking via the virtual café or if they want to meet in person monthly as well. An online premium membership currently costs $49 per month. If your area has monthly mastermind meetings then you can upgrade to the in-person premium membership which currently is priced at $79 per month. Beyond these two memberships, there are two more options to consider. One is the Savor Success Circle plan for $99/month which adds a component of ongoing support and being matched with 4 women to complete your circle. Members must put in an application for this type of membership but once approved they receive a private virtual café, meet twice a month and begin a 9-month journey of growth that is a five step process described as Savor, Dream, Plan, Do and Track. The last type is the 7-figure club which is by invitation only. Users do have access to the blogs without membership so that is a good way to get a feel for the organization before joining.
7. Ladies Who Launch: http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 313,843
This is a social network community specifically for women entrepreneurs. Although they do offer a limited free membership option the way to get the most out of this website is to sign up for either the Gold or Platinum memberships. Both memberships include promotion & press, exclusive connections and business resources. The Platinum plan also includes in-person events including networking events and workshops. Platinum members can attend events in their area, throughout North America and even attend virtual meetings. The Gold membership is $19/month or $199/year. The Platinum membership is $39/month or $399/year although this price can vary depending on the location of the member and is only available in a set number of cities at this time. There are plenty of resources available for members including articles, marketing options, listings of credible business service providers and more.
8. Cofoundr: http://cofoundr.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 425,111
This website is quite different from others in that it is entirely private – only members can avail themselves of any of the information found there. The network is made up of entrepreneurs of course but also plenty of other people as well including investors, freelances, executives, web designers and other idea makers. The site is simple – just post a question or topic and others will post their responses. The focus does seem to swing mostly to starting new ventures but with so many types of members it can be a valuable tool for information for any stage your business is at. Take a chance and join to see what it is about – you can always leave if it is not your cup of tea.
9. Affluence: http://www.affluence.org/
Global Alexa Rating: 848,698
As you have seen so far there are plenty of social networks that specialize in one type of entrepreneur – women, young, start-ups and so forth. This one is also specialized in that they only allow members that have a verifiable minimum household net worth of $1 million (US) or annual household income of $200,000. Membership for those that qualify to be members is free as this is a site dedicated to putting like-minded, accomplished entrepreneurs in contact with one another. Think of it like an exclusive digital country club. This exclusivity means you will be a part of really high-quality content and advice from quality experts in your field. Members can connect with members that share their location, interests or expertise.
10. Empower Me!: http://www.empowerme.org/
Global Alexa Rating: 2,027,641
Although not technically a social networking website, this company is about helping any business prosper regardless of the state of the economy. It has been added to the list because it has a few features that entrepreneurs may find useful. First of all they offer Empower Me! Networking Clubs. They also have a Power Broker Accountability Club by invitation only for companies with over $5 million in revenues. Another resource is the well written blogs that give information relevant to the world today. Beyond these features entrepreneurs can work directly with them to develop customized services and strategies. They also offer courses, bootcamps, exclusive mixers and events. Their overall goal is to educate, connect, inspire and motivate so it is obviously worth a look as those are all things every entrepreneur needs to be successful.
While one great trait of any entrepreneur is the personal drive to get the job done on their own that is not to say that success comes only from their individual efforts. A savvy entrepreneur knows that real business growth can only be accomplished through a collaboration with peers. Joining a community that will connect one with others out there going down the same path is a wise way to get all the tools and advice needed to really excel. Obviously an entrepreneur doesn’t need to sign up with every single network out there – not even all of these ten – but it never hurts to be involved in more than just one or two. Take a look and see which ones best serve your needs and enjoy the fruits of your networking labor!
