We all know of the huge social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. They’re great for large scale connections and discussion.
But, as entrepreneurs and small business owners sometimes it’s nice to connect with other like minded individuals in a smaller, more focused setting.
If that sounds like what you are looking for in a social network, the below list is for you.
We’ve scoured the Internet looking for social networking sites specifically for small businesses, entrepreneurs and startups, and found 40 we feel are worth a look.
1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn, The grandaddy of business social networks. LinkedIn strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts
2. Meet The Boss
Meet the Boss is a business networking tool for business executives around the world, across all vertical industries. Content is all in English.
3. PartnerUp
PartnerUp is an online networking community that entrepreneurs and small business owners use to find the expertise and resources they need to start and grow a business. Members can connect with potential partners, advisers, and business resources.
4. Qapacity
Qapacity is a business-oriented social networking site and a business directory founded in March 2008 and launched in February 2009. User are given a set of tools to promote their business online, to keep their clients and business partners up-to-date with their work and to reach new clients.
5. Ryze
Ryze.com is a free social networking website designed to link business professionals, particularly new entrepreneurs.
6. Talkbiznow
Talkbiznowis a comprehensive interactive business networking site for business professionals.
7. XING
XING is a social software platform for enabling a small-world network for professionals.
8. Yelp, Inc.
Yelp is a local business review and talk networking site, including user reviews and recommendations.
9. FledgeWing
FledgeWing is an online community aimed at entrepreneurial university students launched in February 2009.
10. The Funded
TheFunded allows entrepreneurs to research, rate, and review venture capital sources worldwide
11. Cofoundr
Cofoundr is a private social network for entrepreneurs, programmers, designers, investors, and other individuals deeply involved with starting new ventures.
12. Perfect Business
PerfectBusiness helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses. Our resources include easy-to-use tools and resources, plus a network of entrepreneurs
13. Biznik
End your isolation and invisibility with Biznik, the local, independent entrepreneurial community where collaboration beats competition.
14. StartupNation
StartupNation provides real-world business advice to people who want to start a business and who want to grow their small businesses.
15. Entrepreneur Connect
Entrepreneur Connect is the social network where small-business owners can create a profile, explore the community, share ideas and make connections. This site is not intended for mass self-promotion, but rather should be a positive destination where entrepreneurs can exchange real advice and make lasting connections.
16. Young Entrepreneur
Young Entrepreneur Forums – your online discussion forum to share and talk about Entrepreneurship
17. Blogster
Blogsteris a resources for free weblogs. Offers tools, tips, and opportunities to share.
18. Konnects
Konnects is a social media platform that is embedded on the site of an online newspaper or publication to bring engagement to the organization’s site.
19. Upspring
Upspring is a business networking, local Internet marketing, local advertising, product promotion, and online marketing services
20. Fast Pitch
Fast Pitch is a Social Network for Business Networking Professionals to market their business, press, blogs, events and networks.
21. E.Factor
The E.Factor is a vibrant, global community for Entrepreneurs. E.Factorhelps you build your business, find financing, network with like minded entrepreneurs
22. BizToo
BizToois a Global Co-Operation and Social Network of entrepreneurs worldwide. BizToo helps entrepreneurs make the contacts
23. Go Big Network
Go BIG Network helps connect companies with investors.
24. Black Businesswomen Online
A Social Network for Black Business Women and Women Entrepreneurs
25. Networking for Professionals
Networking for Professionals offers online networking and business events. Get Connected today, both online and in the real world.
26. Spoke
Spokeoffers on-demand business to business contact information for sales people, marketers, and recruiters enabling Sales Lead Generation, and Business List building.
27. Ning
Ning is an online service to create, customize, and share a social network.
28. Unstucture.org
Unstructureis an open discussion platform for business professionals, bloggers and contemporary thought leaders to discuss and debate action ideas that would aid the evolution of business. Unstructure consists of an online discussion forum (where you are currently), an annual physical event and a book of insight and action ideas for businesses of the future.
29. Home Based Business Network
The Home Based Business Network is an online community and resources for starting a home based business, featuring home business profiles, blogs, forums, videos, ideas, and more!
30. Freelance Face
The Freelance Face is the freelance social network. By freelancers, for freelancers.
31. Blellow
Blellow is a community with a focus on productivity. It’s a place for freelancers and professionals to collaborate, find work, and solve problems
32. StartUp
StartUpis a fast growing small business, startup, social network.
33. Ecademy
Ecademy offers online networking for business, offline networking events and global networking groups.
34. Focus
Focus is a business destination where business professionals can help each other with their purchase and other business decisions. Share expertise in functional areas of business. Numerous categories – small business, HR, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Etc.
35. JASEzone
JASEzone is a professional community where you can find potential clients and business partners.
36. Ziggs
Ziggs is a professional connection portal. They have in one index over 1 million profiles.
37. Black Business Space
Black Business Spaceis a commUNITY of business owners, and entrepreneurs.
38. Jigsaw
Jigsaw offers an online business card networking directory. Easily establish contacts with each other.
39. YouNoodle
YouNoodle is a place to discover and support the hottest early-stage companies and university innovation.
40. Raise Capital
RaiseCapital is the premiere online destination for entrepreneurs to showcase their business ideas and capital needs directly to investors.
Bonus Site:
Once all that hard work networking pays off, you’ll want to join:
Affluence.org
Affluence.org is a private social network where wealthy individuals connect, share information and engage in meaningful conversations. Affluence.org also provides exclusive, high quality content and advice from experts on subjects such as art, technology and travel.
Membership in Affluence.org is free but requires a verifiable minimum household net worth of $3 million
Your Turn
Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo Credit: jontintinjordan
Similar Posts:
- 8 Ways to Connect and Get off the Entrepreneurial Island
- Virtual and Physical Social Networking – A Web of Connections!
- A Chance to Win $20,000 for your Business
- Launching Your Startup – Social Media
- Battle of the Sexes – Social Media Style!
{ 26 trackbacks }
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Let’s not forget about Facebook and even Myspace. Both are great resources for connecting with target customers or even business professionals.
I love the SmallBizBee articles and have recommended them to my clients and subsribers; http:nwexec.wordpress.com http://totalexecutivesolutions.com.
Candace
A new social media website
http://www.eyaad.com
Thanks
Hi smallbeez,
This is a fantastic list for social networking. I’ve never heard of half of those on the list here. i think Ning is a very good social site to find people who are in the same niche as yours. I also recommend another site, Vox for your social networking needs too.
Cheers!
bryan´s last blog ..27 Ways To Get Yourself Motivated to Blog
http://www.onmybloq.com is a great new social community to talk business , meet friends & share music .
This is a new site for small and medium businesses that allows a business to upload photos, video, audio, blog, post, friend and many other activities.
It has the most functionality and its brand new!
Check out Storeboard.com. It is the best social networking site for businesses! Bar none!
Good article. Once you’ve started using social networking you will want to start using a Business collaboration software tool to take you to the next level.
We recently started using the DRE Software BCN collaboration tool a few months ago. http://www.dresoftware.com/
The BCN DRE Software is web-based business collaboration software that can be set up by anyone without the help of IT resources. I just found out they are now planning to add web conferencing in a future release.
We use the BCN to collaborate with our customers, prospects, partners and other colleagues in a secure, personalized work space. It makes me wonder what we did without it. They gave us a free trial we used for all kinds of business scenerios
that have work really well for us. We keep finding more and more ways to use it. We have gotten very positive feedback from our customers and I think it has really improved our response time with the email integration. We have the whole team on the same page. I think we will see big cost savings once the web conferencing is implemented. We have CRM but found there was a big hole that the DRE software filled without having to download any software we can access from anywhere and it has helped us solve issues with our offices in different time zones.There is no limit on the number of work spaces our users can create and we have unlimited storage space for all the imformation we need to share.
5 star rating
Easy to use, no IT resources required, cost effective, building customer loyalty, great team for teamwork.
robert´s last blog ..slide
Here’s another networking site for serious entrepreneurs and startups – http://entrepreneurdex.com
It would have been nice to have a few sentences per item to describe the real business value of these different sites, I gues that is for us to find out?
Chris
What about http://www.makemillionstogether.com? They seem like a great new networking site for small businesses.
Great list and StartUp Digest has a list of events – http://thestartupdigest.com/ depending on where you reside.
Great new social site to promote yourself, your band or your business! Check it out!
You have an excellent list here. I am using 25 of these. Will use the others as well
Top Twenty Lists´s last blog ..Top Twenty Women Who Played Men In Movies
Excellent list of networking websites, this really is the ultimate list to social networking, there really is not much more that one would need, unless they were going all out. Very cool read, this was well worth the stay, keep on rocking!
Whitney Segura´s last blog ..Network Marketing Your Way to the Top
← Previous Comments