Business Group Finder

This website was designed for the purpose of creating a unique centralized forum for individuals, business owners and business networking groups of all types to locate other groups and individuals who have a common interest in building their business or group through social networking.

If you are already a member of one or more of these such networking groups then you are already aware of not only the financial benefit to your business but also the vast amount of information and knowledge that can only come from experience that is passed among the members of every meeting.

We are truly committed to helping the small business owner in any way we can, in doing so we have posted as many Networking Groups as we could locate through a manual web search process. If however you do not see your Networking Group listed in our database please feel free click on our Recommend Group Tab to submit your information to us and we will add it to our database FREE OF CHARGE. You will also find within this site listings for organizations such as SBDC (small business development centers) and SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Business) that directly assist business owners with questions and advice for starting and running a successful small business.

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10 Tips for Successful Business Networking
by Stephanie Speisman

Effective business networking is the linking together of individuals who, through trust and relationship building, become walking, talking advertisements for one another.

1. Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others.

2. Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business connections.

3. Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining.

4. Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is a great way to stay visible and give back to groups that have helped you.

5. Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them.

6. Become known as a powerful resource for others. When you are known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you visible to them.

7. Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your doing it special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must first have a clear understanding of what you do that you can easily articulate to others.

8. Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you. Too often people in conversations ask, “How may I help you?” and no immediate answer comes to mind.

9. Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given. When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referrals will grow.

10. Call those you meet who may benefit from what you do and vice versa. Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask if you could get together and share ideas.

Stephanie Speisman is a Success Coach who coaches groups and individuals in business networking skills based on her booklet “99 Tips for Successful Business Networking.” Contact info: (301)469-8015, successcoach@erols.com, www.strategiesforchange.com.