As an entrepreneur, you can feel isolated at times and it helps to connect with like-minded people. Joining online communities offers you the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs, some of whom have more experience than you.
You can not only get help with your questions but learn from others to avoid making the mistakes they made. You also have others with whom to celebrate your successes. You will find many people who are willing to share the trials and joys of running their small businesses. Here are some of the top online communities you could consider joining:
Start Up Nation
Start Up Nation is a free service for entrepreneurs. It provides you with everything you need to start your business, manage it and grow it. You can sign up for a free newsletter and receive free access to downloadable eBooks from the Startup Nation Business Builder series.
Find case studies, articles, videos and other sources of information to learn from. For example, read about how to use crowdfunding to get your startup through a rough patch.
You are able to network with members on a variety of community forums that encourage active group discussions where valuable advice and tips are shared. Interact on topics relating to small business, start-ups, entrepreneurship and more. Various business services such as copywriting, logo design, business consultation are also available.
Warrior Forum
Warrior Forum mainly covers internet marketing and provides you with a way to take your online business to the next level. The community consists of over a million marketers, making it one of the biggest internet marketing forums. The forums are free but you can pay a once-off fee to join a premium business forum.
The users on this forum are all about sharing stories and helping each other with their internet marketing and online business successes and failures.
According to Paul Raglan, a writer for bestessayservicereviews and academized reviews, the comments of seasoned marketers is on the of the best ways to avoid being scammed if you’re new to internet marketing.
The “war room” gives you access to some well–known internet marketers. This site also contains social groups, blogs, and a marketplace where you can advertise relevant, high–quality products.
Small Business Brief
The Small Business Brief is a message board style forum. It is a place where small business entrepreneurs can ask questions, find help, share small business ideas and encourage others involved in small businesses. It offers advice about all the different aspects of operating a small business – especially online – including social media management, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising and link building.
Some of the hot topics discussed include how to generate leads from Facebook ads, suggestions for Keyword Planner tools and effective link acquiring strategies. You will also find common pre-written letters, templates and forms that help business owners to manage their small businesses.
The Small Business Bonfire
The Small Business Bonfire is free to join and gives you access to some amazing information and tools for small business owners. It is a collaborative community where you can get actionable tips through the small business blog and a weekly newsletter. Find content such as how small businesses can get the most out of mobile apps and much more.
There are numerous categories of information, like business growth, social media, business planning, productivity and digital marketing. You can get free small business downloads that include guides, templates, and worksheets. It is also possible to use some affordable marketing services on offer.
LinkedIn Groups
If you want to connect with other small business owners like yourself on LinkedIn, joining a LinkedIn group provides connections and resources, but there are so many of them that it can be hard to select one. These groups are a little different from typical message boards, but they offer opportunities to find answers, get advice and network.
Each group runs and operates autonomously – some are open to anyone and others are membership only and you need to be accepted by the group manager. A few popular groups are Small Business Marketing Network and Bright Ideas & Entrepreneurs.
Bright Ideas and Entrepreneurs is a popular group with many members, including small business owners, startup founders, angel investors and more. You can get some amazing business insights and share ideas.
Growth Hackers
GrowthHackers founder, Sean Ellis, was looking for a place where he could discuss customer bases and growing companies. He couldn’t find a community, so he built one and the thriving community now has over 150,000 users.
It has a Reddit-style homepage that features articles submitted by users and discussions. There are numerous growth studies and you will come across many growth marketing ideas. Users appreciate the quality of content and the chance to connect with industry experts. Despite the growth, the team has been able to keep the community value high.
Online Geniuses
If you are are interested in building your user-base, Online Geniuses is for you. Before Slack groups existed, Online Geniuses was a Skype community of internet marketers who talked about strategies and shared personal stores.
The community grew and founder, David Markovich, started looking for a different platform. It’s now hosted on Slack and receives dozens to hundreds of applications a day.
Online Genuises covers marketing advice, product discussions, growth strategies and much more. It’s a strong community with over 16,000 members and features prominent entrepreneurs in Ask Me Anything weekly sessions.
Conclusion
This is only a small sampling of top online communities – there are many more. Joining an online community offers you the chance to connect with like-minded individuals and feel less alone in your entrepreneurial journey. Of course, you can’t join all of these groups, you will have to select one or two that you believe are most suited for your purposes.
Spending some time networking, getting answers to questions and being exposed to more seasoned entrepreneurs can be extremely valuable – it may just give you what you need to take your small business to the next level.
Guest Post: About the Author
Becky Holton is a journalist and a blogger at Essay Services Reviews Club, MyAssignmentWriting. She is interested in education technologies, grademiners review and is always ready to support informative speaking at essay-writing service uk. Follow her on Twitter.