When we started OnCard Marketing a few months ago, Seth and I were fresh out of Citigroup with a list of contacts that consisted mostly of friends and fellow financial services professionals. We absolutely had scarce few people we knew in media, advertising, non-profits, publishing, PR, law, accounting, etc. However, we realized very quickly how important networking was to reach the right people we would need to help grow our business. One of my friends suggested LinkedIn to me back in July. I had never heard of it but quickly found out that it was a rapidly growing professional social network or people in business spanning lots of different industries. It was free to sign up, so Seth and I joined the network. We started building our network with friends who were already using LinkedIn and gradually expanded it to business contacts and then even to prospective business partners, new recruits, vendors, etc. It has absolutely been an invaluable tool for us as we constantly look to expand our network and bring the best talent to our company that can help us grow. I have to believe most entrepreneurs would have to agree.Bottom Line: If you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur, joining LinkedIn is a must. It’s free and will help you get in touch with many people who can help your business. You can sign-up at http://www.linkedin.com JT
