Other articles by Bruce Freeman:

Creativity will make your gift to customers stand out Small-Business Professor If stacks of snail mail await you, online bill pay's one way to cope Writing a piece on related topic a good way to get PR Devise pithy 1-minute pitch for your firm Blog can be useful to attract customersPrevent employee theft by getting involved in cash handling Spot on Internet now important as a phone number Thank-you note costs very little, but payoff is big Favorable e-mail address helps make good first impression

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Dear Professor Bruce: I live in a small town and just started my own business. I would like to meet other business owners so I can get advice and share ideas but I don't know any in my area. Do you have any recommendations on how I can meet other entrepreneurs?

Answer: A great way to meet other business owners is to take a class with them. You get to learn something that helps your business and, in the process, meet other entrepreneurs who are going through the same experience.

To find a business class or workshop near you, check out your nearest Small Business Development Center, Small Business Association, Chamber of Commerce or community college.

According to Kira Wampler of Intuit, "If you don't have time to attend a class or group meeting, you can also connect with people online. There are many growing communities of new business owners who help each other figure out issues such as how to get people to visit your business Web site"

JumpUp.com is a social-networking site that is specifically designed to help new business owners like you meet other entrepreneurs and business experts. Here you can highlight your business by creating a profile and browse the profiles of other business owners by industry. You can connect with other members by e-mail or add them to your contact list. There are also a variety of online forums.

Another option is to use the Web to find a local group of business owners who regularly meet. To do this, check out Meetup.com. This Web site helps you search for groups of people with similar interests in or near your town who get together. To find a Small Business Meetup, go to the site and search under "small business" or "entrepreneur" and enter the zip code of the largest town near you. If you don't find any Small Business Meetups nearby, you may consider starting one.

Many entrepreneurs meet and network online. LinkedIn.com. is a good example of a networking site where you can search and connect with just about anyone.