Hello there

Hi Julie, and welcome to Biznik. I did a quick check by changing my location in the "Other cities" list to Chester, and noticed that you've got 3 people (including yourself) within a 25 mile radius of your location, and 11 people in a 50 mile radius. If you'd like to host an event, I'll email all of those people for you to announce the first Biznik event in your region. The thing that really helps getting your first event off the ground, though, is to invite friends/colleagues/associates that you already know, and have them invite their friends. Once you've got a core group of a half-dozen people, it gets a lot easier to attract new members. Good luck!

All you have to do is find five entrepreneurs, host a happy hour event and the invite them. Boom, you've just started the Connecticut Craze!

There are events popping up in Toronto (thanks to member Wayne Cook), San Diego (thanks to member Brian Lawrence), Portland (thanks to member Eva Schweber) and Tacoma (thanks to member Brianne Hamel). Biznik is in many ways a leaderless organization - members host events because it benefits their community, and themselves. Go for it!

Hello, Chuck Urban, artist from Roxbury CT here. I just joined and am eager to network with fellow Nutmeggers! I look forward to the great possibilities this site was recommended for.

Like Dan and Sterling said, all it takes is to get a couple of friends together for a little informal happy hour mixer. Talk business. Have each person come with the answer to a question in their mind: "What do I need right now?"

That gets the conversation started.

Then, host another event, and tell those people to invite people. All of a sudden, you will see the connections start to pop. People will connect. They'll have fun. They'll talk business and actually enjoy it!

Then you will log in to Biznik one day, and someone you don't know will be hosting an event in your area... and you will know that the ball is now rolling, and you have done something powerful for your local business community.

Bail out all the big companies you want. They don't matter any more. YOU matter now. Read my Biznik Blog post about this.