FAQ > So I just signed up, how do I network with my local community?

One of the things that distinguishes Biznik from other online business networking sites is that members can and are encouraged to meet face to face.

While the Biznik web site provides a lot of networking and community building tools, it's also possible for ANY member to host an event relevant to an independent business audience.

These can be simple "happy hour" style networking events at a local cocktail lounge, or they can be an educational event where the host not only gets to promote her skill and service, but offers something educational and of value.

To find out how many members are located near you, select your city from the city list (located immediately under the green navigation bar on every page). If you don't see your city, you can select "more" and then type the city and state, as in "Missoula, MT". Then, selct the Members tab, where you'll see all the local members within 50 miles of you. Check out their profiles, and if any of them interest you, why not send a couple of them a message, ask them to meet you for coffee and then see if the 4-5 of you want to co-host a networking event for indies in your area.

Events are EASY to host - and do NOT require renting a venue or any out of pocket expenses.

Your community may vary, but it's likely that you've got neighborhood pubs and cocktail lounges all over town. These places are generally quiet around 6pm on a Monday or Tuesday, and the bar managers are thrilled to have a couple dozen people in there hanging out talking to one another for a couple hours. No prior arrangement is necessary aside from letting them know we're showing up.

Everyone's responsible for their own bar tab, there's no need for appetizers or anything. As an event host you simply need to print out some nametags and a sign-in sheet (we send you PDFs), and record attendance on the web site the next day.

To get an idea of what kinds of events people like to throw, click on "Seattle" (where Biznik began) and take a look at the LONG list of upcoming events within 50 miles of Seattle. There's some little Happy Hour gatherings, some educational workshops, some discussions - it's quite diverse.

Something to remember about the Membership Directory and the order people are sorted: Members are sorted by participation - which means the most active members are appear at the top of the directory. This is also time sensitive, so just because someone may have been extremely active in Biznik a year ago, if they haven't been online in a couple months, they will no longer be at the top.

Supporting Members of Biznik (paying $24/mo) are marked with a gold star and rank above Active Members of Biznik (paying $10/mo) who are marked with a silver star.

What does all this mean to you?

That you can see who's most active in Biznik in your area at a glance. And that if someone's near the top of the list, they're likely very interested in this community and would probably be extremely receptive to a message from you.

Biznik is an awesome community of real people who joined Biznik because they saw something that interested them - reach out to them - and work together to get a community started in your area.