Some of what you’ll read here is a new twist on a familiar theme (some might say twisted), but much is just good old common sense. However, as you are well aware, common sense is not always common practice.

In his ground-breaking book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman tells of a study that was done by Bell Laboratories:

"They wanted to see who the top performers were in the organization. Much to their surprise, the critical difference between those who were highly productive and those who were average had to do with cultivating good relationships with others. The telephone calls of the average performers were not returned, and their e-mail messages went unanswered. But the stars in the organization had built up a reliable network of colleagues before they needed them. When they eventually asked for assistance, help came right away."

"Networking is creating momentum
toward what you want.
Networking is getting together to get ahead,
and getting known by those who count."
Anne Boe, Is Your "NET"Working?

But don’t think for a second that this is solely about the business of "bizzness." It’s also about the business of life, as Laurel Simmons points out:

"Expanding your network is a great way to keep
new ‘blood’ and ideas flowing through
both your working life and your personal life.
If you think of your network as a living tool,
then you can benefit from all
the wonderful people you will meet.
Just as they will from knowing you!"

EXPANDING YOUR NETWORK
=
EXPANDING YOUR LIFE!

To add to this judicious observation, here’s an excerpt from Robert J. Ringer’s book Million Dollar Habits:

"Like it or not—and many people don’t—to one extent or another you have to deal with others to achieve any reasonable degree of success. This is true regardless of your station in life and no matter what your objectives are. Further, the more successful you are in getting others to cooperate with you, and the more people you can solicit as allies, the greater your chances of achieving positive results. The issue of good human relations is pretty simple: To the extent you relate poorly to others, you tend to have a problem-filled life, and success comes hard, if at all; to the extent you relate well to others, you tend to have a pleasant life, and success comes relatively easy.

At least two major pluses accrue to your benefit when you become adept at relating well to others; first, by understanding the techniques involved in successful human relations, you attract others who appreciate those same techniques. If you make it a habit to practice those things that make you an attractive human being, you will appeal to other attractive human beings, and attractive human beings add value to your life. Second, when you’re strong in the area of human relations, you gain the cooperation of others, and this cooperation is the shortest distance between you and your goals."

As was pointed out earlier...

"YOU CAN’T SUCCEED BY YOURSELF.
IT’S HARD TO FIND A RICH HERMIT!"
Jim Rohn

Nobody could have said it better Jim! Just the same, let’s hear it (in order below) from three other very successful people: Zig Ziglar, David J. Schwartz, and Mark Yarnell

"You don’t climb the
highest mountain by yourself.
It is in conjuncture with others that we really
accomplish the major things in life."

"Here is the basic rule for winning success.
Let’s mark it in the mind and remember it. The rule is:
Success depends on the support of other people.
The only hurdle between you and what you want to be
is the support of other people."

"The common thread of successful leaders
is their intense drive to achieve,
and their ability to utilize the power of others."

Actually Mr. Rohn, come to think of it, one person almost put it as well as you did, but it’s not who you think ...

"No man is an island."

Although most think of Ernest Hemingway when they hear this line—from For Whom the Bell Tolls, in 1940—it was English poet John Donne who coined it in Devotions upon Emergent Occasions in 1624:

"No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main."

I’ll be talking a lot in Part Seven about the fact that you are UNIQUE. I’ve already said in the preface that I think you are AWESOME ( I hope you feel that way too). But do you think for one second that being unique, and awesome (perhaps even smart, attractive, talented, disciplined) means you can go out there and do it all by your wonderful self? NOT A CHANCE!

Mohammed Ali used to claim, "I’m the greatest!" But would he have reached the pinnacle of the world of boxing without a great trainer, manager, and promoter? And what about Céline Dion? She has a great voice, talent, and work ethic. But do you think she’d be where she is today, had she decided to do it alone, without her manager-producer-husband René Angelil? NOTA CHANCE!

"Great achievements are nurtured with the
cooperation of many minds with a common
vision working toward a common goal."

Another great example of this is the acknowledgment section of any book of substance. Here for example, you will find in those pages and in the 50 plus pages of the Resource Guide, over 300 people who have contributed to this book, in one way or another. In contrast, I own books that have no bibliography or acknowledgment pages, leading one to think the authors did it alone. But when you scrutinize the text, you soon realize they didn’t. NOT A CHANCE!

And when I say "in one way or another," sometimes it could have been just by example, good (do what she’s done) or bad (don’t go there man!). Sometimes it could have been a lesson taught, perhaps unknowingly, a letter with some encouraging words, a phone call at the right time, a few words in passing ... The power of influence is unfathomable and far-reaching. So, in all honesty, when people ask me how long it’s taken me to write this book, I guess I could answer, "Over 50 years." It’s like Isaac Stern who at 79 released a CD of his favorite performances entitled My First 79 Years. Even though he did start to perform early, he acknowledges that he’s been influenced since his cradle days. And so are we all.

Back to the topic at hand. The following is from an article that appeared recently in Profit magazine. It is entitled More Than a Handshake.

"No one has the time, knowledge or resources to deal with every opportunity that arises, every crisis that rears its head. So whom can you call in your time of need? The answer should come easily if you’ve been building your personal network. Networking is one of the most important business skills to develop today. If you want to be a success in business, you need resources—you need contacts. The more people you know who do different things, or who have different talents or skills, the better they make you look and the easier they make your life. But it takes more than a helicopter drop of business cards and perpetual glad-handing to build an effective network. And most of us suck at it. Many of us don’t grasp how much we can learn from others, or lack the vision to identify the links that lead to opportunities.

Networking guru Ivan R. Misner wrote what follows in the must-read book Masters of Networking:

"Businesspeople usually think of networking as a
business activity, but experienced networkers know
that networking is a versatile tool that
can be used to get practically anything done."

"Up the proverbial creek?
If you’ve got a network,
you’ve always got a paddle.
Harvey Mackay

Having been an avid canoeist for years, I really appreciate Harvey’s observation. Here’s what Susan RoAne, another networking guru, wrote:

"It’s not what you know, but who you know" is a well-known saying. Yet, it is only half-true. The reality is that in order to manage a career, grow a business or guide your personal or professional endeavors, it is who knows you! Talent alone will not prevail, nor will skill, experience nor membership in Mensa. It is the contacts you have made, and the connections you have established, that contribute to your success. And the closest thing to knowing something is to know where and how to find it. That is networking in a nutshell. People who have resources are resourceful. People who are willing to open their Rolodex®, pick up the phone, call on their contacts, and ask for help, ideas, and solutions, and who offer leads, information, and ideas, are perceived as powerful and smart.

"Knowledge is of two kinds.
We know a subject ourselves,
or we know where we can
find information upon it."
Samuel Johnson

Or, as my wise friend Roland McCaffrey used to tell me quasi-daily while I was building my first business:

"A smart man is a man who knows many things.
A wise man is a man who knows many people.
And if you are very wise,
you won’t need to be super smart to succeed."

"All you’ve got to do is own up
to your ignorance honestly,
and you’ll find people who are eager
to fill your head with information."
Walt Disney

"Too often we think the networkers we admire
‘just have the knack,’ ‘were born that way.’
It’s a MYTH!
The best networkers try the hardest
and give it the most thought."
; Harvey Mackay

"Talent is inborn. Know-how is acquired.
And you don’t acquire it out of thin air;
you acquire it from the people who’ve got it."
Barbara Sher, Wishcraft

What IS a network? Well, you could check the dictionaries for the various dry and technical definitions (for example, a group of people who exchange information, contacts, and experience for professional or social purposes), but I think Harvey Mackay explains it better than anybody else: "A network provides a path, a way of getting from point A to point B in the shortest possible time over the least possible distance. To expand a bit on that, it’s finding first whom you need in any given situation and then helping others do the same. Networking is a way of connecting the dots between A and Z without having to go through C, D, E ... W, X, and Y. In other words, a network is geodesic rather than pyramidal. In a network, the interconnecting links can be lateral, vertical, or diagonal. Each link is no more or no less important than another. Each part reinforces the other."

Mr. Mackay concludes his definition of what a network is by writing:

"A network is an organized collection of your personal
contacts and your personal contacts’ own networks.
Networking is finding fast whom you need
to get what you need in any given situation
and helping others do the same."

[FYI: There is a LOT more about networking—and Connectworking—as well as Communicaetiquette™ and other TIPPPPS™ for success in Daniel’s book A First Serving of Milk & Cookies for Success.]

************

Two solid ‘brick-and-mortar’ networking organizations

A couple of years ago, when all our business was done in person, locally, we used networking to the max to build our business. We actually became known as networking gurus we were doing so much of it, so successfully.

Here’s a bit of info on the two ‘brick-and-mortar’ networking organizations that in our minds represent the best value for your membership, that will produce the best return on your investment.

BNI—Business Network International / The Business Referral Organization

BNI was founded by Dr. Ivan R. Misner in 1985 as a way for businesspeople to generate referrals in a structured, professional environment. The organization, now the world’s largest referral network, has tens of thousands of members on almost every continent of the world. Since its inception, members of BNI have passed millions of referrals, generating billions of dollars for the participants.

The philosophy of BNI may be summed up in two simple words: "Givers gain." If you give business to people, you will get business from them. BNI allows only one person per profession to join a chapter. The program is designed for businesspeople to develop long-term relationships, thereby creating a basis for trust and, inevitably, referrals. The mission of the organization is to teach business professionals that the word-of-mouth process is more about farming than hunting: it’s about the cultivation of professional relationships in a structured business environment for the mutual benefit of all. For more info, and to find a local chapter, call (909) 608-7575 or visit www.BNI.com

"Contacts are the currency of networking.
You seek contacts to help you achieve your goals;
you provide contacts to help achieve your
networking partners’ goals so they
will remember you and wish to reciprocate."
Dr. Ivan R. Misner

We no longer belong to a BNI chapter because ALL our business is now conducted on the Internet, and because we would be missing way too many events due to our traveling. But we made some great friends and numerous business contacts we still do business with years later.

That’s why we highly recommend that you check out the BNI website (www.BNI.com) to find out about a chapter in your town. There are thousands of them all over the world. If there is none in your area, why not start one?

The Chamber of Commerce

Chambers of Commerce have been around ‘forever’. They really are an institution—like the church and the government... Maybe that’s why many people don’t think about joining their local chamber of commerce when they’re designing their marketing plan to grow their business.

A Chamber of Commerce is a fantastic place to expand your circle of influence. And it works for any kind and size of businesses. Yes, many of the members are big corporations, banks, newspapers, government agencies, nonprofits, etc. But hey, it’s not ‘organizations’ that are sitting next to you at the table during lunch or breakfast. It’s people!

They need vitamins, minerals, supplements, ‘green’ household products, weight loss products, exercise equipment, cheaper long distance rates (at home), cheaper airline tickets (when they go on holidays), etc., etc. Many of them are bored and / or are not making enough money so they’re ripe for the picking for someone who has a great home based business opportunity to offer.

All you have to do to find the one in your community is do a Google search with the words "Chamber of Commerce" and the name of your town. Or look in the white pages of your local phone directory. They’re really easy to find.

Chambers of Commerce are like a gold mine of prospects for your solopreneurs or network marketing business! Check them out today!

Online Social & Business Networks – Supercharge your Rolodex®!

Does online ‘matchmaking’ really work? You ask. Yes, it certainly does! Because of its success, online business and social networking has become a mainstream industry. It is one of the most popular ways to meet people. Millions of people use online social networking services to meet friends, colleagues and new business associates from all over the world.

But—and this is a HUGE BUT—it will only work for you in proportion to how much you work your networks. There is absolutely no point in investing your time to join two, five or ten networks and then ignore them for the next six months thinking that just because you’re "in" the network people will rush to your front door to buy your products and / or join your opportunity. It ain’t gonna happen...

If you join any of the networks we talk about below, you have to be ready, willing and able to spend a little bit of time every day to "maintain" your existing relationships, and seek out some new ones. It’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and you incorporate some work-the-networks time into your daily schedule. We’ll get back to that at the very bottom of this page.

************

MySpace

Two things you should know right off the bat about MySpace:

a) it has over 170 million members, and

b) 80% of those people are OVER the age of 21—the largest group being between 30 and 55 years old. This is NOT the teenager meeting place that many people think it is. You can conduct business on MySpace, especially if you have Gen-Y customers. AND, if you do things right.

Here are some the people you might be familiar with who have a very active presence on MySpace: Les Brown, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, T. Harv Eker, Mark Yarnell, Robert Kiyosaki, Bob Proctor, John Assaraf, Dr. Ellie Drake, John DiLemme, Randy Gage, Mike Filsaime, Simon Leung, Brad Fallon, Josh Hinds, Frank the one web guy, Tony Robbins, Tim eErway, Bob Doyle, and Donald Trump…just to name a few. If they are there, don’t you think you should be too?

Now, you can also go to MySpace for the purposes of making friends, for dating, even for starting serious relationships. That’s quite alright—it’s what most people use MySpace for. However, since you’re here on a business-focused website where our goal is to help you get more BUSINE$$ SUCCE$$, then the information we provide on this page and the recommendation we are making are focused on business and networking.

MySpace is where we are the most active as far as social-business networks go. It’s the one we know best. So well in fact that we have written an Exclusive Report on the DO’s and DON’Ts of MySpace if you want to collect excellent dividends from your investment of time there (and money, if you want to). The report is entitled: How To Use the FREE "Social" Network MySpace to Build Your List & Grow Your Business.

That very helpful Exclusive Report is FREE. How do you get your copy? Simple. Click here to get to the Tell-a-Friend page. Follow the short instructions, fill the form, and as a Thank You Gift for helping us "build our list and grow our business", we will send you the 12–page Exclusive Report free of charge. It will be well worth the 3 to 4 minutes it’ll take you to fill the Tell-a-Friend form. Promise.

We highly recommend you join MySpace and when you do, make sure to invite Daniel to be one of your MySpace friends. Just click the SEARCH tab in the light blue navigation bar near the top. Then, in the first box on the search form, click the "email" radio-button, add my email address daniel at thebizzboosters.com (replacing at with @) and click the Find button. When my info appears, click the link View Profile and when that shows up, click the Add to Friends link under my photo. Takes 30 seconds... and you have a new friend.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s simple philosophy is: Relationships Matter

Your professional relationships are key to your professional success. LinkedIn’s mission is to help you be more effective in your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have.

This isn’t networking—it’s what networking should be. Forget exchanging business cards with acquaintances that don’t know your work, or trying to renew professional ties when you need a favor.

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 12 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

Through your network you can:

• Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
• Be found for business opportunities
• Search for great jobs
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings
• Find high-quality passive candidates
• Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know

LinkedIn is free to join. They also offer paid accounts that give you more tools for finding and reaching the right people, whether or not they are in your network.

Want another independent opinion? Here’s an excerpt from an article published in Profit magazine in March 2007 entitled Get Linked!

"Before Web-based business networking, there was no timely and simple way to discover who is in your extended network—that is, the friends of your friends—and how they might help you. Now there is.

Luckily, LinkedIn is easier to use than to explain how it works. Sign up for free, create a personal profile, use the search engine to find your existing contacts who are also members and ask them to link to you. If they accept, you’ll see who they know and, in turn, who those people know—growing your extended network exponentially with each person you add to your immediate circle.

And you can scam every profile in your extended network to find, say, web design experts, then ask your immediate contacts to introduce you to those experts, who can even be asked to introduce you to their contacts.

Got it? If not, you can become a paid member starting at US$20 a month and contact any of LinkedIn’s nine million members directly."

Check them out and join—it’s a no-brainer, really—by using this link so you can add yourself to our growing network: www.linkedin.com/in/homebusinesssuccess

Before you go, read the following quick tip:

QUICK TIP: How to connect with potential clients through 5 million contacts
By Will Newman

One of the best sites to harness the power of the Internet to make connections with other professionals and with potential clients is LinkedIn.com, with more than 5 million users in the United States. At LinkedIn, you create a free professional profile. Your name and a link to your profile are indexed on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and others.

When someone Googles your name, your profile appears in the search results, giving you an ideal way to showcase your skills and expertise.

For you, the most exciting part of social networking is this: Companies looking for creative professionals are now using professional networking sites like LinkedIn to find new talent.

Here are 2 tips for maximizing your success with LinkedIn:

1. Select "full view" of your "public profile"

"Full view" allows more of your profile's information to be shown, even when a Web user isn't logged in to LinkedIn. The more content, the more likely your profile will show up higher in the search results. (Personal data is never made public.)

2. Invite friends and professional contacts to link to you.

LinkedIn's power rests with the ability to use your connections to connect with other people. When you invite people to be one of your LinkedIn connections, you then have access to their connections, increasing the number of people with access to your professional information.

This helps people find you. And it helps you find someone at the company of your choice or in your field of interest.

Again, the link is www.linkedin.com/in/homebusinesssuccess.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Ecademy

Ecademy—The Social Network for Business People

Ecademy was founded in 1998 and now has over 150,000 member profiles worldwide.

Ecademy is unique as business people connect both online on the web site and offline at events and one-to-one meetings.

Membership is FREE!

To build a strong business relationship, you must first gain trust from one another through having a personal relationship, this is critical before you can expect to move onto a relationship where a transaction or a referral can take place. Networking is not selling or personal promotion, it is about building a group of people whom you understand and help and in turn they may one day help you.

Relationships > Trust > Trade

Ecademy has particular values we stand by, these are:

1. Winning by Sharing
2. Openness
3. Honesty
4. Transparency
5. Friendship & Kinship
6. Global Family - The Fellowship of Ecademy
7. Helping one another by giving not taking and never asking for something in return - in other words always contributing to the network and other people
8. Not worrying or caring "what's in it for us"
9. Connectedness and being connected - the old Chinese belief known as GuanXi
10. Connecting People to what they seek, finding them that match, that job, that customer, that supplier, that direction, that life

Ecademy have just released a simple and inspiring Guide to Networking available free of charge to all members. When you join, you can download the Guide as well as gain access to:

• Trusted business introductions, referrals and trading
• Advertising for your business across the globe
• Employees, partners, suppliers and customers
• Admission to networking events around the word
• Unique tools on the to build and manage your network and business
• Facilities to build your reputation around your expertise and connections
• Help and advice from thousands of professional business brains
• Contacts, Knowledge, Support & Transactions

This is a very sophisticated, serious business network where we’ve met some great people and have done some good business there already even though we’re relatively new to the network.

Click the following link to join Ecademy and to connect with Daniel http://tinyurl.com/3x4mdc

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Xing (formerly OpenBC)

XING: Powering Relationships.

XING makes your professional network an active part of your life. Far more than a directory of business contacts, XING enables its members to discover professional people, opportunities and privileges through its unique discovery capability and advanced contact management tools.

With the successful IPO of XING as the first Web 2.0 company to go public, XING AG has had a long-term impact on the social networking trend amongst professionals. By focusing on the target group "business people worldwide", the company is able to offer tailored features, thereby making networking and contact management simpler. Besides Headquarters in Hamburg, XING AG is also represented with offices in Barcelona, Beijing and Zurich. There are currently 87 employees from 16 nations working at XING.

The Platform: with XING you can:

• Find decision makers and experts fast
• Open doors to thousands of companies
• See your contacts' contacts
• Market yourself in a professional context
• Open up new sales channel
• Find old student friends and former colleagues
• Let other people find you
• Manage and expand your network

XING’s Mission
XING is committed to powering relationships based on trust for all professional people. Based on the theory that "No two people are more than six degrees apart", XING enables members to grow their trusted network by making their contacts’ contacts visible to them.

As an active and productive community, we constantly strive to create real value for the world’s professionals, as an everyday online and live resource—across all countries, languages and industries. XING crosses barriers—for a sustainable world.

We’ve only been a member of XING for a little while (as of time of writing: August 28-2007), but already we can tell this is most definitely worth our investment of time and energy. Check them out at www.xing.com and make sure to invite Daniel to become one of your Xing contacts: you’ll have to enter my full name Daniel St-Jean and my email which you can find by clicking here.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

PathConnect

PathConnect: Social Networking For The Ambitious Lifestyle

PathConnect is a free online community for anyone and everyone interested in setting (and achieving!) their goals. Whether you’re looking to lose a few pounds, repair a ’57 Chevy or start your own company, PathConnect is a resource for turning your dream into a reality.

PathConnect’s unique goal-setting software allows members to define, track and accomplish their ‘paths.’ Along the way, you can connect and interact with fellow members who may help you accomplish these goals.

In addition, PathConnect provides innovative content to encourage and excite members. The PathConnect ‘A-List’ spotlights authors, athletes, actors and more who have overcome obstacles to accomplish their goals. PathConnect members not only hear A-Lister’s stories, but connect and learn from these accomplished figures.

PathConnect also offers members a free advertising engine. Using ‘Social Network Distribution (SND),’ members can create free text ads which are displayed for relevant friends.

Ryan Blair, the Fresh Prince of PathConnect, came up with the idea years ago for a place where people can link up and have fun. His life went from troubled youth headed for jail to successful entrepreneur and celebrity speaker all because somebody took the time to show him a different Path. PathConnect is his way of paying it forward, which is the reason he wants PathConnect and its features to be free to all.

We had the opportunity to meet Ryan in person on a couple of occasions. He’s one of those under 30 millionaire who turns everything he touches into gold. He’s truly a sweet guy and we know his heart is in the right place when it comes to PathConnect.

Check it out at www.pathconnect.com. After you’ve joined—another no-brainer—make sure to put Daniel’s email address to request that we become your PathConnect friends—you can find my email address by clicking here

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jigsaw

Buy and trade sales contacts
(from an article published in Profit magazine in March 2007)

"A key to Web 2.0 is sharing stuff: photos, Top 10 lists and—ahem—copyrighted video. Add sales to the mix, thanks to Jigsaw, a repository of contact information on millions of business-people, as supplied by its members. (There’s basic data on more than 400,000 firms, too.) So, if you want to know the name, phone number and email address of the CEO of BigCo Inc., there’s a decent chance you’ll find that info at Jigsaw.

The site—which some people consider unethical for allegedly violating privacy—awards credits for joining and for each contact you add (you can upload your contact list en masse from Excel or Salesforce.com), and deducts them for viewing or downloading a contact file.

But searches yield only titles and company names; for all the dirt, you have to surrender credits—and you might not find the person you want. Nor does Jigsaw guarantee the data is correct, though it heals itself by awarding credits to users who fix inaccurate listings.

If the whole sharing thing sounds like too much work, you always have the Web 1.0 option of paying US$25 a month for 25 contacts."

Now, some information from the company’s website.

Jigsaw is your best source for fresh leads and contacts.

• Over 6.6 million contacts.
• 10,000+ new contacts added daily.
• 520,000+ companies.
• 300,000+ Fortune 500 contacts.
• Hard to find Directors and Managers.
• All contacts have Email Address, Phone and Title.

Company Overview
Jigsaw is an online directory of more than six million business cards. Every card on Jigsaw has an email address and phone number, allowing members to bypass gatekeepers and get directly to decision makers and influencers. Jigsaw has become a required resource for sales people, recruiters, marketers and small business owners.

Jigsaw's unique directory is built and maintained by over two hundred thousand members. Using a point system for credit, members trade business cards they have for business cards they need. Members also get point credits for updating incorrect contacts, and get point penalties for adding bad contacts.

Jigsaw's mission is to map every business organization on the planet. Each Jigsaw member brings a few pieces of the puzzle, resulting in a disruptive change to the way corporate information is gathered and maintained.

You can check out Jigsaw at http://tinyurl.com/35thz6

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Ryze

What is Ryze? Ryze helps people make connections and grow their networks. You can network to grow your business, build your career and life, find a job and make sales. Or just keep in touch with friends.

Members get a free networking-oriented home page and can send messages to other members. They can also join special networks related to their industry, interests or location. More than 1,000 organizations host Networks on Ryze to help their members interact with each other and grow their organizations.

You can even start and lead your own network. Networks have been started for coffee lovers, MLM friends, moms in their 30s & 40s, spiritual entrepreneurs, people who love to cook, who are interested in internet marketing, who like to play soccer in the LA area, or who are, get this, "…interested in Personality Type theories, where we mostly discuss Enneagram and MBTI and their applications."

The great news is that Ryze is free. You can message other members, join networks, view member home pages and much more for free. They also have a paid service that lets you do other things like advanced searches for a few dollars per month, but you can do a lot for free.

So how can they afford to stay in business? Well, though their basic membership level is free, they offer paid subscriptions for advanced features like contacting distantly-connected members for a few dollars a month. It's a decent investment for people building their career or business. They also have some revenue from events they hold, and advertising.

One of the neat things about Ryze too is that you can post classified ads in categories like Real Estate, Jobs, Business, Announcements, Social, For Sale, etc.

People often ask why is it called Ryze. The answer is because it's about people helping each other 'rise up' through quality networking.

And those members are around the world, with more than 500,000 members in more than 200 countries. When you join, they give you links to several people in your country or state to check out.

How did they come up with the idea for Ryze? Well, their founder, Adrian, used to hold networking events in his loft back in San Francisco. He wanted a way for people to keep in touch outside of the events and as people moved around the world. He also wanted to make an easy way for people to remember their friends' backgrounds. (How often can you remember what companies a friend used to work for and where they went to school?) He also wanted to create a way for people to build their networks across geography.

To join, simply go to http://www.ryze.com and sign up. Once you’re done, make sure to invite Daniel to be your first friend. His username is BizzBooster.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Facebook

About Facebook
Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

Anyone can join Facebook
All that's needed to join Facebook is a valid email address. To connect with coworkers or classmates, use your school or work email address to register. Once you register, join a regional network to connect with the people in your area.

Discover the people around you
Facebook is made up of many networks, each based around a company, region, or school. Join the networks that reflect your real-life communities to learn more about the people who work, live, or study around you.

Do more
Facebook's Platform enables anyone, anywhere, to build complete applications that you can choose to use. The possibilities are endless. Define your experience on Facebook by choosing applications that are useful and relevant to your world.

Keep it private
At Facebook, they believe that people should have control over how they share their information and who can see it. People can only see the profiles of confirmed friends and the people in their networks. You can use our privacy settings at any time to control who can see what on Facebook.

Yes, the Facebook membership is made up mostly of young adults age 21 to 30, mostly ‘college kids’, but there are nearly 25 million members! You think there’s potential here to do some business?

To join Facebook, go to www.facebook.com. And don’t forget to invite Daniel St-Jean to join your network.

************

Back to "you incorporate some work-the-networks time into your daily schedule".

We currently invest 45 to 60 minutes a day working our numerous online networks, maintaining and expanding our current groups of contacts. Here’s an example of what we do on three days of the week (the other days are pretty much repeats with different network names):

MONDAY
MySpace: Reply to messages / invite 10 friends from Browse
DirectMatches: Reply to emails / seek 5 new contacts
Yuwie: Check inbox & Control Panel / invite 10 friends
Xing: Check inbox / invite 5 friends
Ecademy: Check messages / browse / invite 10 people

TUESDAY
MySpace: Reply to comments / invite 10 friends from Groups
DirectMatches: Reply to requests / seek 5 contacts
Yuwie: Check inbox & Control Panel / invite 10 friends
LinkedIn: Check inbox / invite 5 friends
Facebook: Check inbox / do some searches / invite 5 friends

THURSDAY
MySpace: Reply to messages / invite 10 friends of my friends
DirectMatches: Send my contacts a broadcast
Yuwie: Check inbox & Control Panel / invite 10 friends
PathConnect: check messages / seek out some more friends
Ryze: Check inbox / invite 5 friends