I am in the process of building a site/forum for online business networking

If anybody will take a look and make some suggestions I would appreciate it

The site is still being layed out, but the forum is getting closer to being done

http://www.connectionsquare.net/forums/index.php

Hi, I have a few comments. First, I like the idea of the forum. I do not go around searching for forums on a regular basis, but your idea seems to be a good one and not one that I recall seeing before. Here are more specifics:

1. In the Company Problems/Concerns section, I would add a category for 'Operations' and one for 'Management'. Both operations people and management people might have interest.

2. Note: I am a Sales/Marketing guy, so my comments on that section will be a bit more detailed:
a. Advertising should be a subsection of Marketing. As should Pricing, Promotion, PR, Lead Generation, Branding, Trade Shows, Direct Marketing, Telemarketing, Direct Mail, SEO, SEM, etc.

b. You may also want to break down Sales into a number of categories, including Outside Sales, Inside Sales, B2B Sales, B2C Sales, Overcoming Objections, Closing, etc.

Finally, I would consider ditching the MLM section un the Industry Connections section. It is tantamount to Techspot having a Hackers or Spammers section. MLM is as unsavory an industry as you can get and I would advise against promoting it in your forum.

That is exactly the feedback I was looking for

I agree on the MLM - I just know how many people have gone that route and I have a feeling somebody will request it even if removed.

Personally I am in sales and marketing myself so I like your suggestions

I just want an avenue to make connections and there isn't one that fits what I am looking for - so I decided to make one

Again thank you for the feedback

BD

I agree with a previous post - this is a concept worth pursuing.

Since I am a techie and long retired, I have no specifics to offer. It will be very exciting to watch this board develop. In my old way of thinking, networking was most often a code word for shopping for a job. The structure of your BB opens the prospects for professional development, as well as, for sharing ideas and information. It will be challenging for participants to be open and honest, but compliant with corporate limits on disclosing competitive information.

Well I am actually working on integrating the BB into the main site - and the main site into the BB - so content will show up in both places and interact (tomorrows project)

Here is what I have so far on the site side - still a long ways to go though

www.connectionsquare.net/

click on join our network - you don't have to join - but it will show everything anyways for now

Okay, just looked at that link. I think that the idea is great and you have started to explain what the website is about, what the members can do, its attractive pricing, etc. However, what I would like to see is why anyone should join (i.e., what are the potential benefits of networking, sharing ideas, etc.) Keep in mind that most business people are only very basic Internet users and will not necessarily understand what value you can offer unless you spell it out for them.