Online business networking is extremely important for entrepreneurs, both for finding partners and customers, and for receiving and sharing useful information. Here are the top ten business networks that entrepreneurs should consider joining:

 1. VentureNavigator – www.venturenavigator.co.uk 

VentureNavigator offers two things that no other business networks offer: firstly, high-quality, edited content (much of it directly provided by the UK’s top universities); secondly, a series of assessments on specific business topics (e.g. investment), to help entrepreneurs improve their skills. It’s also has active Q&A forums and a new locally-focused groups feature.

2. LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com

If you aren’t using LinkedIn you are missing out on the largest business network in the world (by a mile). Engaging in LinkedIn Groups is a great way to meet partners and customers, and the Status Update and Newsfeed provide a highly effective means of sharing and receiving news.

 3. Viadeo – www.viadeo.com

Viadeo started out in France but now has 30 million members globally. Its traffic is also growing faster than any other business network, so it’s one to watch. Like Xing, it aims to offer a more focused service than LinkedIn and urges member to subscribe to benefit.

 4. Xing – www.xing.com

Xing is more focused on start-ups and independent businesses than LinkedIn. Based in Germany it’s also more European, so if you’re an international startup this might be the place for you. Ning has 9 million users and charges ($9.95 per month) for premium services, such as executive search.

5. Partnerup – www.partnerup.com

Partnerup is a popular US-based site that aims to encourage professionals to connect with entrepreneurs and start-ups.  The forums are extremely active and a great place to ask non-UK specific questions.

6. Entrepreneur Connect – http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/

Started by the people behind Entrepreneur Magazine, it’s another US-focused site, but does allow you to create a blog which will get views, since it’s promoted within the site (and posts appear on the homepage).

 7. eCademy – www.ecademy.com

One of the early UK-based business networks, ecademy is still a highly effective place to find and meet useful business connections. On the down-side it regularly urges users to upgrade to subscriber level and lacks many of the interconnectivity that makes LinkedIn so useful (and viral).

 8. Ryze – www.ryze.com

A once-popular US-based business network, Ryze is still a player but looks on a downward spiral. Some of the best features – e.g. “who viewed my profile” and “who’s online” are subscriber only.

9. Doostang – www.doostang.com

Listed here for its value (to those who can join) and the  factor of including a not-for-profit, closed business network, Doostang aims to help graduates find jobs and opportunities. You need an invitation to join, but once you’re in, apparently it’s excellent.

10. Plaxo – www.plaxo.com

Plaxo started out as a connected address book, and it’s still an excellent place to aggregate all your contacts into one, safely stored, virtual address book. The service encourages your contacts to maintain their own contact details (so you don’t have to). They’ve also started integrating social networking features – though these aren’t why you’d use the service.

 This guest post was written by social media consultant, Luke Brynley-Jones. Luke is hosting Social Media Advertising in London on 20^th September.

Do you use another network? Let us know about it via the comments box…

£10,000 Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010

If you’re aged 16-30 and have been running your own business for more than 3 months but less than 18 months, this high-profile annual competition could see you walk away with a £10,000 cash injection plus support from a top PR agency.

Deadline for entries - 5pm on 6th September 2010!

So, if you think you’ve got what it takes to be the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 visit the Shell Live Wire Site to enter!

The budget on Wednesday contained a number of measures that will impact on your business: 

• Cutting National Insurance Contributions for employers by raising the threshold by £21 per week from April 2011
• An increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% from 4th January 2011; the flat rate scheme will be adjusted accordingly
• A reduction in the main rate of corporation tax to 24% over four years
• A reduction in the small profits (Small Business) rate of corporation tax to 20% from April 2011
• An increase in the personal allowance for basic rate taxpayers under 65 of £1,000 from April 2011
• A £200m increase in the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) fund for small businesses finding it difficult to access finance from conventional sources
• Reductions in capital allowances
• An increase in capital gains tax to 28% for higher rate taxpayers, with a rise in the Entrepreneurs’ Relief lifetime limit from £2m to £5m.
• With the exception of businesses in the London, The East and South East of England, exemption of new businesses from paying National Insurance Contributions on their first ten employees, up to an allowance of £5,000.  

Forthcoming measures will include: 

• A review of small business taxation
• A consultation to review tax on intellectual property, research and development tax credits and the proposals by the Dyson review promoting research and innovation

For retailers there are no further duty increases in alcohol, tobacco and fuel duties. Current zero-rated goods, including food, books and children’s clothes, remain unaffected. There were concerns that HMRC’s Time to Pay scheme might be scraped, however businesses will still be able to defer and spread their tax and VAT liabilities in certain circumstances.

The Budget documents are available on the HM Treasury website.