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"This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.\nStarting a company is often a lonely and nerve wracking process.  One day, you\u2019re working at a big company with tens of thousands of people and health benefits, and then the next day it\u2019s just you, maybe a co-founder, and a lack of steady income.\n\nYet you\u2019re really not alone.  There are thousands of others making similar journeys around the world, and even more who have not only gone down the entrepreneurial path, but succeeded.  These people are more than happy to share their advice, insight, and stories \u2014 if you know how to find them.\nThat\u2019s where social media tools come into play.  Forging new connections has never been easier due to the increasing accessibility of people, ideas, and information.  Web communities based around business, entrepreneurship, and programming are thriving all over the place.  Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks have become an amazing way to learn new lessons and keep in touch with other entrepreneurs.\nIf you\u2019re looking to enrich your entrepreneurial journey by sharing with others, I have a few social media suggestions that will help:\nFollow Entrepreneur Twitter Lists\n\n\n\nA few months ago, Twitter launched a feature called \u201CLists,\u201D which gave users the power to create lists of their favorite users.  Many have used this to create Twitter lists of top entrepreneurs and startup founders. \nFollowing these people and interacting with them is a good step towards building connections.  Check out Listorious\u2019 collection of entrepreneurship Twitter lists to start.\nConnect With Amazing Entrepreneurship Communities\n\n\n\nEntrepreneurs are already gathered in a lot of great places on the web.  Finding these hidden gems of community and startup enthusiasm could be just what you\u2019re looking for. \nTo start out, we suggest checking out Hacker News (a community sharing some of the best articles on startups, development, and human nature), TheFunded (focused around raising money for your startup), and PartnerUp (helps you find business partners and co-founders).  For more, check out a list of Mashable\u2019s favorite entrepreneur communities.\nUse Social Media to Find Local Events\n\n\n\nWhile connecting online is great, there is no substitute for shaking hands and meeting in person.  Luckily, social media can help you in this regard by helping keep you in the loop about events you\u2019ll want to attend.  Tools like Meetup and searches for Facebook Events are good ways to get started.\nJust Reach Out\n\nIn the end, social media only helps make it easier to connect \u2013 you still have to do the hard work of building a relationship with fellow entrepreneurs.  Use social media to find them and reach out, but be sure to take it the next step and start a long-lasting conversation.\nMore small business resources from Mashable:\n- HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy- 9 Great Document Collaboration Tools for Teams- 5 New Year\u2019s Resolutions for SMBs- HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry- Top Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses- 4 Ways Social Media is Changing Business\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, Cimmerian"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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