Ever hear of the “good old boys” network? When the team at Star Reviews was researching business networking websites, the ladies wanted to know where the women's networks were hiding. That's when we discovered WomanOwned.com. Of course, once we had found it, we had to include this empowering website in our business networking reviews. Wondering what WomanOwned offers that the other business networking websites don't? This one goes out to all of our female readers...
What's New?
- Find everything you need for your business needs, from business plans to loans.
- Locate and work with other women-owned businesses.
- Take the new business start-up quiz.
Star Reviews' Favorite Feature:
I'm betting you can guess what our favorite feature was – after all, the name says it all. WomanOwned was one of the only business networking websites that we came across that catered to the specific needs of women in business. It's a great way for women to network with one another and support each other's businesses.
About WomanOwned:
WomanOwned was founded in 1997 as a resource for women who own businesses. The site is dedicated to helping women business owners find the resources they need to thrive and aims to provide a means of networking with other entrepreneurial women.
The WomanOwned Experience:
The WomanOwned website is laid out very well, with easy-access to numerous tools and resources. When you first come to the WomanOwned site, click on the “Join” link to ensure that you have full access to all of the features of WomanOwned.com.
Joining WomanOwned is free and very easy. Simply fill out the one-page registration form, complete your profile and you're on your way. Don't get us wrong, signing up for WomanOwned is not a five-second process. It will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete, but that's because the profile form is a bit in-depth. This is, after all, a networking community and you will get out of it only what you put into it.
Once you've become a member of WomanOwned, you can use the site to build your network of business contacts, promote your business, create professional interest groups, and even advertise on-site.
We suggest taking a look at the WomanOwned forums and browsing the different groups (accessible from the “groups” tab) to get started. This will help you integrate yourself into the WomanOwned community. Also be sure to check out the “Biz Tools” section. There's a ton of useful information, such as exploring resources for capital, marketing tools and even discounted travel and office supplies. It's really a well-rounded site that offers a broad range of tools to look at.
WomanOwned Pricing:
WomanOwned offers two different membership levels – a free membership and a premium membership. The free membership costs absolutely nothing and includes access to all of the features of the WomanOwned website. A premium membership costs $19.95 per month and includes these added benefits:
- Upload up to 99 photos to your member profile instead of just 5.
- Send and receive unlimited private messages instead of just 25 per month.
- Archive old private messages instead of having them deleted after 14 days.
- Create and edit message boards and restrict access to them.
- Create custom groups for viewing specific journal entries.
- Add polls to individual journal entries.
- Create private groups.
- Announce special events.
WomanOwned Customer Support:
WomanOwned offers customer support via a Web-based email form and responds to all requests within 24 hours. When we contacted the company using this form, they lived up to their promise. A rep got back to us the very same business day and the details we had requested were clearly explained. There's also an extensive FAQ section available on the site via the “Help” link. We took a look and were happy to see there were more than 30 topics covered. If you have a question about using the WomanOwned website, chances are you'll find your answers here.
Upside:
Free to join, caters specifically to women, impressive amount of tools and resources.
Downside:
No phone or live chat support.
Summary:
If you're a woman and own a business, this is the perfect business networking site for you. Ok, so even if you don't own a business, this is an excellent place to meet new business contacts, branch out and have a well-rounded entrepreneurial experience. Best of all, WomanOwned is completely free to use. If you have a larger business or would like more freedom within the site, opt for their $19.95 a month premium membership, which includes features such as free private messaging (instead of a limited 25 per month on the free membership.) This website is very community-oriented and allows women to meet each other and talk business through its many 'groups.' We definitely recommend this business networking site to all you ladies out there!