All members can participate in our Discussion Forums. Orthodoxbiz discussion forums are a bit different than what you are probably used to. In most discussion forums, groups of people with some kind of common interest get together to discuss and, usually, argue over topics such as politics or Orthodox unity, etc.

Other communities are organized around providing that kind of outlet, so there is no need for us to replicate it. Rather, at Orthodoxbiz our forums are focused more on topics of interest to business professionals. The primary goals of our forums are:

‡ Getting help. Business owners need advice. They need to bounce ideas off others who have been in a similar situation. Orthodoxbiz discussion forums give business owners a place to talk about the challenges they are facing, and to get good information on how to meet those challenges.

‡ Offering help. Just like with hosting a Moderated Chat session, offering advice on your area of expertise in a Discussion Forum is a wonderful way to build your personal 'brand.' Orthodox Discussion Forum topics pop up on search engines, are also searched on our local site, and posts are even sent to subscribers via RSS. If you have lots of posts giving advice related to your profession, then you build awareness of yourself as a subject matter expert. When it comes time to spend money, people naturally tend to trust those with a strong reputation. Being the person that others all over the world look to for advice on a given subject is almost priceless.

‡ Getting feedback. Launching a new business, but not sure if the idea is a winner? Thinking of buying a new restaurant, but not sure what the name should be? Discussion Forums work great for getting tons of good feedback. You can bounce your ideas off people all over the country, all from the comfort of your own office.

‡ Building relationships. Reading someone's posts on a Discussion Forum often leads to greater and greater contact. Friendships develop that can lead to other friendships, and to a wider and wider circle of contacts. These Webs of contacts are a great resource for a business professional to have, both on a personal and business level.

‡ Learning About Orthodoxbiz. The capabilities of the Orthodoxbiz site are quite numerous. The first line of help offered is in our Discussion Forum. The staff of Orthodoxbiz monitor the Help Forum on a regular basis, and respond to questions as quickly as possible. Other key members of our community often pitch in and help as well.

One question that often comes up is, "Why isn't participation in the forums free?"

That's a good question, because most online forums are free of charge. There are several reasons for this.

First, we allow members who pay as little as $5.00 a month to participate, so the cost is not really prohibitive.

Second, charging even a nominal amount keeps the spammers away.

Orthodoxbiz is all about promoting your business. That is one of the primary reasons this community even exists.

However, there are always spammers out there looking to promote shady businesses who would love to coat an online forum like ours with Viagra ads. These spammers are usually only interested in attacking free sites, so the small fee helps us keep the forums clean and safe.

Finally, Orthodoxbiz staff actively participate in the forums to make sure members are getting the information they are looking for. The membership system helps support those efforts. We think it is definitely worth it, and we hope you agree.

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 [Discussion Forum Participation]