The term ‘entrepreneur’ can describe the head of a multi-national enterprise or the individual running a small business out of a garage or home office.  What they have in common is the entrepreneurial spirit: drive, vision, and independence.

As creators of some of the world’s most recognized and admired brands, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs are household names today.  But each started out by founding a tiny startup enterprise on a shoestring budget, just like many members of the Join2Grow community.

Here are four online resources for entrepreneurs in the first stages of turning their visions into working realities.


STARTUP 2.0

StartUp2.0 is a competition to promote and reward European internet startups that work in the field of 2.0 technologies. The competition finals will take place this May, in Spain.  Among the prizes is a trip to Cambridge to attend to a one-week training program at the Center for Entrepreneurial Learning.

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START-UP AWARDS

A broad competition that offers awards and grants in a wide range of categories.  Although specifically dedicated to UK-based ventures, there is also a general website, http://www.startups.co.uk/, that provides a wealth of free resources that will benefit entrepreneurs everywhere.

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BUSINESS STARTUP

Business Startup, which bills itself as “the UK's biggest and most interactive small business exhibition”, is an annual conference that brings together small business owners and suppliers of services to startups and SMEs.  Although UK-based, the conference provides resources specially dedicated to overseas ventures. Participation is free of charge. This year’s event will take place in London, April 25 and 26.

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KILLER STARTUPS

A user driven website dedicated to featuring new web-based enterprises and allowing users to review and rate them. This is one of the best places for fledgling internet ventures to make themselves known to the community that matters most to their success: the entrepreneurs, investors, and bloggers who stay informed about up-and-coming internet startups and spread the word about those that inspire them.

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And you? What websites have been useful to you in getting your business off the ground?