The Meetup and OPEN curriculum is designed to help facilitate small business growth through marketing and financing education opportunities, logistical support, and access to industry events and product offers for small business Meetup groups. The program elements were co-designed by a Meetup of thirty small business Meetup organizers from around the country at American Express OPEN's offices in New York City earlier this year.

"A true, authentic partnership created this program," said Marcy Shinder, vice president of brand marketing and strategy of American Express OPEN. "By listening closely to the thoughts of Meetup organizers and infusing those ideas with our experience, expertise and resources, we have created a program that will enhance the small business Meetup experience and help its members grow their businesses."

Through the program, Meetup organizers will receive a monthly "Meetup in a Box" kit containing an event outline, how-to guide and supporting materials to make each meeting more informative and productive for their participants. Each event plan is designed to address key business issues and help small business owners apply new knowledge to their companies.

For example, the first session will focus on building a business community and help small business owners define strategies to leverage existing contacts, the Internet and other channels to grow a network; additional monthly themes include building business credit, online marketing, financing, customer relations and cash flow management.

Participating Meetup organizers also will experience some of the benefits of OPEN's Platinum Office Program, including a partnership with The Regus Group, the world's largest provider of fully furnished and equipped offices. The Platinum Office Program offers OPEN's Business Platinum small business customers a number of benefits at Regus business centers including access to over 950 business lounges and cafes in 400 cities worldwide and savings on other Regus services, such as hourly usage of private offices meeting rooms and videoconferencing studios. Through this unique offer, Meetup small business groups are eligible to use meeting space at a Regus location, for up to two events per organizer over the course of the partnership.

"Imagine a great Small Business Meetup Group in every town. We are seeing every day that more and more people realize that meeting face-to-face is by far the best way to get things done and feel part of a community," said Scott Heiferman, co-founder of Meetup. "One of the best ways to succeed in Small Business can be to connect with others, in-person. That is why we are excited to partner with American Express OPEN."

"Small business owners recognize the invaluable role networking plays in helping to grow their business," said Shinder. "We are pleased to partner with Meetup to build a national infrastructure from the grassroots level where entrepreneurs can make meaningful contacts and access information to help promote business growth."

Recognizing the importance of effective networking, OPEN is offering the following tips to all small business owners to maintain and cultivate new relationships established through networking:

• Choose events carefully. To determine which places to go to meet the people who will become part of your network, focus on depth over breadth. Being active in a few organizations that relate to your goals will have more impact than attending a different event every night. Leverage resources like Meetup to identify events that will be most appropriate for your business needs.
   
• Record your contacts. You can't stay in touch with someone if you don't have them in your system. Immediately after an event, go through the contacts you've made and enter them in your contact database.
   
• Start re-connecting. Nothing beats face-to-face contact for strengthening relationships. Call and invite your contact for lunch, coffee or a round of golf. This kind of social interaction can help boost the business relationship.
   
• Educate each other. Take time to understand the businesses of those in your network. Make sure that you educate them about what you do and for whom you do it. The more you understand the intricacies of each others' businesses, the better able you are to share ideas and contacts and contribute to each others' growth.
   
• Prioritize. You're not going to be able to network with everyone you know. Prioritize your contacts. Get in touch often with those who can be most useful to you. Call for advice; alert them to a potential opportunity; pass along an article of interest. But don't burn bridges – even if someone is no longer a useful business connection, check in now and then. You may be important to each other down the road.

Additional tips to build and maximize your professional network are available at: http://www.openforum.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/300000004-300000593-300001101-300001057/Networking+Final.pdf.

A complete list of OPEN-sponsored Meetups is available at http://www.meetup.com/sponsorships/amex.

Small business owners are also invited to visit OPEN Forum (http://www.openforum.com), an online community hosted by American Express OPEN, to swap ideas, find expertise, and access resources to help grow their business.

About Meetup Inc.
Meetup is the world's largest network of self-organized clubs and community groups. Its mission is to create a Meetup Everywhere about Most Everything. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize their own local group, or find one of the thousands already serving their members' needs through regular face-to-face "Meetups". Successful Meetups help their members pursue hobbies, advance causes, network with professional peers, get health support, or just organize a regular playgroup for their kids. Four million members self-organized into 40,000 different Meetup groups gather for over 100,000 Meetups each month. Meetup is non-partisan, based in New York City and is privately held.

About American Express OPEN
American Express OPEN is dedicated exclusively to the success of small business owners and their companies. OPEN supports business owners with unparalleled service. With tailored products and services, the team delivers purchasing power, flexibility, control and rewards to help customers run their business. Specifically, business owner customers can leverage an enhanced set of products, tools, services and savings, including charge and credit cards, convenient access to working capital, robust online account management capabilities and savings on business services from an expanded lineup of partners. To obtain more information about OPEN, visit OPEN.com, or call 1-800-NOW-OPEN to apply for a card or loan. Terms and conditions apply.

About The Regus Group
The Regus Group is the world's leading provider of pioneering workplace solutions, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the largest network of videoconferencing studios. The Regus Group delivers a new way to work, whether it's from home, on the road or from an office. Over 200,000 clients a day benefit from Regus Group facilities spread across a global footprint of 950 locations in 400 cities and 70 countries, which allows individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. For more information, visit www.regus.com.