Windsor, NJ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/18/2007 -- Searching to connect with other alternative and holistic practitioners and business support professionals? Have expertise to offer? Want to speak to and ask questions of your target market and peers? Want a comfortable, no pressure home on the Internet to inquire and receive support in growing your holistic business?

Well, there’s great news - - it’s here. There is a brand-new online networking forum - Holistic Business Networking, and there is absolutely no cost (except your time) to join.

Members will have access to business experts in fields such as administrative support, bookkeeping, coaching, marketing, Web design, and writing. There are also specific forums for members to “hang out” with their peers and discuss topics unique to their profession and share ideas and cheer each other on as they watch their practices grow.

“Networking is really secondary to the circle of friends and partners I envision blossoming here;” states Joy Slaughter, founder of the forum, “building bridges between practitioners and business experts has always been my main goal.”

“As I was transitioning my Virtual Assistant business to the holistic community, my search for a global meeting place where holistic business owners shared, supported, assisted, and rallied behind one another came up empty-handed. I decided to take action.”

Many alternative health practices that were once thought of as hocus-pocus are now among the fastest growing industries. They are becoming more mainstream as awareness grows and the general public become more educated about the credible and proven advantages they have to offer.

For example, the U.S. government forecasts “employment for massage therapists is expected to increase faster than average over the period from 2004 to 2014 as more people learn about the benefits of massage therapy.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Massage Therapists, on the Internet at bls.gov/oco/ocos295.htm)

Unfortunately, many Massage Therapists report that, at most schools, very little time is spent on business management skills and when it is, it falls woefully short. What many need the most, right after certification, is guidance and support in marketing and reaching their clients as well as the how-to’s of running a profitable business. Many others in the Healing Arts professions likewise feel this need for assistance in business development.

Holistic Business Networking is a solution for those aspiring to build a prosperous practice in the alternative and healing arts professions - - and it is free to join. Just go prepared to grow your business.