Starting a business, especially as a young person with limited financial resources and few professional contacts, is a great challenge. To help one another and increase their chances for exposure among potential customers, some young entrepreneurs are combining their talents and hard work to form entrepreneurial dream teams.

Sammy Davis, Daphra Holder, Kim Last, and Laura Trimble are four young women and creative entrepreneurs in New York City who are hosting La Femme Fete, a holiday sale and event where attendees will be able to socialize, make unique holiday purchases, and enjoy a runway presentation styled by Davis and Holder.

A combination of social networking and face-to-face networking, even within their casual social networks, has helped these women expand their reach and simultaneously develop their individual brands.

Davis, owner of Sammy Davis Vintage and stylist of vintage and consignment clothing and accessories, says, “We wanted to keep a strict invite list at first so we only used an online invite system, Paperless Post, to create the RSVP list. But, to create hype, excitement, and desire to attend - because you know how you can RSVP for something and then decide to never show - we have been mutually Facebook-ing, blogging, and tweeting about the event.”

Aware of the power of social media and acknowledging their limited marketing budget, these women have taken full advantage of free networking tools.

Annemarie Dooling, a social media strategist based in New York, says, “You already own a Twitter, anyone can add Foursquare notes, and plenty of social bookmarking and sharing sites are free or available at minimal cost.”

Like many young people today, who are blurring the lines between online and offline relationships, the four women met through a mix of face-to-face and web-based relationships. Last, who creates handmade earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets, which she sells from her Etsy store, met Davis in 2006, when they both won a scholarship from New York Women in Communication. Coincidentally, they both studied abroad in London and ended up living within a short walking distance of one another while living abroad.

Davis was intrigued by Holder, of Happy Hill Vintage, who was posting vintage-related information on Facebook. After being introduced, the two young women “commiserated about selling vintage at the Brooklyn Flea”, as Davis describes it, and they became fast friends. Holder also happens to be a New York Women in Communication scholarship winner. Davis’ running partner introduced her to Trimble, a watercolor artist, who belonged to the same sorority as Holder at Princeton University.

Their professional connections came full circle when they all moved to New York City to pursue their careers.

“One of the most pervasive elements of social media for a start-up venture, even if it’s as specialized as vintage fashion, is that you are able to simultaneously build a community, form a support group of similar folks invested in your specialty, have an instant sounding board for ideas (and often frustration), and have access to individuals who align with your interests and want to help you out,” says Holder. “It’s a great platform for people who are starting out.”

Says Davis, “Our original strategy was to use the Twitter account as a way to communicate what we were doing at any moment around planning the event. Unfortunately, we haven’t had time to really ‘use’ the Twitter account. We don’t even have a picture! But, I’ve been Twittering about @lafemmefete to drive some general interest within my Twitter network. And it worked! I had a few people last night request an invite to the event. That to me was worth it.”

A social media marketer who is creative with social networking tools can inspire people’s curiosity and loyalty. Most people do want to belong to a community online, and an element of exclusivity will make them feel like they are part of something special. Hashtags are one way to build community and dialogue on Twitter.

Hashtags are a way for all Twitter users to track and add to tweets about a particular topic. Twitter users insert #(add word or phrase here) in their tweet to categorize it. Hashtags can create a buzz and help other users follow the history of tweets regarding a certain event or subject matter.

“I just blogged about an event at the American Museum of Natural History last week. Instead of a media preview, they used a Bloggers Preview to generate buzz before a new exhibit opened,” says Dooling. “They also placed laptops in the exhibit, with a convenient ’share’ button on the exhibit website to make it easy for guests to share experiences via Gmail, AIM, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.”

The organizers of La Femme Fete are aware that not all attendees will bring enough cash to the event; to combat this issue, they will have two or three laptops so that customers can order from Last and Trimble’s online stores.

Says Davis, “This is a great way to encourage immediate sales; otherwise, women can walk away and never go home to officially buy what they promised. It’s a tough market, but to make your buying power easier in your mind, it’s important to give all the resources up front and make them easy to use.”

Similarly, other companies have been using live events to generate online buzz even while the events are taking place in real time. Says Dooling, “At an event for the new Droid, Motorola used Foursquare to motivate attendees to generate buzz. In social media, we call this ‘energizing the masses.’ Anyone who checked into Morimoto, the venue, during the party received a pop-up Foursquare note with a hashtag. One hashtag might not mean a big deal, but 50 people tweeting the same hashtag during the same one-hour period is sure to generate some attention.”

La Femme Fete takes place this Saturday, November 21st from 5-8 PM at 347 W. 36th Street in Manhattan. Alcoholic beverage brand VeeV will distribute complimentary cocktails, DJ Kristine P. will spin a shopping soundtrack, and photographer Chris Reed will provide a photo booth. Says Davis, “I’m excited for the follow-up Facebook messages, tweets, and general pings about my brand.”

However, Davis still believes that the most important aspect of her business is connecting with customers in real-life situations.

“The idea is to create a buzz around your product, but you can’t always accomplish that successfully online. You have to be in people’s faces. In their hearts. In their minds. In their wallets!” Says Davis. “With such an over saturated market (the Internet has facilitated that saturation), you have to differentiate yourself in real-life form. I am not only someone who sells a great product. I’m someone who is a brand.”