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Whether you’re thinking about starting a business, just starting up, or looking to expand, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from those who have gone before. Learning from the mistakes of others and how to fix your own errors is part of the process of building a successful business. And the best place to find the advice of entrepreneurs who have done it and succeeded is on their business blogs.
Not everyone is a world-class entrepreneur in the making, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take the advice they give and scale it to your business and life practices.
It’s important to realise that not all the useful business blogs out there are from a single source. There are individual blogs from the perspective of the world’s entrepreneurs, and there are platforms that gather the knowledge of dozens in one place. There are resources for small businesses, marketers and those trying to emulate the greats. The trick is to find the ones that resonate or make you think the most and see what they have to teach you.
So let’s get started!
Small Business Blogs: Starting small is the first step.
You probably want to get small business advice if you are just starting up. You can’t build a big business without successfully running a small one. The following blogs are geared towards start-ups and small businesses. There might be a lot of stuff you already know, but you would be surprised how much you have left to learn.
Startups.com
Startups.com has a vast array of tools, courses and community support for those starting a business. If you go to the Library section, you can select articles, videos, and playbooks alongside founder stories.
“It’s like the Wikipedia for start-up advice*
* Except all of that start-up advice is coming from the smartest people who have ever built a start-up and hand-edited, so you only have to read the most interesting parts.”
Small Business Administration (SBA) Blog
SBA has been one of the longest-running entrepreneur advice resources for small businesses for over 60 years (obviously, the blog wasn’t around then). Primarily aimed at companies in the US, there is still a tonne of data for businesses worldwide.
“Regardless of where our staff is located, their commitment is universal—to help Americans start, build and grow businesses.”
Noobpreneur
An award-winning small business online magazine, Noobpreneur aims to distribute tips, ideas and advice to those starting their entrepreneur journey. The idea is to send them off with the right mindset and the best resources for their mission.
Noobpreneur started as a personal business blog in 2008 but has now grown to incorporate multiple business authors who can share various perspectives and experiences.
“What is Noobpreneur?”
“It is a term I’ve coined to describe myself as – Noobpreneur = Newbie Entrepreneur. I define a newbie entrepreneur as someone who is ALWAYS a newbie (first-timer) in his/her entrepreneurial journey.
Business Blogs From Great Entrepreneurial Minds – You Probably know a few of these
These guys have made it, and they want to tell you how they did it.
Gary Vaynerchuk
If you are on social media at all, the chances are that you might have heard of Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, relevance and the internet. His experiences in growing and building businesses are well-documented, and his principles on media, marketing and communications are clearly established. While not for everyone, He has made a well-deserved reputation for being straightforward in his advice. And he can be brutally honest when he thinks people need a wake-up call.
And if you don’t have the time or patience for blog reading, there is a podcast, too. Covering everything from GaryVee TV and Q&A, along with interviews and discussions with people like Mark Zuckerberg.
Richard Branson
If you haven’t heard of the Virgin Group of companies, you have probably been living under a rock. Richard Branson is the founder, and with more than fifty years of success and more than 40 Virgin companies under his belt, he has a lot of advice to impart. However, his blog doesn’t just cover entrepreneurial advice. When he covers topics from climate change and the environment to music and neurodiversity in business, you know there’s a deep well of advice to draw from his well of experience.
Seth Godin
While Seth Godin is perhaps most widely known for his blog and public speaking on entrepreneurship, marketing, and leadership, he is also an author and founder of Squidoo and Yoyodyne. This gives him both the legacy and experience to provide thoroughly helpful advice while being an excellent communicator to his audience.
Seth’s blog is one of the most famous entrepreneur blogs, but there’s always a podcast if you don’t have the time for that.
Big News and Business Advice – from those in the know
These big-name publications might seem a little beyond you at the moment. However, there is nothing wrong with planning the future and seeing how to build on what you already have. You can find much of it, from case studies to big-name business advice, here.
The Huffington Post
While you might associate the Huffington Post with articles distributed on Facebook with click-bait titles, it is actually a significant source of business news, advice, and culture.
Entrepreneur
Exactly “what it says on the tin”. Entrepreneur is a vast information resource for business builders, emerging trends, marketing, finance, and virtually everything else you might need to consider in your quest for business success.
Search the latest news for information that might impact your business, check out the most popular articles for crucial advice and source data from videos, podcasts, articles, and more.
Who has time for that? – Podcasts for the multitasker
So you’re a solopreneur or a small business doing many jobs, you don’t have time to sit and read blogs about how to do your job. I understand that, and so do many others. So instead of reading a blog when you should be doing something else, why not listen to a podcast? You can do it on your commute, making breakfast or cleaning.
Podcasts have the added benefit of bringing multiple sources of advice to your ears. While many entrepreneurs like to talk about themselves and their advice, they share their thoughts with others, inviting guests to discuss business advice from multiple perspectives.
Entrepreneurs on Fire
We can’t talk about entrepreneur podcasts without mentioning Entrepreneurs on Fire (or EOFire). John Lee Dumas is the founder of this fabulous podcast, inviting leading entrepreneurs to talk about everything to do with starting and building a successful business. Some notable names that have been guests on JLD’s podcast are Seth Godin, Kevin Moran, and Tony Robbins.
With an archive going back to 2012, there is plenty for everyone to learn.
HBR IdeaCast
If you don’t have the time to read the Harvard Business Review, HBR Ideacast is just as informative. With the editors of the Harvard Business Review as hosts, guests include noted entrepreneurs, professors and marketing experts to share their expertise. Unfortunately, neither HBR nor the corresponding podcast is free. However, $10/month is a worthwhile investment for the vast resources library.
A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek
Starting and building a business has a dark side. Without some balance, it can be a sure-fire road to burnout. Simon Sinek is a well-known author, inspirational speaker, and entrepreneur. However, this podcast covers other aspects of life and work. With notable names such as Brené Brown and Tim Shriver mixed with entertainers like Michael McIntyre and Derren Brown, this is not all work and no play.
Taking Advice From the Experts – Build your own Business Blogs
While the originators of all the blogs and platforms above have their roots in starting and growing their businesses, they have reached so many people through their communication skills. They communicated whether they started a viral blog or wrote a book about their experiences.
First, they communicated with their clients, then they took the message beyond their immediate reach and into the wider audience. By reaching beyond their direct business involvement, they built greater visibility. You can take a leaf out of their book and start blogging about your business experiences. You could even cite them as inspiration for your business success or how you recovered from a failed venture.
Whether you want to emulate these entrepreneurs or simply want to expand your online audience, blogging is a good idea. One of the benefits of blogging that will help your business is becoming a voice of knowledge and authority. When you become a voice of authority, people believe in your product or service.