Top 10 Most Practical Blogs for Entrepreneurs

Monday October 24, 2005

With more and more people jumping on the business blogging bandwagon, it's getting to the point that there is far more out there than you could ever hope to read on a regular basis. To help you filter that infoglut down to a more manageable level, here is my list of the ten most practical blogs for entrepreneurs.

NOTE: Blogs come and go, and several of the blogs originally listed here have either been discontinued or become relatively inactive. I've moved those to the honorable mention section because they earned the honor at the original time of this post, but I've added some of my new favorites in their place.

• Small Business Trends - Anita Campbell looks at the latest trends affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs. A must-read for entrepreneurs.
• Just for Small Business - Full of thought-provoking tips for small business owners from Denise O'Berry, I like this blog because the topics are often unexpected - not your usual small business fare.
• WorkHappy.net - Carson McComas lives up to this blog's subtitle of "killer resources for entrepreneurs" by providing links and reviews of "killer" applications and other resources to help entrepreneurs work smarter, not harder.
• Duct Tape Marketing - John Jantsch delivers 2-3 small business marketing tips weekly in easily digestible, actionable bite-size chunks.
• The Entrepreneurial Mind - Jeff Cornwall, Director of the Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship, looks at trends in small business and entrepreneurship and their impact on individual business owners.

• BizzBangBuzz - Pittsburgh attorney Anthony Cerminaro delivers excellent commentary and some original posts on the challenges facing emerging growth companies, with particular emphasis on legal issues.
• Business Opportunities Weblog - Dane Carlson mixes links and commentary on legitimate business opportunities with his thoughts and personal experiences regarding entrepreneurship.
• Go BIG Blog - 9-time serial entrepreneur Wil Schroter, founder of the Go BIG Network, a networking site that helps growth-oriented entrepreneurs connect with investors, suppliers, co-founders and employees, uses his "no-BS" approach to tell entrepreneurs the way it really is that you won't read in the books.
• Young Entrepreneur Journey - Michael Simmons, bestelling author of The Student Success Manifesto explores what he calls "Extreme Entrepreneurship". It's a new blog, but the content is already outstanding.
• Startup Spark - Ben Yoskovitz provides a steady supply of business tips, plus some in-depth discussion of things like entrepreneurial passion, social entrepreneurship and dealing with business failure. Startup Spark also hosts the new Carnival of Entrepreneurs.

A list like this inevitably sparks some controversy, so before I get hit with a flurry of e-mails or a rant on Fark or Slashdot about what an idiot I am for overlooking a particular blog, let me explaing a little about my methodology. It might be easier to explain what is not in this list and why. Consider this my Honorable Mentions:

• Blogs by famous entrepreneurs - Entertaining and informative though they are, they tend to be mostly about that entrepreneur's business and whatever other topics they find interesting. I stuck to blogs that are more generally relevant and practical for entrepreneurs. I'll probably do a separate list of these, though at some point. Some of my favorites in this category are Mark Cuban, Anita Roddick and Seth Godin.
• VC blogs - Blogging has become very popular among venture capitalists, and many are worth reading, particularly if you are (or are planning to become) a venture-funded entrepreneur. But the VC blogs also tend to look more at the VC side of things and also tend to include a lot of personal musings about other topics. A good read, but perhaps not for the time-constrained entrepreneur not interested in venture capital. I'll also probably do a separate list of these, but for now, some of my favorites are Torsten Jacobi, A VC Blogs, VentureBlog, Southeast VC and VCball.
• Aggregator blogs - The blogs on the list all feature a substantial amount of original content by the author and commentary on links to other sites and stories. If you just want a list of good articles for entrepreneurs, I highly recommend Small Business Brief and Business Know-How.
• Too new to tell - A lot of bloggers seem to lose interest after a few months, so I've stuck with blogs that have been established and consistently posting for six months or more. Some of my favorite new blogs to watch include Young Entrepreneur Journey, Home-Based Business Blog and Venture Voice.
• Blogs about business blogging - There are easily ten great blogs out there about how to earn money with a blog or how to use a blog to support your business. Some of the best are ProBlogger, Blog Business World, Business Blog Consulting and Buzz Marketing with Blogs.
• Niche topics - I stuck mostly to blogs that are generally applicable to most entrepreneurs, not specific types of business. If you're into these topics, check out eBay Seller Central, Candle Making Blog and Home Party Plan Blog.
• Number 11+ - There are more than ten blogs that meet these criteria, but 10 is that digestible magic number (and also the limit on the size of my blogroll in our content management tool), so 10 it is. I do have a larger list that includes some great blogs that just didn't quite squeeze into the top 10, but may in the future.
• MIA - There are some great blogs that have languished into inactivity for whatever reason. I only included blogs that have been very consistent in their posting, but I highly recommend reading the archives of Entrepreneur's Life and re:invention. I'd love to see these people posting again. Also, some of the original honorees on this list have either slipped into inactivity or changed their focus:
  • Home Office Voice - Internet entrepreneur Martin Neumann shared his experience and tips for building a web-based business. The site was discontinued and then relaunched, but it has changed focus significantly - it's now a list of site/tool reviews and the archives aren't on the site. Still useful, but not what it once was.
  • Sacred Cow Dung - There are a number of really good blogs out there by venture capitalists about the VC market, entrepreneurship, and so on, but Christian Mayaud's blog is for me the one that most consistently provides content that is actionable, not just informative. Sorry to see him stop posting. Great archives.
  • Escape Velocity - Flemming Funch chronicles the ups and downs of life as an Internet entrepreneur. Flemming still posts occasionally, and the archives are well worth reading.
• About.com blogs - It just wouldn't look right to include the other About.com guides on this list, though I certainly think many of them deserve to be there. Consider adding Small Business Information, Small Business: Canada, Online Business, Consulting/Freelance and Marketing to your list. Also check out our business channel for blogs on specific industries and general business topics. And if you want to learn more about blogs, including how to read them more easily and how to create them, check out our Weblogs topic.

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