What Small-Biz Owners Can Learn From Blogs

Looking for advice on starting or running a business? Check out what the blogosphere has to offer. It's filled with scores of Web journals on various topics of interest to entrepreneurs.

Here's a sampling of blogs in this niche and what small-business owners can get out of reading them.

Carson McComas is on a mission to help fellow small-business owners succeed. His two-year-old blog provides advice, ideas, inspiration and resources he's accumulated through his own experience as a consultant to entrepreneurs and owner of four Web-based ventures. "A lot of entrepreneurially related content on the Internet is get-rich quick garbage," he says. "It's very important for me not to be that." Writing about once a week from his home office in Spokane, Wash., Mr. McComas reviews products and services such as mynewcompany.com, which helps entrepreneurs with the paperwork for incorporating a business. Readers can suggest items for review and submit their own write-ups, he says. Another feature, called "Happy Links," lists URLs to Web sites and blogs with helpful information for entrepreneurs, and "Happy Quotes" offers a regular dose of inspirational sayings. Look for interviews Mr. McComas conducts with entrepreneurs such as Markus Frind, founder of PlentyofFish.com, a dating site.

In spring 2004, Ryan M. Knoll considered purchasing a franchise, and he created this blog to document his research. Though, he later opted to practice law instead, he says he continues to blog about investing in franchises because the subject draws heavy commentary from readers. He also stays current on the subject because about a quarter of his law-firm clients are professionals seeking counsel on buying franchises, he says. Franchise Pundit discusses the pros and cons of various franchise investments, and many posts end with a thumb's up or down vote from Mr. Knoll on whether a particular franchise is a wise purchase. The blog, which is updated daily, also reports on emerging franchises, relevant legal news and various industry happenings. In addition, franchise owners frequently contribute posts about their personal business experiences. Check out the blog's discussion board and a page listing links to archived posts on franchises by company name.

Originally an online discussion forum, younggogetter.com was revamped in January as a blog. "We try and cover all aspects of starting and running a business from the perspective of a young person," says Travis Hines, one of its three twentysomething contributing writers from around the U.S. who each run their own businesses. The discussion board still exists as a link from the blog and has about 400 members. Another interactive feature is a weekly poll, which asks questions such as, "What business events do you attend most each year?" Look for posts offering opinions and advice, plus book reviews, podcasts and interviews with young entrepreneurs. There's also a section called "Entreprenews" which links to articles on the Web that discuss entrepreneurialism.

Nearly a decade after quitting a corporate-consulting job to start her own business, Pamela Slim started this blog to help other professionals switch to sole proprietorship. She says many of the cubicle dwellers she used to advise griped about their jobs, but were too afraid to try their hand at being entrepreneurs. For this reason, says she focuses her blog posts on the emotional aspect of leaving the corporate world to start a business. "I write about the human side of that change -- how to manage your personal fears in addition to getting the kind of information you need," she explains. She receives about 150 emails a week from readers and chooses topics to blog about based on their questions and concerns, she says. Her postings are syndicated to several Web sites.

Lawyer Anthony Cerminaro operates a private practice in Sewickley, Pa., for which he helps companies buy and sell small businesses. He blogs about legal issues pertaining to entrepreneurs and says he often cites lessons he's learned through his work. He also describes and links to a wide range of resources for entrepreneurs on the Web, plus he answers his clients and readers' questions about starting businesses. For example, he recently responded to one on whether to hire a professional business-plan writer, says Mr. Cerminaro. (The answer was no, write it yourself.) "What motivates me is being of service," he says. "I'm really trying to change the world by encouraging people to be entrepreneurial." References to Mr. Cerminaro's personal interests, such as poetry, can be found sprinkled throughout the blog.

Eze Vidra says he learned first-hand just how difficult it is for a budding entrepreneur to secure venture capital, which is the focus of this two-year-old blog. He helped launch a business in 2004 with three college friends and says the hardest part was convincing investors to provide financial support. "We had no prior experience," he explains. Now a product manager in San Francisco for Ask.com, a search engine, Mr. Vidra profiles early-stage ventures in his blog by describing their business models and products. "It's aimed at entrepreneurs and investors in the venture-capital world," he says. A native Israeli, he writes mostly about media-focused technology and energy companies founded by Israelis or based in Israel, he says. The country "has the largest number of start-up companies per capita," he says.

For almost three years, Charlie Cook has been sharing his ideas and opinions about small-business marketing each week on his blog. The small-business marketing coach, mentor and consultant in Old Greenwich, Conn., says the online forum provides a way to candidly discuss his area of expertise. "It lets people get to know me more as a person just like them," he says. And unlike the writing on his company Web site, he adds, "It's a more natural form of communication because it's unedited." Mr. Cook blogs about the marketing strategies he advises his clients on and any topic that "strikes a nerve," he says. He also answers readers' questions in blog posts about specific marketing concerns, such as a recent query from an embroiderer on whether she should market her services broadly or to a select audience.

Small Business Trends, which launched in September 2003, focuses on major developments that affect small-business owners, says author Anita Campbell. For example, she recently blogged about a new line of computers with built-in security features such as encrypting software. "To me those are significant things to small businesses," says the marketing consultant based in Medina, Ohio. Her blog also features twice-monthly guest columns from small-business experts and weekly posts she pens on business technology. In addition, Ms. Campbell profiles small firms that illustrate a recent trend once or twice a month and occasionally she runs an online survey in which readers can answer questions on small-business-topics. She later posts the results and comments on them.

Interested in patents and the legal issues surrounding them? Registered-patent attorney Stephen M. Nipper has made a hobby out of scouring the Internet for articles on the subject and related topics and summarizing what he finds on the blog. "I read a tremendous amount online and like sharing information I find useful or interesting to me or my clients," says Mr. Nipper, a partner with Dykas, Shaver & Nipper in Boise, Idaho. "I typically stay away from sharing opinion and just provide factual information." Readers can suggest topics and pose questions, he adds. For example, he recently responded to a question on how to determine if a patent has been litigated over and another on what to do if you've been ripped off by an invention-promotion company.

One of the most well-known blogs in the small-business space, How to Change the World aims to do just as its namesake suggests via the art of "entrepreneurialism." While that may seem like an audacious goal, author Guy Kawasaki boasts credentials that demonstrate he's capable of inspiring others. He is a managing director for an early-stage venture-capital firm, writes a column for Entrepreneur Magazine, serves as an advisor to six small businesses and is an Apple Inc. alumnus. "I pride myself in writing highly tactical/practical action-oriented articles," writes Mr. Kawasaki in an email. "Small-business owners can learn how to create kick-butt companies on kiss-butt budgets." Since launching his blog in January 2006, Mr. Kawasaki says he's mostly written about news pertaining to entrepreneurship, marketing, venture capitalism and evangelism, but he's lately started to focus more on book reviews. "One of my sub-goals is to be the 'Oprah of online book reviewers,' " he writes. Check out the job listings to the right of the page for career opportunities at start-up companies.

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