Top 5 Blogs Written by Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs
Tai Lopez delivered a Ted Talk in 2015 on the value of reading a book per day. Unfortunately, as much as we’d like to wish that there were more hours in a day, this is just not the case. The majority of us will not have the time to sit down and read an entire book in one sitting. Yet staying on top of the latest evolutions in entrepreneurship will prove to be the most valuable and rewarding thing you can do to accelerate the process of building a company that succeeds.
Now it’s easier than ever:
You don’t actually have to meet your mentors in person to engage in a two way communication with them. Your mentors are now on your screens, wishing to engage in a conversation with you.
Believe it or not, you currently have access to the learnings and musings of the most successful business leaders in the world. While you may not have 3 hours to invest in their books, you can spare 5–10 minutes every morning and evening to read blog posts written by your mentors.
So if you’re finding yourself hiding behind the excuse of ‘lack of time’, read on and learn about the 5 blogs by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs that might just change the game for you:
Ben Horowitz is an entrepreneur, investor, blogger, and author. He is most known for being a co founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
In 2007 Horowitz sold his enterprise software company Opsware to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in cash and thus knows a thing or two about securing the best exit strategy. Horowitz is also the author of The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers.
Horowitz’s blog delivers advice on building and running a startup. On the site you will find pletny of valuable tips on hiring, building disruptive technologies, the VC industry and more.
Blog: http://a16z.com/advice-and-how-to/
On “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”
So what do you do when you start getting this pit in your stomach that the senior executive you had so much hope for — that was going to take your darling, ambitious, visionary startup to the next level — might not be doing, well, exactly that?
You fire them.
To be provocative: No one ever fired someone too soon.
Seth Godin is an all-star entrepreneur, marketer, and author. He’s the founder of two widely successful companies Yoyodyne and Squidoo, but is most known as the author of 12 bestsellers including Purple Cow and Tribes.
Godin’s blog consists of tips on several business topics with a strong focus on marketing. The blog posts are often short but succinct, providing thought provoking insights on key issues in entrepreneurship. More importantly, he offers advice on how to fail without losing everything, including your sanity.
Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com
On “Being a Good Marketer”
Go tell a story. If it doesn’t resonate, tell a different one. When you find a story that works, live that story, make it true, authentic and subject to scrutiny. All marketers are storytellers, only the losers are liars.
Steve is a professor of entrepreneurship at several ‘Ivy League’ universities including U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University, Columbia University, and NYU. He is infamous for inventing his widely popular customer development methodology The Lean Startup. His business blog however, focuses in on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship from innovation in big business to the role of a founding CEO. If that isn’t enough, Blank is the founder of 8 plus companies including E.piphany, and Rocket Science Games — a video gaming company.
Blank walks his readers through his points with a step by step approach, using several graphs and thorough analysis. Most posts are concluded at the bottom with a helpful “Lessons Learned” section.
Blog: https://steveblank.com
On “Strategy”
When I started a new venture in existing markets I would spend part of my initial customer discovery attending conferences, reading analysts’ reports and talking to domain experts to understand current market entry strategies. (None of this obligated me to follow the path of other companies. At times I took this information and created a different strategy to disrupt the incumbents.)
Guy Kawasaki is a serial entrepreneur who founded multiple software companies including ACIUS, a Macintosh database company. However he is better known as the founding father of evangelism marketing, and thus, for his specialty as marketing connoisseur in multiple global companies including Apple Inc and Canva. Kawasaki is the author of the bestselling book: The Art of the Start and Enchantment and The Art of Social Media.
Kawasaki’s blog offers startup teams valuable insights on the art of branding, how to be a Demo God, and the future of entrepreneurship.
Blog: https://guykawasaki.com/blog/
On “The Art of Branding”
Focus on social media, not advertising. Brands are built on what people are saying about you on social media, not what you’re saying about yourself.
Because the real world of marketing is this: you don’t have a big marketing budget so you have to depend on people “creating” your brand for you.
Kate Kendall is the co-founder and CEO of CloudPeeps — a marketplace that connects businesses with remote community managers. Her blog presents insightful advice on everything from startup culture, and business etiquette to creativity.
Blog: https://katekendall.com
On “Data vs Design”
With all the industry insights and knowledge shared today, it feels people are being led more and more by their inner scientist. You have stats, case studies, workshops, cheat sheets, advisors and more — it’s data galore. One can become paralysed from freely moving forward without analysing everything first.
It reminds me of the good old perceived cultural differences between Google (data-led) and Apple (design-led). One tests which shade of blue to use, the other dictates.
Life is short and time is money, but knowing what to invest your time in as an entrepreneur is crucial to your success story. These guys above are here to help you through the journey.
