Starting and growing a business requires a mix of guts, inspiration, dedication and know-how. As providers of bookkeeping services for small businesses up to $25 million, we have the privilege of seeing firsthand how many of our clients have mastered this formula to drive their businesses to success. We're proud to supply our clients with all the knowledge and support they need to master financial management--but we recognize that there are additional resources out there that help provide additional education on other areas of business development. As such, in addition to our own blog for accounting and bookkeeping information, we've rounded up some of our personal favorites in the small business blogosphere to help small businesses find the information they're looking for, no matter what the topic of expertise.
The Best Blogs for General Small Business Advice
- Small Business Trends – This blog covers it all, from marketing and social media to management and technology. From niche topics on mastering Snapchat to advice on sourcing IT providers, they’re a “must bookmark” for any small business owner.
- BizSugar – More community-oriented, BizSugar is a great place to share news and advice with other SMB owners. Site content is active and fresh and grouped by general topic to make navigation a bit easier.
- Noobpreneur.com – You could spend your whole day perusing the many catchy and unique topics covered by their extensive blog posts, but stick to an RSS feed and quickly skim headlines ranging from marketing to personal finance geared to entrepreneurs to help avoid the time sink.
Top Marketing Blogs for SMBs
- Duct Tape Marketing – If there is any subject more dear to an entrepreneur’s heart than business development and marketing opportunities, we’d like to hear about it. Even if you’re not marketing savvy, you know that marketing is what makes (or breaks) a business. Start with Duct Tape Marketing’s blog to get direct insights and tips to drive your marketing results.
- Copyblogger – Heard of content marketing? We hope so but whether you are a content marketing maverick or still trying to finish the first sentence of your first blog post, Copyblogger has in-depth information for how to make and leverage some seriously good content. From infographics to blog posts, consider this blog your go-to for all things content creation.
- Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Land – Search engine marketing is a critical part of every business big, small, local or global. Staying on top of everything is pretty much a full-time job but you can use these sites to digest the high level points and get quick updates on breaking changes to Google’s algorithms. Or at least you’ll finally be able to explain what that Panda thing is all about. (It is a bear, right?)
Entrepreneur and Startup Blogs
- Blogtrepreneur – Inspired by a brother duo of entrepreneurs, this blog focuses entirely on news that entrepreneurs need now. From timely advice to market analysis, it is a one-stop shop for all things entrepreneur.
- Young Entrepreneur – This is actually a subsect of Entrepreneur, the magazine. They cover tips, advice and of the moment information designed specifically for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. There are some community involvement opportunities here so take a look around the site and consider joining in the comments.
- OnStartups.com – You might have heard of Dharmesh Shah in various circles but if not, he’s pretty much an entrepreneurial genius. He co-founded Hubspot and has since been involved in the successful development of many, many, many new businesses. He formed OnStartups.com to specifically tackle problems and advice for the unique needs of the startup community but the advice extends to all growing small businesses.
Top Accounting and Bookkeeping Blogs
- AccountingDepartment.com – Ok, you had to be expecting this. Visit our blog for timely and informative posts on everything from setting up a chart of accounts to the benefits of job costing. If you have no idea what your gross profit margin is or what the number tells you about your business, you should probably bookmark us too.
- Intuitive Accountant – This blog is really geared toward service providers rather than SMBs but if you’re set on going it alone, you should also make a stop here to keep on top of the latest trends and developments in QuickBooks, the accounting technology space and general movers and shakers.
Do you have a favorite blog for SMB advice? Tell us in the comments and we'll make sure to include it next time!
