Business blogs that you need to start reading
There are business blogs on topics like how to start your own business, small business trends, marketing tips, and practical advice for business owners. Some of the most successful business blogs started over a decade ago, while other significant business blogs have skyrocketed to fame within the past couple of years.
New research from QuickBooks shows nearly 4 in 10 people interested in becoming entrepreneurs turn to business blogs and websites for help. More than 50% turn to Google searches for business advice, and another 40% look to seasoned small business owners for tips.
No matter where you are in your business journey, there’s a business blog for you. Instead of scouring search engines for the best blogs, we compiled our picks for today’s 100 best business blogs. They cover a wide range of topics, so we’ve broken them into seven major categories:
Starting up
Sales
People and culture
Marketing
Growth
Freelancing
Finance
There is often overlap between these blogs, so we’ve placed each of them into the category that most reflects its content.
The best business blogs on starting up
1. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration was set up by Congress in 1953 to “aid, counsel, assist, and protect … the interests of small business concerns.” Since then, they’ve significantly grown, and they now provide a wide range of programs to encourage small enterprise. The website has information on virtually every aspect of operating a small business and details funding options and requirements for becoming a government contractor.
Their business blog is relatively hidden on the site — there’s so much information the blog portion tends to hide. Recent posts advise small to medium businesses on topics like financial tips for starting a business from home, training your first employees, and the biggest marketing mistakes new entrepreneurs tend to make.
2. SCORE
Backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and supported by a network of 10,000 volunteer business mentors, SCORE delivers low-cost and free consulting services to entrepreneurs who need help growing their businesses or navigating uncharted territory.
Their business blog features hundreds of resources on a wide range of start-up topics, including advice from entrepreneurs like Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran.
3. Derek Sivers’ Blog
Derek Sivers’ blog uses one of the most straightforward layouts on the net. Derek has had a varied career, which includes time as a musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and book publisher. His is more than just a business blog, as Derek also discusses his fascination with the psychology of self-improvement, business, philosophy, and culture.
Derek often uses his posts to ponder topics at the intersection of work and life. For example, in his essay “Don’t start a business until people are asking you to,” he wonders why people try to start a business too early. “I meet a lot of people who want to start a business,” he writes. “Some don’t have an idea yet. I don’t understand this. It’s like wanting to wear a bandage when you don’t have a wound.”
4. WPBeginner
As its name indicates, WPBeginner is a beginner’s guide to the content management system WordPress and shows newbie web designers (or anyone setting up their own blogs) how to set up a WordPress site quickly.
Their business blog is full of helpful hints, tips, and tutorials on how to best set up your WordPress-powered site and optimize it for driving in new readers. You’ll find posts on everything from the best WordPress themes for hotels to more advanced topics involving deep customizations.
5. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing platform for bloggers, podcasters, service-based business owners, course creators, and YouTubers. It is not surprising, therefore, that they invested in a business blog that teaches people how to make a living online.
They split their blog into articles on building an online business and a monthly issue of their new online magazine called Tradecraft. Each issue focuses on a theme and contains articles related to that theme. Recent items have included “Building Your Businesses with Online Courses,” “The Freelancer’s Field Guide,” and “Design for Non-Designers.”
6. James Clear’s Blog
James Clear states the central question driving his work is, “How can we live better?” This writer, entrepreneur, and travel photographer has been sharing his thoughts online for nearly a decade.
His site is much more than just a small business blog. It includes posts on how to create better habits, strengthen creative thinking, increase physical performance, and sustain optimal health and lifelong learning. The core thesis is any business in its formative stages will grow immeasurably if its owners improve these aspects of their personal lives, too.
7. Entrepreneur on Fire
Fire Nation is best known for its podcast, a runaway success that features interviews with some of the world’s top entrepreneurs. As of today, there are more than 1,700 episodes of the podcast, a daily broadcast where host John Lee Duma chats with successful entrepreneurs, detailing their journey and lessons learned while doling out business advice.
The blog is complementary to the podcast, expanding on the audio content.
8. Altucher Confidential
James Altucher is a well-known entrepreneur, angel investor, and prolific writer. After getting his start building websites while working his first job out of college, James sold that company for $15 million and promptly went broke. He has started 20 companies, 17 of which failed, but James learned from each failure.
In his worst moments, James became depressed, but upon hitting rock bottom, realized that his successes in life only happened when he chose to invest in himself. Now, James runs a popular podcast, The James Altucher Show, alongside his blog. He writes about the business world, investing, entrepreneurship, self-publishing, and choosing yourself.
9. Manta
Manta is a great online resource for small business owners. They provide products, services, and educational opportunities to help entrepreneurs become more competitive.
Their biz blog includes a range of articles providing small business news, tips, and advice. They also provide research data on various topics, insight, and information from industry leaders, webinars, and a range of free courses at The Academy.
10. Nolo Small Business Law Blog
Nolo began publishing DIY legal guides for small business owners in 1971, long before the company became a business blog. Now one of the world’s leading online legal resources, Nolo seeks to demystify the day-to-day legalities of running a small business.
Dedicated to providing readers with high-quality, free legal content on topics like how to structure agreements with independent contractors, write a legally sound business plan, and start an LLC, they’re a great first stop for the “to-do” checklists of business formation.
11. The Penny Hoarder
As its name suggests, The Penny Hoarder is predominantly a personal finance website which helps its visitors save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies, and more.
One of the main sections on this business blog is about side gigs, and it includes numerous articles suggesting different ways to earn additional income. Another critical category is working from home, which showcases ideas about how to create a home-based business that monetizes your existing skills.
12. TSheets Time Tracking Blog
The TSheets mission is to help small businesses succeed, and their blog reflects every bit of that desire.
Whether you’re a restauranteur looking to set up valuable performance metrics, a construction worker hoping to take your family business to new heights, or a part-time entrepreneur wondering if this is the year you’ll turn your side-hustle into your main hustle, TSheets by QuickBooks has a blog post designed to inform and entertain.
Learn all about new laws and regulations hitting your state, or read articles on tough concepts like FLSA rules and predictive scheduling. Each blog is well-researched and jam-packed with information, which gives you new ideas and helps you succeed.
13. TheSelfEmployed
TheSelfEmployed is a title that describes the blog’s focus to a “T.” This business blog contains a large number of articles covering start-ups, e-commerce, insurance, the gig economy, tech, office, taxes, law, funding, and marketing. Any small business owner can find answers to virtually any business-related question here.
14. Foundr Blog
Foundr is primarily a free business blog with countless articles on topics relevant to start-up founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and growing businesses. Their content mainly covers topics like growth marketing, getting started in your niche, productivity hacks, and leadership advice.
They also have a (paid) monthly digital magazine aimed at young entrepreneurs. You can either purchase individual issues or take out a subscription to access in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs.
15. Harvard Business Review
This business blog is connected to the Harvard Business Review magazine. It contains the same articles as the magazine and includes a large archive. This means there are limits to what you can see online for free, but if you peruse articles on the site without registering, you can access three or more posts per month.
However, if you register for a free account, you double your quota to six articles per month. To see more articles, you’ll need to subscribe.
16. Insights by Stanford Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business uses its Insights blog to share management research and insights from its global community of experts and leaders. They state the goal of their business blog is “to provide current and aspiring leaders with the information and ideas they need to help change lives, organizations, and the world.”
Articles cover a wide range of business-related topics in virtually every discipline taught at the university.
17. Chapman Argyros School of Business
Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics produces a blog that features insights and stories from professors, notable alumni, and entrepreneurs in the broader Southern California community. Although many of the posts on the school’s business blog relate to alumni accomplishments in business, much of the content looks at faculty research on various aspects of business.
18. California Secretary of State
This is the official website for Alex Padilla, California’s current Secretary of State. While it’s not a traditional business blog, this website contains a wide range of information that is useful to businesses in the state of California.
While there is a California bias to the content and FAQs, this site collects country, state, and federal agency information small business owners need to know. It compiles all the information that helps California business owners to navigate the state’s often complex governmental and tax systems.
19. IRS on Starting a Business
The Small Businesses and Self-Employed section of the IRS website brought together a wealth of information with a focus on what new business owners need to know about federal tax obligations.
Their content covers topics like deciding whether you’re really operating a business (rather than just working on a hobby), record-keeping requirements, checklists for starting a business, and how to calculate quarterly tax estimates.
20. I Will Teach You To Be Rich
This is the flagship business blog of entrepreneur and bestselling-author Ramit Sethi. The blog’s title, under the same name as his book, clearly describes Ramit’s mission. Through his in-depth content, he aims to teach readers how to use psychology and systems to live what he calls “a rich life.”
Although he also provides premium courses, Ramit claims to give 98% of his content away for free. His often massively-long guides cover insider techniques on psychology, negotiation, automation, and earning more, alongside detailed case studies of how his tactics apply to the real world.
21. Seanwes
Seanwes is the blog of Sean McCabe, an entrepreneur and designer who created numerous successful online courses on topics related to design and building a business.
In addition to the business blog, Sean recently wrote a book called Overlap. He also shares inspirational videos via a daily show and releases a weekly podcast. His blog posts cover self-development and business topics, seeking to motivate readers to build their skills and improve their performance.
22. CreativeLive
CreativeLive’s business blog features insights, interviews, and detailed breakdowns from experts like Tim Ferriss, Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, and others who teach online classes on the platform. However, business is just one of five topic categories covered on the CreativeLive blog.
There are hundreds of quality posts that focus on self-employment, small business ownership, building a personal brand, how to make it in the world of photography, and so much more.
23. Mixergy
Mixergy features interviews and courses with over 1,100 business founders. These founders come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including eCommerce, social media, marketplaces, physical products, B2B, and SaaS companies.
The host and founder, Andrew Warner, covers topics on this business blog such as marketing, bootstrapping, selling your business, sales, driving traffic, and customer acquisition. Mixergy was started with the vision of a place where the ambitious learn from experienced mentors through interviews and courses.
24. Influencive
Influencive describes itself as a source for unconventional wisdom and influential minds. This business blog publishes posts about general business, crafting a winning mindset, entrepreneurship, growth-hacking, lifestyle, branding, social media, health and fitness, and more. They also include a library of favorite books they believe every entrepreneur needs to read.
25. Marie Forleo’s Business Blog
Marie Forleo describes herself as “an entrepreneur, writer, philanthropist, and unshakable optimist dedicated to helping you become the person you most want to be.”
Her business blog is a combination of transformative, free content and paid online training programs. Many of her business-related posts and videos focus on building the right mindset to be successful. She also covers topics like how to create a sustainable side-hustle, retraining your psychology around business, and more.
26. Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is renowned for his online advice and active social media presence. He’s currently the chief evangelist of Canva, the online graphic design tool suite. A large part of his past was spent as the chief evangelist at Apple.
His business blog covers an eclectic range of topics he’s written about over the past couple of decades, although new content is published infrequently. Guy has written 13 books, all of which are covered in detail on his blog, including access to his two Skillshare classes and several TED talks he’s delivered.
27. Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss became a household name with his book, The 4-Hour Workweek. He subsequently wrote three more books and set up The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which has received more than 150 million downloads to date.
His business blog has been number one on the list of the Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs for many years. Tim loves technology, and many of his posts discuss how people can use technology to improve productivity in their businesses.
Source- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/starting-up/best-business-blogs/#people/