As a small business owner, you know that the best resources aren’t always financial.
Sometimes, the most valuable resources are the business people who have been through it before.
They’ve done the whole stressing over making payroll, not sleeping and eating ramen to make ends meet already. And they lived to tell the tale.
Fortunately, the modern entrepreneur doesn’t have to physically know a bunch of other business owners to get good advice. Thanks to social media, it’s easy to get inside access to the brains of all these smart people.
And the Twitter-sphere is just packed with entrepreneurs, investors, and business gurus dying to share their knowledge.
Here are 10 really smart business thought leaders and great Tweeters. Some are entrepreneurs, others are marketing experts, and a few are insightful individuals in business that you should get to know.
1. Becky McCray: @SBSurvival
Becky is an entrepreneur in a small town who writes about her experiences -- both successes and failures. The Twitter stream for her blog, Small Biz Survival, is packed with links to recent posts, as well as all sorts of interesting articles that touch on all facets of small business.
2. Pam Slim: @pamslim
Pam Slim is a business coach, and the founder of Escape from Cubicle Nation (whose title alone sums up the motto of most entrepreneurs!) Her Twitter stream features a lot of personalized comments -- so if you want to ask her a question, Twitter is a good place to do it. Also expect lots of 140-character quotes and quick business-related facts.
3. Chris Brogan: @chrisbrogan
As the President of New Marketing Labs, Chris Brogan is no doubt a social media guru. And his Twitter stream shows it. He’s constantly tweeting, a mix of personal and business tidbits. But the best part: he’s always linking to relevant and insightful articles.
4. Tom Peters: @tom_peters
Tom Peters is the incredibly smart co-author of the iconic business book “In Search Of Excellence.” More than 25 years after that one was published, he’s still going strong and giving great business advice. Recently, he released “The Little BIG Things,” which we reviewed. His Twitter feed is full of valuable snippets, along with a few forays into amusing personal opinion.
5. Anita Campbell: @smallbiztrends
Anita Campbell is the founder of the website Small Business Trends. As both an entrepreneur and an expert in everything that’s going on in the SMB world, she’s a pretty invaluable resource. Her Twitter stream features lots of links to great outside articles for small-business owners, and she’ll often retweet other smart people that you should definitely be following, too.
Bonus: And if you’re not already following Business Insider’s War Room (@tbi_warroom) and OPEN Forum (@OPENForum), you’re missing out on posts from insightful contributors, as well as commentary on the latest in leadership and management news and advice.