Over the past year, I have been scouring the Internet for resources to help me grow my businesses. It is quite refreshing to discover and learn from others and hear stories from fresh perspectives, rather theory out of a book. Of course there are many ways to build a businesses and while many are figuring it out, the way we communicate is evolving right in front of our eyes. With the ammunition of a blog and a Flip cam, we are seeing many young entrepreneurs becoming prominent voices and in some cases niche leaders while building profitable businesses. In months and years not decades.
The team at Unstrapp’d has learned a great deal from our peers and we wanted to award and recognize our industry leaders. We have put together a list of blogs that have a message that can help a young entrepreneur grow their business and are written from the perspectives of young entrepreneurs. When you take a look at some of these blogs, you may find yourself scratching your head on how they make it look so easy and a few may just downright piss you off! However, after taking an open look into these bloggers experiences, you will find that much of their road is just like yours and their level of success is fully obtainable.
With all the recommendations and nominations we have received, we constructed this list several factors in mind:
- Quality and relevance of content
- Consistency of posts
- Engagement of readers
- Remarkability
- Overall appeal to gen-y
This post is written completely from the opinion of the Unstrapp’d team and the site’s readers. We know that there are many great blogs still yet for us to discover. But, these ones right here, you will definitely want to subscribe to and put them in your Google reader because they are hot! We have made it easy for you to follow them all at once on Twitter. So without further delay, our Top 30 Young Entrepreneur Blogs of 2009:
Founder: David Garland | Twitter: @TheRiseToTheTop
The Rise To The Top blends business, education, entertainment, lifestyle for emerging and established entrepreneurs looking to create successful businesses and dream lifestyles. This blog originated from the fast-moving television show which is broadcast on ABC. The show features fast paced interviews from high-energy entrepreneurs who are experts in their fields and actually give valuable advice.
Founder: Neil Patel | Twitter: @NeilPatel
Quick Sprout is a popular entrepreneurship blog that teaches people how to become a “rock star” in their industry. Neil is the founder of two companies and he keeps it real with his no b.s. approach to business. He will give you his success formula for business in “real talk” to shine light on the myths of making money. He has created quite the community and is very active in the commenting section on his blog. Meaning: you comment…he responds!
Founder: Andrew Warner | Twitter: @AndrewWarner
Mixergy is the place where the ambitious learn from experienced mentors. Andrew Warner became a success in his early 20’s where he built an Internet business toppling 30 million dollars in sales. He brings in-depth interviews with a diverse variety of entrepreneurs allowing you to learn the secrets of their success.
Founder: Aronado Placencia | Twitter: @Aronado
StartupLucky is bridging the gap between startup businesses and investors. Through his many video interviews, Aronando Placencia has constructed a web portal for the education, inspiration and the funding of startup companies.
Founders: Adam and Matthew Toren | Twitter: @thebizguy
YoungEntrepreneur.com is one of the longest running sites on the Internet that cater to young entrepreneurs. Adam and Matthew do not only have a powerful blog, but have created one of the most in-depth sites for young entrepreneurs.
Founder: Jun Loayza | Twitter: @JunLoayza
Jun has a tremendous ability to paint a picture and put you in it; he is a storyteller. That is important in business because we learn on real-life experiences, not theory. He talks a lot about relationships and the grueling yet fun side of entrepreneurship many don’t tackle. Listen to Jun and he will teach you how to live the startup life.
Founders: Matt Wilson, Jared O’Toole | Twitter: @Under30CEO
Matt and Jared are two young entrepreneurs from New York who are passionate about helping you ditch doing the things you hate and to start living your dreams. They talk about a variety of business topics, but primarily lifestyle. Starting a bootstrapped business is one thing, but these guys will teach you how to start a bootstrapped business while enjoying the freedom you desire and deserve.
Founder: Michael Dunlop | Twitter: @MichaelDunlop
Michael is a young man to keep on your radar. He doesn’t talk, he just does. As a lot people ramble about making money on the Internet, Michael pulls in a very healthy profit from his blogs. Oh yeah, and he’s not even old enough to buy a beer (in the States that is!). With this blog, he shares with you his experiences, tips and strategies of making money online.
Founder: Jacob Cass | Twitter: @justcreative
For all you creative folks out there (or lack there of), you may want to check out Jacob’s ever-so-popular graphic design blog. Jacob has taken his passion and turned it into a successful business. Through his business experience, he will show you how important design is when building your brand.
Founder: Erin Blaskie | Twitter: @ErinBlaskie
Erin is known for her passionate love affair with Internet marketing (hey she said it), and she has a tendency to partake in her fair share of PDA. She has mastered the game of systematizing entrepreneurial success with outsourcing, virtual assistants, Internet marketing efforts and more. The best part is that she is sharing her secretes with everyone.
Founder: Ryan Stephens | Twitter: @RyanStephens
Ryan Stephens is the ultimate relationship guy. He is incredible at leveraging social media to start conversations, build relationships and spread ideas. In its truest form, social media is all about being social and forging bonds with human beings, not the cool new technologies. Ryan will show you the why and how of REAL social media marketing.
Founder: Ben Lang | Twitter: @entrepreneurpro
Why do we like Ben for this list? It’s because he provides great value to the young entrepreneur community AND he is just a teenage entrepreneur. He brings a unique perspective on business and may be someone you younger entrepreneurs can relate to.
Founder: Stanley Tang | Twitter: @StanleyTang
Stanley Tang is a talented young entrepreneur who is passionate about teaching his peers everything about Internet marketing entrepreneurship from the perspective of a young entrepreneur. Being still in his teens and a published author makes him a good leader to look to when trying make a splash starting at a young age.
Founder: Ramit Sethi | Twitter: @Ramit
Ramit is THE blogging superstar of the personal finance world. His content is practically built for young folks looking to get educated in personal finance while being engaged by one of their own. Explore I Will Teach You to Be Rich long enough and you will find that this blog goes far beyond personal finance to the realms of entrepreneurship, career planning, psychology and life. If you’re sick of skipping out on your latte every morning to save that $4 to start your next venture, read this blog and read it now!
Founder: Greg Rolett | Twitter: @g_ro
Greg is a real life rock star who lives on his own terms and enjoys every minute of it. His passion goes beyond music and business as he focuses on helping people find innovative ways to create their own rock star lifestyle by living on their own terms.
Founder: Colin Wright | Twitter: @colinismyname
Colin embodies the spirit of our generation as he lives a completely unrestricted life. He is an intellectually stimulating writer, a sustainable designer, a frequent traveler, with an unyielding hunger to learn. He is currently on a journey across the world with his Mac Book, a few other possessions and his incredible ability to create the remarkable.
Founder: Monica O’Brien | Twitter: @monicaobrien
Social Pollination gives readers a refreshing look into new media marketing at the juncture of traditional marketing. Monica has a way of composing intriguing narratives while covering marketing research on new media trends.
Founder: Cody McKibben | Twitter: @codymckibb
Cody is Gen-Y’s version of Indiana Jones. Instead of a whip, he is equip with a laptop and a passion for globe-trotting. He has lived abroad for over a year now and has accumulating some amazing experiences; all of which are eye-opening for any entrepreneur looking to live a location independent lifestyle.
Founder: Alex Fraiser | Twitter: @AlexFraiser
One of our favorites that has not gotten much attention is Blogussion. With a brilliant design and even better content that helps you become a better blogger, is it hard to believe this site is run by Alex Fraiser who is still in high school!
Founder: Zac Johnson | Twitter: @moneyreign
Zach Johnson will help you make money. Lot’s of it. He is a young entrepreneur who has built his success through affiliate marketing. The exciting part is that he is sharing his secrets with the world. All you have to do is check out his blog.
Founder: Dan Schwabel | Twitter: @DanSchwabel
In a little over two years, Dan Schwabel has become the spokesperson for gen-y in the field of personal branding. His content has been featured on Forbes.com, Fox Business, Mashable and more (so you know it’s good). If none of that intrigues you, he has a revealing interview with MC Hammer (I know I got you there). Basically, if you are looking to build your personal brand online, you NEED to read the Personal Branding Blog.
Founder: Chris Pund | Twitter: @ChrisPund
Chris Pund understands that the college lifestyle presents a unique opportunity to start businesses. Never will you have as much freedom and access to resources that can help you create your own business. Dorm Room Biz will show you how to leverage this opportunity to create a successful business.
Founder: Grace Boyle | Twitter: @gracekboyle
Grace radiates her love for life through her writing which makes her a source of inspiration for all her readers. Her small hands has typed up over 200 articles containing some big ideas about digital marketing, start-ups and the gen-y journey.
Founder: Jonathan Mead | Twitter: @JonathanMead
For those looking to live life on your own terms, you must read Illuminated Minds. Illuminated Minds is far from ordinary as it encourages us to steer away from mediocrity and embrace our pure essence to help us discover what we are meant to do. With a modern blend of Zen teachings and the entrepreneurial lifestyle, Jonathan Mead has put together a blog that will shift your paradigm.
Founder: Sean Ogle | Twitter: @seanogle
Like many of us, Sean has discovered the corporate world rigid, bureaucratic and restrictive. In revolt, he decided to quit his job and live life the way it is supposed to be. His blog publishes his 180 from young professional to an excitement seeker. If you are in a job you hate, was in a job you hated or just simply love the nomadic lifestyle, you have to check Sean out!
Founders: Adam and Matthew Toren | Twitter: @blogtrepreneur
The founders of Young Entrepreneur.com bring you another go to resource for internet entrepreneurs. Blogtrepreneur covers the areas of entrepreneurship, online marketing, personal development, making money and more.
Founder: Glen Allsopp | Twitter: @PluginId
PluginID goes far beyond its aesthetically captivating design. It is a site that will be sure to awaken, inspire and motivate you. Glen is a master of helping his readers discover possibilities that they may have not been aware of before.
Founder: Matt Cheuvront | Twitter: @mattchevy
A Life Without Pants is all about living a life a little less restricted. Who better to promote that mantra than the always exuberant and infectiously optimistic Matt Cheuvront. During the past year, the blog has quickly become a sounding board for many rule breaking young folks that are looking to reinvent the status quo. Matt is constantly finding innovative ways to engage his community and challenge himself. You can expect some amazing things from Matt in 2010.
Founder: Carlos Miceli | Twitter: @CarlosMic
Carlos has been officially dubbed Seth Godin Jr. for his short sparks of owl like wisdom. Through his thought-provoking write ups, The Argentinian blogger walks a fine line between being a stimulating thought leader and rebel with a cause. However, it is obvious he would not want to be categorized as either. His blog gives the young entrepreneur an escape from marketing trends and twitter feeds and keeps the mind fresh and curious.
Founders: Yukai Chou, Jun Loayza | Twitter: @Viralogy
The Future Delivery boys Yukai Chou and Jun Loayza epitomize the spirit and savvy of young entrepreneurs. They have come together once again to bring you an incredible new web tool that measures your social media influence. Beyond social media ranking, the Viralogy blog covers all ends of social media, from interesting perspectives on blogging to new Twitter conversation monitoring. Last but not least, Jun Loayza is still bring you revealing interviews with some of the most influential people on the Internet. You’re gonna want to see social media through the eyes of Viralogy.
