Generation Y is poised to redefine the way we do business in America and globally, but that doesn't mean smart business strategies are inherently a part of your young DNA. Whether you successfully complete one of the best online business administration programs or fail a few times on your own, you'll need to learn some basic business principles and discover how to communicate and collaborate in the real world before finding success. These blogs can help you communicate, collaborate, master the science of SEO and social media marketing, shake hands like a professional and more, whether you're expanding your lawn mowing business or promoting sustainable building in South America.
Tools and Resources
Find helpful guides, toolkits, and other resources to help you turn your business idea into a successful company.
- YoungEntrepreneur.com: This website and blog is devoted to sharing business tools, how-to guides and other resources for young, ambitious entrepreneurs. Recommended Posts: Tech Investor: Courage Is an Entrepreneur's Most Important Quality and How to Turn Your Youth Into Your Ultimate Asset
- Small Business Trends: Check this blog and resource for tips and tools to improve your marketing strategies, website design, brand management, and more. Recommended Posts: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Take in Investors and The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks
- Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Weblog: Look for business opportunities — or just find inspiration — from the posts on Dane Carlson's blog for entrepreneurs.
- Business Pundit: Lots of entrepreneurs turn to this blog for resources and commentary on the latest trends in business and innovation. Recommended Posts: 3 Tactics for Improving Cash Flow in Your Small Business and 10 Best TED Talks for Entrepreneurs
- YSN: Your Success Network has tips and tools for students, young professionals and those who think they know it all already. Recommended Posts: Should You Raise Capital from Family and Friends? and The Truth About Raising Early Stage Capital
- Growing Forward: You'll learn how to fit in with other professionals, even if you're just out of college or high school, when you read this blog. Recommended Posts: Franchise It! and Can You Fix Your Weaknesses?
- Epic Launch: This site has valuable tips and resources for entrepreneurs of all ages. Recommended Posts: Why Entrepreneurs Should Never Stop Seeking Educational Opportunities and 5 Ways to Save Money and Build a Better Startup
- Small Business Administration Community Blogs: These community blogs from the U.S. SBA are broken up into the topics of Small Business Matters, Business Law Advisor, Small Business Cents, and even Business Planning Tutorials. Recommended Posts: How to Break Through 5 Common Barriers to Small Business Growth and 4 Ways to Safeguard and Protect Your Small Business Data
- NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation: This organization focuses on teaching teens real-world business lessons, including how to start and run a small business. Recommended Posts: The Top Apps for Small Business and Seven Secrets of Billion Dollar Companies – Blueprint to a Billion Entrepreneur Version
- Drew's Marketing Minute: Learn how to market your business, an essential component of your success as an entrepreneur. Recommended Posts: Selling Shouldn't Equal Annoying and Five Trade Show Mistakes To Avoid
- Noobpreneur: Get news, tips, ideas, and tools for your small business through Noobpreneur. Recommended Posts: Online Business Valuation: Any Solutions Available? and Entrepreneurship and the Law
- Young Go Getter: Originally a forum for young entrepreneurs, Young Go Getter now serves as a portal for advice, tips, and networking. Recommended Posts: Good, Fast and Cheap and Using Your Current Skill Set to Start a Business
- Rise of the Innerpreneur: This blog aims to help the entrepreneur who wants to use his or her business for personal fulfillment and social change. Recommended Posts: Mindy Crary: November 2012 Innerpreneur Spotlight and Burning Needs of Our Innerpreneur
Inspiration and Testimonials
These bloggers share stories of failure and success, and you can learn from their lessons and innovative ideas here.
- Instigator Blog: Year One Labs founding partner Ben Yoskovitz uses this blog to store comments and analysis on today's business trends and also share his past experiences. Recommended Posts: Pivot or Quit? and Quiet and Boring: How to Build a Successful Startup
- Global Entrepreneurship Week: This event serves to inspire creativity and innovation in young entrepreneurs, and the blog shares news and campaigns that advertise it around the world. Recommended Posts: World Operating at 25% Entrepreneurship Capacity and Technology and Women's Entrepreneurship Take Center Stage in Pakistan
- The Global Small Business Blog: It's never too early to start thinking about how you can bring your company into the global market, and Laurel Delaney's blog will help you get there. Recommended Posts: Building a Global Brand Is Not Easy and How to Manage Human Capital Across Borders
- Young Upstarts: Learn about the ideas, people and trends that define young entrepreneurship today. Recommended Posts: Ten Sneaky Bad Habits That Hurt Client Relationships and 6 Tips for Smarter Networking
- Marco.org: Marco Arment is the creator of Instapaper, so he has advice and insight to share about startups, big ideas, and tech trends. Recommended posts:
- Small Hands, Big Ideas: Grace Boyle's blog covers innovation, inspiration, and the ideas that turn into veritable careers and companies. Recommended Posts: The Thing About Mistakes and Blogger Outreach Guidelines
- Quick Sprout: Young entrepreneur Neil Patel's not afraid to boast that he's "kind of a big deal," and his blog is full of lessons learned and other practical tips to boost your own ventures. Recommended Posts: Don't Acquire Customers, Manufacture Them and 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My First Startup
- Thrilling Heroics: This blog and inspirational life/business guide comes from "nomad entrepreneur" Cody McKibben. His posts encourage readers to accept new challenges and adventures that will change their perspectives on their personal lives and in their career pursuits. Recommended Posts: Why You Should Build a Lifestyle Business Rather Than the Next Facebook and The $10K/month Lifestyle Business: How to Launch a Successful E-commerce Site With No Experience
- Adam McFarland: Adam might be balding at the age of 30, but he's also got quite a CV. Read his blog to learn how he became a successful entrepreneur right out of college. Recommended Posts: Why We Still Pay For Health Insurance In Full For Every Employee and Figuring Out the Best Time To Deploy New Features
- Retire@21: Michael is just 21 but has fantastic, practical tips and entrepreneur interviews that will show you how to get rich before you're 21. Recommended Posts: How To Create a Billion Dollar Company and 5 Things Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Coca-Cola
- Erica.biz: Erica Douglass sold her online business at age 26 for $1.1 million. She gives advice on how to make your own online business a success. Recommended Posts: "Playing to Fail" – The Harsh Reality of Why 99% of Entrepreneurs Don't Make It and Pricing Strategies: How to Price Your Product or Service To Avoid Killing Your Business