Business Credit Cards

Here at Bootstrapper, we’ve previously published some pretty large lists of resources of interest to entrepreneurs and bootstrappers. But if you’re time-crunched, you probably can’t read 100 entrepreneurship sites with any regularity. With that in mind, and in no particular order, here’s our shortlist of sites that we recommend you try to read regularly. Taken as a whole, we feel that you’ll get a considerably broad view of business, entrepreneurshp, and career success.

1. Seth Godin. Seth Godin is a respected marketing guru who writes in a very accessible style - both on his blog and in his many ebooks and print books. While he’s not strictly writing for boostrapping entrepreneurs, what he can teach you will be valuable, especially to digital entrepreneurs.

2. How to Change the World. Guy Kawasaki interviews a lot of successful business people as well as imparts his own knowledge. His content is also very evergreen, so if you don’t have time to read his articles one week, you can always catch up later.

3. Entrepreneur’s Journey. Yaro Starak’s Entrepreneur’s Journey has long been an incredible resource for entrepreneurs working either offline or online. And Yaro has managed to prove that a blogger can produce a comfortable income with by working only a few hours a day. As well, he’s leveraged his successes into a number of other businesses, on and offline, including two subscription content sites.

4. Copyblogger. While you don’t need formal copywriting training, persuasive communication skills go a long way towards business success, especially if you’re a digital entrepreneur. Brian Clark’s Copyblogger shows the way, offering solid communications knowledge by example.

5. Instigator Blog. If I were forced to pick one business-related blog to read regularly, it would be Ben Yoskovitz’s Instigator Blog hands down. He might resort to lists - which some people don’t like - but his lists are meaty, full of details that impart his considerable business knowledge.

6. Startup Spark. Startup Spark was started by Ben Yoskovitz of Instigator Blog (above), but he’s passed the reins to focus on his second web startup company. It’s been in good hands with various bloggers - currently Shannon Cherry. It’s also the home of the popular blog carnival, Carnival of Entrepreneurs.

7. Bootstrap Me. Shawn Hessinger’s Bootstrap Me regularly offers insight into bootstrapping, as well as online entrepreneuring and reviews of the business segment of the blogosphere.

8. College Startup. You’re never too young to start a business, and during college is an ideal time, what with access to many young, open minds to whom you can pitch your ideas and products. College Startup is aimed at the budding College Entrepreneur.

9. Business Pundit. By all accounts, Business Pundit’s Rob has a degree in business and really gets indepth about business principles, with a mix of case studies, interviews, marketing tips and much more.

10. Blogtrepreneur. As indicated in the College Startup writeup above, you’re never too young to be interested in business. Adnan of Blogtrepreneur admits he’s still in high school, yet has built a successful blog that focuses on blog/ Internet entrepreneuring. In fact, the blog, which was an experiment in bootstrapping, is up for sale and likely to get a lot of interest.

11. AOL Small Business. The AOL Small Business website is, as the name suggests, focused on small business, but it has a wealth of articles about successful entrepreneurs of all ages, as well as case studies of startup principles.

12. BNET. The BNET site offers a wealth of business-related articles, including a library, that relate management, strategy, startup and general business principles. True, some of these articles are aimed at medium to larger businesses, but an entrepreneur who blinds themselves to future possibilities is doomed to be stuck in “small” business mode.

13. Lifehacker. The Lifehacker blog, while about productivity, tends towards tips and tricks about using software for work tasks, whether you work offline or online. It’s a must-read for picking up both software and general productivity tips.

14. Lifehack.org. Lifehack.org is the perfect complement to to Lifehacker. While there is some overlap in the two blogs, Lifehack.org tends towards general life and work productivity tips, not necessarily just about software.

15. Zen Habits. Leo Babauta, a guest on many blogs including the aforementioned Lifehack.org, has achieved an incredible success with his Zen Habits blog. Don’t let the name bother you - it’s not a religious blog. Rather, it’s a blog about simple productivity tips and achieving the appropriate habits necessary for general career success.

True, they’re not all strictly “bootstrapping” sites, but should give you a well-rounded view of business, entrepreneuring, work and life productivity necessary to succeed as a bootstrapper.

[Disclosure: I do have some sort of connection to a few of these sites and bloggers, either in terms of being a friend, colleague or contributor, though that's actually a result of my respect for the bloggers, not the other way around.]