Helpful resources for entrepreneurs
Looking to take the leap into starting your own business in 2020? Sweet, congrats! 👊🏽 You’re about to embark on an amazing journey, but knowing where to start can be a little tricky. The list of resources below should help you with some of your unanswered questions.
If you have some resources for entrepreneurs that are not on this list, or have any questions hit me up - let’s chat!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
DON’T FALL INTO THE ANALYSIS PARALYSIS TRAP! IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO EDUCATE YOURSELF ON TOPICS RELATED TO STARTING A BUSINESS, BUT YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY SHOULD BE TAKING ACTION. READ A LITTLE, THEN GO TRY IT OUT - PROTOTYPE YOUR THEORY AS A LOW RISK MVP, THEN FAIL, PIVOT, AND TRY SOMETHING ELSE (AS NECESSARY).
(Also, I don’t make ANY money off these endorsements - they simply have added value to me over the years and I like paying it forward).
Best publishers of content for entrepreneurs
TED - Inspiring videos for entrepreneurs.
Medium - Fantastic publishing platform for big ideas and stories from all types of topics, including entrepreneurship and startups.
Fast Company - One of the better publishers of useful content.
The Lean Startup - One of the best methodologies out there for focusing on the right things when you build your business.
Babson - Top ranked college for entrepreneurship with insights on all types of related topics.
Harvard Business Review - One of the leading authorities of all-things business.
Entrepreneur and Inc - Not my favorite online publishers (too many ads and spam), but some helpful resources without a doubt.
other ENTREPRENEUR RESOURCE LISTS
Steve Blank - Probably the most exhaustive and useful list of startup and bootstrap tools I know of. You won’t believe how comprehensive it is. Been using this site for years! 👌🏽
Stanford Graduate School of Business Entrepreneur Club - Great list of resources from the students at Stanford B School.
Startup Weekend - Good list for lots of startup service providers.
Podcasts
Rework Podcast - A great show from Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of Bascamp. Covers bootstrapping, staying small, and growing slow.
Side Hustle School - The daily show created by Chris Guillebeau designed to help you create a new source of income without quitting your day job.
Startup Chat - Actionable advice from entrepreneurs in the trenches.
Don’t Keep Your Day Job - Honest conversations with successful creative entrepreneurs about the hands-on, practical steps to build a life you love and use your zone of genius to make the world better.
Tim Ferris Show - One of all my all-time favs about all things life-hacking.
Startups For the Rest of Us - Framing the world of startups a little differently, via the lens of micropreneurs.
Adventurepreneur Playbook - Tells the stories of unconventional entrepreneurs building businesses, lifestyles, and personal brands around their passions for adventure, travel, and the outdoors.
Finding these resources cool or useful? Please consider sharing with a friend! 🙏
Books
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The 4-hour Workweek, Tools of Titans, and Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss
Rework and It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy At Work - Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
$100 Startup and Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau
The Personal MBA - If you’re looking for an entry-level education into running a business, this is the book for you
Entrepreneur’s Handbook - by The Harvard Business Review
See more related here
Templates/canvas
Eloquens - Tons of tools, templates, and useful resources for all things business.
30 Legendary Startup Pitch Decks and What You Can Learn From Them - Investor and partner pitch decks from the early days of some of the biggest names out there. Very useful if not just flat out entertaining.
Business Model Lean Canvas - Sketch out the key components of your business model using the lean methodology.
Achieve Product-Market Fit with this Brand-New Value Proposition Designer Canvas - The ultimate startup objective: product/market fit.
Online Marketing
The Noob Guide to Online Marketing (with Giant Infographic) - If you’re new to online marketing, this post and infographic explains everything from analytics to social media marketing.
Adspresso - Great blogs, ebooks, and guides to all things social media marketing.
Convince and Convert - Lot’s of great content on digital marketing in the blog.
The Beginners Guide to SEO - Fantastic SEO tutorial.
Digital Assets
Unsplash - High quality, royalty free stock imagery.
The Noun Project - Icons for every need you could ever have.
HIRING
Some Tips on Hiring - Sam Altman from Y Combinator shares his insights on this all-important topic.
Remote Employees
10 Essential Tips for Managing Remote Employees -
Gotta keep your remote employees engaged, productive, and having fun.
Financing
Earnest Capital - Check out how my friend Tyler is changing the way early stage bootstrappers get financed. I did a podcast with him here.
Business Planning
A Guide to Getting Started - Startup Costs and the Tools You Need to Launch an Online Business For Less - A great article from Remit Sethi’s Growth Lab.
Miscellaneous
Lumi - Customized packaging solutions for consumer product companies.
Tax
Tax Strategies - Tips for minimizing your business’s tax bill.
Founder dating
CoFoundersLab - Shop, network, and connect with entrepreneurs and cofounders all over the world. Fun fact - I helped get this startup off the ground as an intern when I was in graduate school!
Courses
Codeacademy - Learn to code online for free.
Stanford University: Computer Science 101 - Free online intro to computer science. I’ve taken it, it’s great 👍
Skillshare - Lots of great courses on a subscription bases.
General Assembly - Tech courses galore.
Creative Live - Great selection of creative endeavors, and you can audit a class for free anytime.
MENTORSHIP
Score - find a business mentor.
Social Entrepreneurship
Skoll Foundation - Connect with and invest in entrepreneurs and innovators who are trying to solve the world’s most pressing problems.
Kiva - Microfinance loans that fund entrepreneurs in developing countries and change people’s lives.
Free online course on Social Entrepreneurship.