The Blog For Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur can be a frustrating career, however, the Internet has made life a whole lot easier. No, I am not going to roll into “…you young ‘uns have it so easy… in my day…” that would be just cobblers. There are many challenges young entrepreneurs face these days that were not apparent before the web, but finding mentors and great advice was always a challenge for me, the web has changed all that.

There is so much free information on the web that it is not funny, the key, just like offline, is to sift through the rubbish and concentrate on those that deliver. Having been gobbling up any information I can over the last few months I give you this list of people that I believe are the real deal.

Now it is not exclusive, so please feel free to add to the list in the comments section, it is just those people that have inspired me and I believe will help you cut through the BS. I know that all these guys make their money from providing help but that is their jobs and everyone charges for their talents. What is amazing about this list is how much they give away for free, before you even go anywhere near some of their courses. That, to me, is the measure of the quality of their service, they let you see how good they are and then give you the option to sign up to their programs/eBooks or whatever.

1. Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick

If, like me, you prefer to get your information without any hype from people who genuinely know what they are talking about and truly want to help, then these guys are a must. I have been a sales guys all my life and can spot BS through six feet of concrete walls, 2 miles away, and there isn’t even the faintest of whiffs here.

I was introduced to Yaro through his podcasts on iTunes and then began following his blog and those blogs he teamed up with Gideon on and they are very good indeed. Often you will be told half the plan by certain blogs and then “Roll up, roll up… get your mentoring course here to get ALL the secrets” Yaro and Gideon come across more like “Hi.. here is how you do it step by step… for free… if you found it valuable and need some more specific help… here are some courses that you can pay for to help you”. Nothing hard sell, no flashing lights and pictures of gold-clad bloggers sitting on a Lambo waving cash at you in front of a mansion, just easily accessible cost affective information. I haven’t signed up for any mentoring courses yet, but come November (when I get a broadband connection and not Internet courtesy of a Virgin mobile dongle) I am signing up for one with these guys.

For free valuable content, this guy can’t be beaten in my opinion. The fact that I am now near Yaro’s home town is mere coincidence and there will be no need for Yaro to issue a restraining order for stalking… promise.

2.Tyrone Shum

Tyrone was another one I first heard on iTunes, he has an easy manner and an infectious style. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tyrone for the blog and he produced some super information. Recently he has put up a site www.massoutsouring.com which explains to you (free!) in video format, how you can outsource your online work. Everything is covered; where to find employees, how to pay them, how much to pay them etc. I highly recommend you have a look over Tyrone’s content.

3.John Chow

You either love John or you hate him, that seems to be the polarising nature of what he delivers on his blog. When I asked him about this he said “My blog strap line says ‘I show you how I make money on the web’, it doesn’t say ‘I show you how you can make money on the web’” Which sums up his blog. It chronicles how John does it, how he lives the Internet lifestyle and what products he recommends. Some find him brash and arrogant, I cannot say I found him to be either.

To me John’s Site is up front and honest and I find it to be a fabulous resource.

4.Shoemoney

I have a confession, for some reason I did not take to this guy, in fact I positively avoided anything he did (I am sure he was devastated!). Then I listened to the ‘Shoemoney Show’ on iTunes. Turns out I am poor judge of character… Shoemoney is really awesome. I love his irreverent style, his entrepreneurial energy, his honesty and his ‘whatever’ kind of style. He obviously is very successful and, when you wade through the hype surrounding him, he delivers some great info. More inspiring for me, however, is his honest portrayal of his own trials and tribulations and how he overcame them.

Go visit his site and download the Shoemoney Show on iTunes, you will know what I mean.

5.Michael Dunlop

20 years old, dyslexic and on fire! I love reading www.incomediary.com. The information there is very good indeed. I have conducted, and will continue to conduct, interviews with online and offline entrepreneurs but Michael seems to bang out interviews at an unbelievable pace. His site is all business telling you what to do when and he even responds in his comments section.

He gave me some advice on the placement of my sign up box and sign ups went up 50%. Not bad for a few minutes read!

6.Andrew and Daryl Grant

If you are looking to make money from eBooks then this husband and wife team are the ones to look up. I came across them from an interview Yaro Starak was doing on his podcast show. Their story was of particular interest for me as they we successful offline consultants and wanted to wind down that business for an online business, pretty much what I am trying to do.

They have some excellent free information and www.andrewanddaryl.com which you can access by signing up to their mail list. They talk about how to identify a niche, how to exploit that niche, how to get someone else to write your eBook and how to market it. If you are looking in this area this site is certainly one place you should start looking for information.

7.Gideon Shalwick

OK.. I know I have already mentioned him with his links to Yaro Starak but Gideon is worth another mention. His site www.gideonshalwick.com is a veritable mine of free information on creating videos. At the moment I have concentrated my efforts on creating podcasts and developing the audio side of the site, but video is obviously the way that everything is going and to create good video needs training.

Gideons videos are always top notch and his site shows you how you can create video of the same quality.

8.Perry Mashall

Perry Marshall is an author, speaker and consultant in Chicago. He is known as “The Wizard of Google AdWords” and is the world’s leading consultant on Google’s advertising system. Google advertisers who use his methods generate well over a billion clicks per month (conservative estimate). Many of the the guys in this list count Perry as someone who they learned a lot from.

www.perrymarshall.com is the destination for you on this one. I could describe his site and style in more depth but visiting his site will instantly give you an idea o the professionalism of his advice.

9.Dan Kennedy

The ‘marketer’s marketer’ Dan is mentioned in almost all Internet Marketers blogs, books and products. I am new to his site after finally looking it and I am impressed. The message that Dan delivers is relevant, not just to Internet businesses, but all businesses.

10.Michael Gerber

“To not grow your company is to deny it the life it was born to fulfill. A company that has the potential to serve millions, but is only serving hundreds, is being deprived of its true destiny.”

This is taken from Mike’s site and it pretty much tels you what you need to know about how he gives advice. It is a bit ‘infomercial’ in its presentation but I have to say that I really like the site and his no BS resources.

Like I said at the beginning of this post this list is is not definitive nor a very long and you may have others you would like to add, however, I like to keep things focused. One of the problems for entrepreneurs is delaying action and one of the major reasons that online entrepreneur’s fail is they send all their time reading others people’s blogs and materials.

The best thing you can do is pick a few sites and people that you follow, read their new content, digest their products but use that information to take action.

Regards
David
@OneLifeNoFear.com