August 25, 2010

As a small business owner, you know that the best resources aren’t always financial.

Sometimes, the most valuable resources are the business people who have been through it before.

They’ve done the whole stressing over making payroll, not sleeping and eating ramen to make ends meet already. And they lived to tell the tale.

Fortunately, the modern entrepreneur doesn’t have to physically know a bunch of other business owners to get good advice. Thanks to social media, it’s easy to get inside access to the brains of all these smart people.

And the Twitter-sphere is just packed with entrepreneurs, investors, and business gurus dying to share their knowledge.

Here are 10 really smart business thought leaders and great Tweeters. Some are entrepreneurs, others are marketing experts, and a few are insightful individuals in business that you should get to know. 

1. Becky McCray: @SBSurvival

Becky is an entrepreneur in a small town who writes about her experiences -- both successes and failures. The Twitter stream for her blog, Small Biz Survival, is packed with links to recent posts, as well as all sorts of interesting articles that touch on all facets of small business.

2. Pam Slim: @pamslim

Pam Slim is a business coach, and the founder of Escape from Cubicle Nation (whose title alone sums up the motto of most entrepreneurs!) Her Twitter stream features a lot of personalized comments -- so if you want to ask her a question, Twitter is a good place to do it. Also expect lots of 140-character quotes and quick business-related facts.

3. Chris Brogan: @chrisbrogan

As the President of New Marketing Labs, Chris Brogan is no doubt a social media guru. And his Twitter stream shows it. He’s constantly tweeting, a mix of personal and business tidbits. But the best part: he’s always linking to relevant and insightful articles.

4. Tom Peters: @tom_peters

Tom Peters is the incredibly smart co-author of the iconic business book “In Search Of Excellence.” More than 25 years after that one was published, he’s still going strong and giving great business advice. Recently, he released “The Little BIG Things,” which we reviewed. His Twitter feed is full of valuable snippets, along with a few forays into amusing personal opinion.

5. Anita Campbell: @smallbiztrends

Anita Campbell is the founder of the website Small Business Trends. As both an entrepreneur and an expert in everything that’s going on in the SMB world, she’s a pretty invaluable resource. Her Twitter stream features lots of links to great outside articles for small-business owners, and she’ll often retweet other smart people that you should definitely be following, too.

Related Topics

• Managing

Related keywords

Bianca Male, Article, business owner, Business Insider, Twitter, Anita Campbell, Chris Brogan, Pamela Slim, Tom Peters, Becky McCray

Join the conversation ( 4 )

• Anita Campbell 1 year 8 months and 28 days ago

  

  Bianca, Many thanks for including my @Smallbiztrends Twitter feed in this list. I have made SO MANY connections with small business people and entrepreneurs through Twitter that I can hardly imagine what it was like "BT" (before Twitter).I also highly recommend all of the others on this list.- Anita

• Iris Van Kerckhove 1 year 8 months and 29 days ago

  

  Great post, I think more bloggers should share their must-follow list.

• Mary Ann McGinley 1 year 8 months and 29 days ago

  

  Great tips! Thanks.

• Mike McDonald 1 year 8 months and 30 days ago

  

  Chris Brogan is probably (in my opinion) the most influential person on that list, and the most worthwhile to follow. His book is worth a read, but if you're short on time I'd suggest checking out his blog for some good, quick tips and articles. Pam Slim, as well. I happen to agree with a lot of her views on entrepreneurial life and her disappointment in the state of the modern corporate job.