Running your own small business keeps you constantly on your toes, wearing many hats and juggling varying responsibilities. Sometimes you might not feel like you even have five minutes to unplug from emails, shut down your spreadsheets and catch up on the news of the day.
But making time to keep abreast of the local business landscape and reading new ideas from thought leaders is important research for the ongoing growth and future of your company.
Where can you turn when looking for quality resources related to starting, growing and managing your business? Well, you’re already here at the Collective Alternative blog, so that’s a great place to start! We try to share helpful tips and advice geared toward area small business owners in our own backyard — from local marketing strategies for expanding your customer base to making sense of SEO, improving company culture and more, our team presents new ideas, stories and perspectives as unique as thumbprints.
We know we aren’t the only source for all things small business strategy. We never stop learning ourselves and we’re always on the lookout for new ideas, the latest trends and unique insights.
The following are some of our favorite online blog destinations we check on a regular basis and think other small business entrepreneurs should be reading, too!
Inspire Results Business Coaching blog
Certified business coach Roger Engelau isn’t just a small business owner himself, but he’s worked with countless others across Central Indiana. Roger gets into the trenches with his clients, fighting for their businesses and turning around companies by focusing on improving their people, passion and profits. His blog offers a unique perspective on where businesses have been and where they can go.
AllBusiness is one of the world’s largest online resources for small businesses, with comprehensive tools and resources covering all aspects of issues faced by real small business owners and experts. And when we say comprehensive, we really mean comprehensive! AllBusiness pools real-world expertise and practical advice across sales, marketing, operations, HR, technology, finance and so much more.
While The Hartford specializes in insurance solutions for both individuals and businesses, it’s Small Biz Ahead blog is all about helping small business succeed and grow. Marketing, finance and employee management are popular topics, as are — thanks to The Hartford’s insurance background — managing risk and proactive measures for protecting your business.
Through dedicated blogs on marketing, sales, service, news and trends, HubSpot aims to promote business growth in line with its “inbound” strategy — that people want to be helped, not interrupted by marketers or harassed by salespeople. The CRM and business software giant works with and has social media, sales and customer experience tips for companies of all sizes, touching on everything from “How to Write a Blog Post” to “Essential Components of a Sales Development Process” and everything in-between.
“Blog” doesn’t do TradePub justice — and, dating back to 1994, it’s been around far longer than the term has been in common vocabulary. This online library of industry and B2B publications has become a top destination for access to free research, white papers, case studies, reports, magazines, ebooks and more on everything from marketing and web development to operations, communications security and information technology management.
For whatever aspects of small business development that might be blind spots for you, trust us when we tell you there’s an online resource out there that can help — beginning with our suggestions above. They may lead you to discover other outlets or additional resources, and a little bit of searching can easily lead to lots of other options. Just remember, no matter how swamped you are and how many responsibilities you’re tackling, you aren’t alone!
Already spend too much time staring at a screen all day? How about some old fashioned face-to-face professional development? Our Executive Speaker Series is like a small business blog come to life! Each month, we invite local entrepreneurs, business owners and executives to hear from experts and thought leaders in their fields, creating engaging conversation and challenging attendees to try on a new perspective to solve struggles, spark success and benefit their organizations.
At Collective Alternative, we’re small business entrepreneurs just like you. The company you’ve built is your passion, but it’s impossible to have a complete and total grasp of every aspect of running it smoothly. Wise leaders recognize what they don’t know while pushing themselves to learn more. Our team here is full experts in their respective fields, but we never stop learning and improving ourselves in order to keep helping our partners flourish.
