May 2, 2017

Must-Follow for Entrepreneurs: 18 Influencers to Inspire You

Building a startup or making a business grow is not a walk in the park, and it takes a lot of learning, exploring and following to find success. The best way to learn and find inspiration is by observing what other entrepreneurs are doing, and saying. Thankfully, social media allows us to follow inspirational entrepreneurs who give away their hard-earned tips and advices about how to build successful startups.

When you follow social influencers and entrepreneurs who are active online, you will be getting expert advice for free. Most importantly, you will learn how to climb up the entrepreneurial ladder and achieve success.

Here are some of the influencers you should follow on social media:

Amy Vernon

Amy Vernon is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience. These days, she has switched over to digital media and helps people learn about blogging, writing, social media, etc. She is also a noted speaker and many find her speeches motivating, especially when they have that writer’s block.

Brian Wallace

Brian Wallace is the founder of infographic and marketing agency NowSourcing. He is also a Google Small Business advisor and columnist at Search Engine Journal and CMS Wire. Follow him for the latest in infographics and catch him speaking at places like SXSW.

Jason Nazar

Jason Nazar is an entrepreneur and regular writer at Forbes and WSJ. He is the CEO and co-founder of Comparably, which studies culture and compensation. He previously founded DocStoc, which was subsequently acquired by financial software powerhouse Intuit. He is also knwn for being the host of Startups Uncensored, where he brings together techies, entrepreneurs and investors.

Marcus Lemonis

You might already know Marcus Lemonis from CNBC’s The Profit. He judges businesses based on the 3 Ps: people, process and product. There is a lot to learn from this guy, especially if you have just started a business. He teaches you that to be successful, you need to get at least 2 Ps right.

Joe Cardillo

Joe Cardillo is as colorful a person as you might come across in the world of entrepreneurship. He is a DIY musician, a writer, and a media professional. He is the director of Downtown Albuquerque Arts & Cultural District, and shares social posts about startups, data, design and journalism. If you want to learn about entrepreneurship from someone who is also into art and culture, Joe is the guy.

Vitaly Friedman

Vitaly Friedman is the co-founder of Smashing Magazine, a popular digital mag for designers and developers. Vitaly is a popular speaker and mentor, and has inspired many designers and developers to start their own agencies and companies. Smashing Magazine is a good place to start learning about how you can get better at growing your design or development agency.

Dave McClure

Dave McClure is the founder of 500 Startups, and an internet marketing expert. If there is something you need to know about digital media, entrepreneurship or startups, he is the one. It might be worth mentioning that he also was the Marketing Director at PayPal sometime ago. His 500 Startups has invested in more than 1800 companies, and has been a source of mentorship and inspiration to thousands of entrepreneurs.

Chris Brogan

Chris Brogan is the CEO if Owner Media Group, and a New York Times bestselling author. He has been consulting and advising businesses to gain more customers, improve their marketing strategy, and driving up revenue. If you are interested in making your business grow, Chris is a guy who will be able to share quite a lot of insider tips.

Albert Qian

Why would you follow a maketing manager at Perficient? Because it’s not just any marketing manager – it’s Albert Qian, founder of Albert’s List – a network of location-based communities that allow job seekers help finding the right position, companies to find the right talent, and anyone at any point in their career to get advice and connections from an active group of tens of thousands of professionals (the main Albert’s List group – mostly Bay Area based – has over 23,000 members alone).  He is also product marketer, a public speaker and an entrepreneur. When you follow him on social media, there is never a dull moment as there is so much to learn!

Tal Siach

Tal Siach is a startup advisor, an internet entrepreneur and a tech expert. He is founder and CEO at Walyou – a tech and gadget community, and co-founded Visually – the marketplace for visual design – where he held the role as CMO (acquired by Scribble Live). Tal Siach has seen the length and breadth of Internet growth, and is the first of only a very few people who come to mind when you talk about a true digital marketing expert.. If there is something you would like to know about Internet culture and startup management, Tal Siach is the right person to follow.

Greg Voakes

Greg Voakes is a Canadian media specialist and a content creator. He has been a regular writer at Huffington Post, Business Insider and Forbes. Currently, he is an online campaign manager at Cybrid Media. He is the right person to follow if you would like to learn more about digital media, content writing, and marketing.

Chris Ingham Brooke

Chris Ingham Brooke is the founder of Hexagram, a native advertising platform for publishers, agencies, and brands. He’s also founded and headed up the successful content companies of Environmental Graffiti Network and Scribol. He is the right person to follow if you would like to learn more about online ads, and how to generate leads using native ads. He is also an artist of a sort, and plays the guitar, writes poems and short stories.

Grant Cardone

If you were looking for someone who would inspire you to become a real estate agent, do not look any further than Grant Cardone. He is a popular influencer who has built a real estate business that’s worth $500 million dollars. He often trains, gives motivational talks and shares his secrets with respect to growing your business.

Neil Patel

If you want to learn how to write great copy for your website, look no further than Neil Patel. He is a well known blogger and marketer, who shares his marketing and media tips to his followers. His promotional video seminars try to sell his writing course, but even the promotional video is comprehensive enough for a rookie digital marketer.

Renato Libric

Renato Libric is another real estate giant you should follow. He has more than a decade of experience in commercial real estate, and runs a FinTech company called Bouxtie Inc. His chosen aim is to improve youngsters’ financial literacy. Follow him to understand how FinTech, real estate, and other industry verticals interact with each other.

Melinda Emerson

If you want advice regarding crucial development stages of your small business, Melinda Emerson of Quintessence Group is the person you should follow. This inspirational CEO advises Fortune 500 companies how to market, how to use social media, how to grow business, and other tips. She comes with years of experience working with both small businesses and Fortune 500 companies.

Ted Coine

There is nothing better than being a capitalist who also cares about society. Ted Coine is the CEO of The Extraordinary Network and teaches how to market without you having to contact any marketing agencies. He stresses on the importance of working for social causes, and that has made him the kind of leader everyone wants to follow and learn from.

Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger is a well known influencer who is still a force to reckon with. His tips about blogging, writing, marketing and gaining an audience have helped thousands of companies across the world. If you were always wondering how to make money from your blog, he is the right person to follow.

Written by

Marlene & Racquel

Marlene & Racquel

Marlene started with Abby Connect 8 years ago as a receptionist and was won over by the culture and care the company has for its employees. Since then, Marlene has been a pivotal piece of growing Abby Connect – having been a long-time leader in hiring, training, developing, and managing the receptionist floor. Racquel’s journey began as one of the first Abby receptionists, the most important role at Abby, and after 11 years of performing various roles to help grow the company including directing all staff development, she’s now an Abby Way Co-Director. Together, Racquel and Marlene as certified life coaches, continue to help all Abby departments as well as their own team with hiring, training, brand reputation, development and culture.

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