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10 Places to Grab Business Tech Advice in a Hurry
What is your absolute favorite place to get business tech advice in a pinch?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.
1. Quora for Questions
On Quora, the quality of the content is great. You can typically find answers to your questions and others you may not have thought of. Particularly for tech, many of the answers are provided by experts in the industry.
- Karen Moon, StyleMusée
2. Hop Onto HubSpot
When I need to learn about business tech in a hurry, the first place that I always look is HubSpot. They have a very complete knowledge base on all things related to Internet marketing. Their white papers and case studies are especially helpful because they give real-life examples of how companies can use different strategies in conjunction to move closer to their organizational goals.
- Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers
3. Read Feld Thoughts
Brad Feld is the most consistently awesome source for tech startup advice. His blogs and books explain the details behind choosing co-founders, pitching investors, hiring early employees, compensating board members, and more. And his past and present leadership with top tech startups, accelerators, and venture capital firms lends huge credibility to his words.
- Neil Thanedar, LabDoor
4. Keep the KISSmetrics Blog
The KISSmetrics Blog is phenomenal at taking difficult technology and digital marketing techniques and breaking them down into step by step instructions. I love the no-nonsense approach they have to writing how-to, and also how they don’t feel any need to pack in a bunch of keywords so they pop up on Google News. They focus instead on writing truly useful content for tech businesses.
- Seth Kravitz, Technori
5. Look at Your LinkedIn Network
I have a very smart and diverse network, and within minutes of shooting off an inquiry, I’ll get at least a dozen fantastic responses. The best thing about this approach is that I know I can trust these answers because they are grounded in real expertise and experience.
- Alexandra Levit, Inspiration at Work
6. Take It to Twitter
I usually turn to Twitter when I’m looking for advice, since I have a vast network there. It’s especially helpful when I’m looking for suggestions of new websites and tools either for my company or for a client. I’ve found people on Twitter to be one of the most immediate sources of advice and often quite accurate in terms of what I’m searching for.
- Heather Huhman, Come Recommended
7. Utilize Advisers and Partners
Anytime we run into a “wall”, the first thing I do is pick up the phone to call business advisers and partner companies, like our distributors. We love Quora and other sites for generic answers, but advisers and partners have a much greater feel for the context in which the issue exists. Their intimate knowledge of our business allows us to quickly and creatively uncover the core of the problem.
- Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches
8. Try Zappos Insights
Zappos launched a new site called Zappos Insights where entrepreneurs can tap into the Zappos team and a network of fellow entrepreneurs for support and insights. Whether it’s tech advice or culture issues, it’s awesome.
- Luke Burgis, ActivPrayer
9. Create an Email Group
Rather than wasting time on Twitter, I send an email to a small group of people that have been helpful before. Some are friends, some are acquaintances, others are those who helped me develop my sites. But usually within 20 minutes, not only do I have an answer to my question, but I have some one to help implement it if need be. Consider using social media to find these contacts, and then get more focused.
- Sean Ogle, Location 180, LLC
10. Use Community Groups
Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups that have some solid tech experts in them. This way, you can reach out in an emergency to get some quick advice. You’re also building relationships at the same time.
- John Hall, Digital Talent Agents
Ramon Ray, Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com
http://www.twitter.com/ramonray | http://www.facebook.com/smallbiztechnology
[email protected]
Small Business Technology Tour (Fall 2011)
http://www.smallbiztechtour.com
* Mountain View * Salt Lake City * Boston * Chicago * Atlanta
2012-09-06 08:21:54
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