I meet amazing people every day. At the same time, I get a lot of information thrown at me. Whose advice should we listen to?
Here are 10 small business leaders that I met this year that you can learn from in 2011 (in no particular order).
1. Carol Roth: This is one smart lady who always comes out swinging. With her honest business advice for entrepreneurs, Carol tells it like it is. Also look for her new reality TV show coming to you late next year! @caroljsroth
2. Rieva Lesonsky: It took me a long time to meet Rieva IRL (in real life). After a long stint at Entrepreneur Magazine, she is now one of the leading voices in small business. We share a small business blog on Allbusiness.com. @rieva
3. Sarah Robinson: I met her at Blogworld this year IRL through Liz Marshall. I hear her voice in my head most mornings as she teaches me how to “escape mediocrity” when I just don’t want to put my best effort forward. @sarahrobinson
4. Rebel Brown: If you need a spark to get started, follow @rebelbrown. She will show you how to “defy gravity” in your life and break the status quo. Change is hard but Rebel shows you how.
5. CC Chapman: I just recently interviewed CC on my 100th episode of Business Insanity Talk Radio and was I so impressed. As an entrepreneur and “Digital Dad”, he knows how to teach companies to build relationships with their customers. @cc_chapman
6. Angel Oakley: Ok, so besides Angel being a blast, she is a top notch marketing professional that knows how to connect with people coming into Chicago. @angeloakley
7. Mark Malkoff; This is one crazy guy. He has been carried the length of Manhattan, spent a month at IKEA, a month on AirTran and visited all of the 177 Starbucks in Manhattan on a single day. When I need to be entertained and learn something, I go to Mark. @mmalkoff
8. Mike Michalowicz: (The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur) Mike has helped move my own company’s brand and strategy forward in 2010. Need to spread your message, call @tpentrepreneur
9. Jason Fried; I met Jason at SXSW in 2010. His book, ReWork is brilliant. I feel like he is talking right at me! Read it! @jasonfried
10. Barbara Corcoran: One of the investors on Shark Tank, I met Barbara a few years ago while on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. She amazed me then and she will amaze you now. If you want to listen to one smart small business advisor this year, listen to her interview on the 100th episode of Business Insanity Talk Radio. You might also pick up her book, If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails: And Other Lessons I Learned from My Mom.
Who are you following into 2011?
Barry, you’re always full of surprises. Thanks for this great list of people. So glad I got to know you this year! Wishing you a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2011! – Angel
Barry,
Thank you for including me on this fab list–I am honored. Meeting you IRL was one of the highlights of my year–and I look forward to the fun we’re going to have in 2011.
Thanks Angel and Rieva- I really learned and enjoyed spending time with both of you in 2010
Superb infrotmaoin here, ol’e chap; keep burning the midnight oil.
As always Barry, you are ridiculously generous with me. I am astonished by the company you’ve put me in. I can only hope to live up to the person you clearly think I am. :-)
Sarah- I think of you almost daily to kick my butt into gear!
Barry, thanks for including me on this list. I am beyond thrilled to have met you in 2010 and look forward to more adventures in 2011.
And I also look forward to getting to know some of the folks on the list that I don’t know! The ones I do are of the highest caliber and I am honored to be included amongst them.
Carol..I look forward to seeing the wonderful things you accomplish in 2011
Appreciating the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer.
It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the
same outdated rehashed information. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds
to my Google account.