Busy business owners have tons on their plate. From managing cash flow to employee hiring, there’s not much time to consume information and seek out inspiration. However, as Harry Truman so wisely said,
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
Every entrepreneur should carve out a little time each month to thumb or scroll through the following magazines geared for the business owner.
Inc.
Inc’s mission is to provide “advice, tools, and services” to help small businesses grow.” The publication delivers. Not only does Inc. have how-to columns and articles, the magazine does case studies of leading businesses that offer great inspiration and strategies for success. While Inc.’s main focus is on small businesses, it also reports on movement within big corporations that can affect the overall small business landscape. The Inc. Daily Newsletter is a great way to get a summary of the best content.
Forbes
The stats are impressive. Forbes has been in business for 100 years, has 400+ employees and a readership of 6.2 million. Why is this publication so popular? It covers industry giants and cutting-edge fintech companies along with entrepreneurial titans.
Fast Company
The editorial focus of Fast Company is on innovation in technology, leadership, world changing ideas and design. Instead of concentrating on day-to-day strategies to help run a small business, Fast Company presents great insight from thought leaders and tracks how companies create and compete. The Fast Company Twitter feed with 2.3M+ followers is a good way to get an overall view of their topics and information about live events like the Fast Company Innovation Festival.
The Wall Street Journal’s Entrepreneurship Section
Healthcare, marketing, savings, employment and more are covered by this robust publication within a publication geared towards the small business owner. The writers dive deeper into laws and policies that can affect small business owners than other publications.
Wired
Wired has been described as “visually stunning and filled with incredible content about science and technology”. Wired offers a lot of information for small business owners like using existing technology and exploring upcoming tech innovations. There are a number of can’t miss columns and their opinion page is smart and insightful.
Entrepreneur
This easy to digest publication is geared to the established successful small business owner as well as the entrepreneur wanna be. Most articles are short and sweet like “5 Marketing Innovations to Try Now” or “3 Ways to Inspire Part Time Workers”. “Even the ads are interesting,” writes one magazine reviewer on Amazon.
Business 2 Community
This small-ish publication offers solid advice for established business owners. There’s lots of content around lead generation and increasing sales as well as a robust library of white papers with well researched information. One of the more interesting features are the real-life experiences from expert contributors.
Harvard Business Review
There’s no doubt about the quality of working knowledge in this publication designed to propel your career and your business forward. Subscribers have unlimited access to everything from Harvard Business Review at HBR.org. The magazine archives have over 4,000 articles, including the 50 best-selling articles, latest research and exclusive content. Published just 6 times a year, the HBR is a must read for business owners seeking stability and growth.
Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek isn’t written specifically for small businesses or startups but contains a wealth of information that can help a motivated entrepreneur. The Business section and Technology section in particular have a lot of relevant information for business owners.
Small Business Today
This online publication lives by their motto: “Small Business is Big Business Today!” In addition to content on how to grow a business and get funding, the publisher hosts a talk show and offers events targeted to entrepreneurs.
