Computer Support Service Owners: 7 Must-Read Small Business Pubs

If you know any owners of computer support services, you know these individuals always have a lot on their plates: keeping up with client needs, managing internal staffing and financial issues, recruiting new clients, and staying on top of the latest developments in small business IT and small business in general.

Today, I want to help these overworked and often underappreciated entrepreneurs cross one of these tasks off their to-do lists.

To simplify staying on top of small business needs, and get plugged into what many small business clients and prospective clients are themselves reading (so you can enter the conversation already going on in their minds), consider this list of seven must-read small business blogs for computer support service owners:

1. Inc.com – Since 1979, Inc. magazine has been the leader in small business reporting and thought leadership. Although their full complement of articles provides great reads for owners of computer support services, don’t miss Inc. Technology.
   
    

2. Entrepreneur.com – Entrepreneur magazine is considered by many to be a direct competitor to Inc. magazine. But with over 25 million small businesses in the United States, there’s plenty of opportunity for both publications. And both are highly recommended.

3. StartupNation.com – Although StartupNation isn’t tied to a traditional print magazine, it has plenty of its own advantages. At the time of writing, the site is organized into sections on Knowledge, Community, a Home-Based 100 Competition (Content), and Pre-Screened Vendors.

4. Startup Journal – If you thought Inc. magazine had been around the longest, think again. Although the print version of Inc. magazine beat Startup Journal to the punch by at least a decade or so, Startup Journal is part of The Wall Street Journal, which can trace its roots to 1874. And although The Wall Street Journal no longer explicitly markets its small business content under the Startup Journal umbrella, its “Small Business” section lives right on its main top, Business-section navigation.

5. Bloomberg Small Business – Similar in theme and function to The Wall Street Journal small business coverage, Bloomberg Small Business is another leading media powerhouse centered around financial markets. And it also extends an olive branch to their definition of small businesses. Although not worthy of a direct navigation link from the website’s main or sub-navigation, Bloomberg’s small business section is still worth keeping tabs on. (Note: Although he hasn’t been involved in day-to-day operations with the company in quite some time, Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York City, founded Bloomberg as Innovative Market Systems in 1981.)

6. Costco Connection – Although primarily a magazine for mega-retailer Costco Wholesale’s members, this print magazine and its online edition typically only have a few small business articles each month of interest to owners of computer support services. But these articles are typically very concise, action-oriented, and highly recommended.

7. You’re the Boss (The New York Times) – While The New York Times as a whole has excellent small business coverage, which can be found in two clicks from the top navigation (Business Day | Small Business Day), the You’re the Boss blog is the real “don’t miss.”

What small business blogs and publications would you recommend for owners of computer support services? Are these blogs the best way for harried small business owners to keep up with what their clients and prospective clients are reading? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below. 

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on How to Start a Computer Consulting Business: 6 Proven Ways to Build Your Initial Client Base.

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