Running your own film biz? Find inspiration in these business guru blogs

Whether you’re looking to startup your own production company or are already at the helm of a successful film business, you’re sure to benefit from advice provided by some of the world’s most knowledgeable executives. Even if you feel at the top of your game, there are always ways to improve and learn new entrepreneurial skills. After all, it takes a lot to run a business and grow it to profitability.

While the internet is a proverbial breeding ground for accessible and free advice, it can become tedious trying to filter through and pick out the best places to seek tips and guidance. But that’s what you’ve got us for! To point you in the right direction, here are the best business guru blogs worth a follow for any budding or established film business entrepreneur.

Seth Godin

Asking questions like “What do you aspire to be?” is Seth Godin – an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and inspirational speaker. In addition to launching a wildly popular blog, he has written eighteen best-selling books and founded two companies – Squidoo and Yoyodyne – the latter of which was acquired by Yahoo!

On his blog, you’ll find inspirational advice on everything from effective marketing to staff leadership to spreading ideas to overcoming challenges. A real one-stop shop for those at the helm of a business.

The Nomad Capitalist

If you’re looking to make the most out of your cashflow (which if you’re in the film business, you’re gonna need to), The Nomad Capitalist will show you how. As founder Andrew Henderson states, “My mission is to show you that geography is no longer a limiting factor and that you can exponentially improve your living situation” in places he calls “safe havens”.

The idea goes that you can choose the best country to bank, the best country to own a business, and the best country to live, thus making the most of your business, the profit you pull in, and how you run the company fiscally.

The Lean Startup

Statistics show that a whopping 75 percent of venture-backed startups fail. But instead of giving up and letting those statistics get you down, The Lean Startup is an approach that shows many of those failures are preventable and aims to change the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Instead of wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs – in companies of all sizes and types – a way to test their vision continuously and to adapt and adjust before they reach that failure point. Launched by business guru and author Eric Ries, it basically adopts a scientific approach to management success and you can learn more about how to take on the methodology on the website or clue yourself up on the latest news on the Lean Startup blog.

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday is a media strategist and the bestselling author of Trust Me, I’m Lying, The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, and other books about marketing, culture, and the human condition. Previously the director of marketing for American Apparel, he’s gone on to advise clients like Google, TASER, and Complex, as well as many prominent bestselling authors including Neil Strauss, Tony Robbins, and Tim Ferriss.

Needless to say, when it comes to running a business, Holiday knows his shit. His blog deals with the more humanistic side of management, focusing on topics regarding self-education, from dealing with assholes, how to be self-critical and self-aware, humility, philosophy, reading, learning, and research & strategy.

Neil Patel

Neil Patel started learning marketing at a young age and when he was just 16, created his first website. After working for many years, Patel and his co-founder Mike Kamo decided to create a different kind of digital agency that worked with total honestly, only taking on clients they knew they could definitely help to progress.

Fast forward to the present day and their blog can help business owners in a wide range of areas – content marketing, ecommerce, paid ads, social media, and more. In addition, Kamo and Patel offer nearly 700 lessons under the title “Marketing School” and the blog features a handy tool you can use to test your website to find out how to improve it and get more traffic.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich

Based on Ramit Sethi’s best-selling financial advice book, the blog I Will Teach You To Be Rich does what it says on the tin. Using psychology to focus on what actually works, the book and the blog offer tools to learn how to live rich in all aspects of life including business. Give this site a follow if you’re looking for a rich and endless source of inspiration and handy posts, including guides on how to make more money and how to find the best business strategies.

Marie Forleo

Marie Forleo is an entrepreneur, writer, philanthropist, and optimist dedicated to helping people become who they want to be. As Forleo herself explained, “Through our award-winning show MarieTV, world-class online training programs, a book in 16 languages and an audience in 195 countries, I help people like you dream big and back it up with meaningful action to create results.”

Believing that a creative and entrepreneurial approach is critical to succeed in the modern world and to experience happiness and fulfilment in life, Forleo’s blog is a fantastic source of inspiration, covering topics ranging from race to parenthood to spirituality while also offering regular interviews with successful entrepreneurs to get insider tips on how to triumph and thrive.

Unstoppable

This blog is relatively new and therefore is sparse when it comes to content. However, it is definitely worth a follow as its owner Jon Morrow is set to keep adding new posts to the site on the reg and to say they’re anything less than outrageously inspirational would be a lie.

Despite being unable to move any parts of his body aside from his eyes and lips, Morrow has written articles for five-million strong readerships and has built several online magazines that have made him a millionaire, all of which he’s done at home while speaking into a microphone.

Aptly titled Unstoppable, posts so far include “Do This Everyday and You’ll Become a More Courageous Person”, “7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face”, and “How to Accomplish Big Things, Even When You Feel Small.” Watch this space, folks!

Guy Kawasaki

To give you a little background, Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva – an online graphic design tool – as well as a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business. A marketing specialist, author, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Kawasaki was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the company’s Macintosh computer line in 1984 and popularizing the word evangelist in a marketing context.

Kawasaki’s blog is a hodgepodge of startup inspiration that’s useful for any entrepreneur at any stage of their business, ranging from advice on how to launch a startup and how to intern like a rock star to the art of branding and board management.