Feb
03
The Solopreneur Life Heroes for 2011
I am happy to present The Solopreneur Life Heroes for 2011.
The purpose of Heroes is threefold:
• To recognize the efforts that these people have made in helping solopreneurs flourish
• To expose you, the solopreneur, to people and ideas you haven’t heard about before
• To inspire all of us to adopt the spirit of service that the Heroes carry with them every day
The list includes people with a wide range of expertise. Some of them are well-known and some aren’t.
But one thing unites them: a great desire and a boundless energy to serve solopreneurs. The Heroes are leaders, inspirations, and valued resources to the solopreneur world.
This list is not comprehensive and it’s not the final word on the subject. Far from it. The Heroes represent hundreds and hundreds of people who help us solopreneurs every day. And in the comments below, I invite you to tell us about your heroes, because they all deserve recognition.
To put this list to work, check out the heroes’ Web sites or look them up on Twitter. I’ve also made a solopreneur heroes list on Twitter that you can use.
Enough talk, let’s get to the Heroes.
David Billings
Web site: sparkyfirepants.com
Twitter: @sparkyfirepants
Why he’s a hero: David is an illustrator who understands the challenges faced by solopreneurs. If you’ve ever seen David’s “botpreneur” comic series, you know he gets the solopreneur life.
Beth Buelow
Web site: theintrovertentrepreneur.com
Twitter: @coachbethb
Why she’s a hero: Beth specializes in coaching an underserved half of humanity: introverts. But more than that, Beth is an encourager and a leader.
Anita Campbell
Web site: smallbiztrends.com
Twitter: @smallbiztrends
Why she’s a hero: Anita runs the Web site Small Business Trends, the leading source for the latest small-business news.
Tori Deaux
Web site: circusserene.com
Twitter: @torideaux
Why she’s a hero: Tori is the ringleader for solopreneurs who like to approach business with a high degree of creativity.
Melinda Emerson
Web site: succeedasyourownboss.com
Twitter: @SmallBizLady
Why she’s a hero: Besides being a true authority on building a solo business, Melinda helps people make the transition from a job to solopreneur success, which is such a critical time for aspiring solo-biz owners.
Jeffrey Fabian
Web site: fabianlegal.com
Twitter: @jsfabian
Why he’s a hero: Jeffrey focuses his law practice on the needs of solopreneurs, and he’s willing to share his knowledge online with the solopreneur world.
Nicole Fende
Web site: smallbusinessfinanceforum.com
Twitter: @bizfinanceforum
Why she’s a hero: Nicole takes financial concepts and makes them fun and relevant. You try doing that! It’s not easy. 
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Chris Guillebeau
Web site: chrisguillebeau.com
Twitter: @ChrisGuillebeau
Why he’s a hero: Chris might be the original online solopreneur hero. And even with his great success and “A list” status, he’s still out there guiding and encouraging, day after day.
Holly Hanna
Web site: theworkathomewoman.com
Twitter: @Holly_Hanna
Why she’s a hero: Holly is committed to always finding and providing new resources to solopreneur moms who work at home.
Amy Harrison
Web site: harrisonamy.com
Twitter: @littleunred
Why she’s a hero: The solopreneur world needs a great copywriter who’s always thinking about the challenges that solopreneurs face, and always ready to share her knowledge. Amy is that person.
Willie Jackson
Web site: williejackson.com
Twitter: @williejackson
Why he’s a hero: As the Director of Everything at Jackson Web Consulting, Willie stands at the ready—seemingly 24/7—to provide consulting, branding, marketing, and strategy services to solopreneurs.
John Jantsch
Web site: ducttapemarketing.com
Twitter: @ducttape
Why he’s a hero: John has achieved great success with his Duct Tape Marketing products, but he’s a hero because he continues to produce excellent content for readers.
Nona Jordan
Web site: nonajordan.com
Twitter: @nona_jordan
Why she’s a hero: Nona is the calming voice who consistently reminds us that we possess the power within ourselves to achieve our dreams.
Mike Korner
Twitter: @mikekorner
Why he’s a hero: If we have a question about any aspect of running our business, we can always ask Mike. He will drop everything to point us in the right direction.
Danielle LaPorte
Web site: whitehottruth.com
Twitter: @DanielleLaPorte
Why she’s a hero: Because she gives us permission to dream big. That sounds easy, but it must not be, because nobody does it as well as Danielle.
Jac McNeil
Web site: highlandcoaching.com
Twitter: @JacMcNeil
Why she’s a hero: Jac is a coach and inspiration to women solopreneurs, helping them improve not only their businesses, but their lives.
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Naomi Niles
Web site: intuitivedesigns.com
Twitter: @NaomiNiles
Why she’s a hero: Naomi proves that solo-biz success is sustainable. She does it by doing superb work, providing excellent service, and developing strong working relationships with colleagues.
Laura Petrolino
Web site: flyingpigcommunications.com
Twitter: @lkpetrolino
Why she’s a hero: Laura represents the high energy of the solopreneur world, urging us to move forward when we think we can’t keep going.
Rob Place
Web site: solventurer.com
Twitter: @solventurer
Why he’s a hero: Rob is a gifted teacher and a deep thinker; he’s able to communicate challenging information so that we can put it to use.
Angelique Rewers
Web site: richersmarterhappier.com
Twitter: @arewers
Why she’s a hero: If you’re looking for a solopreneur role model, Angelique would be a fine, fine choice. Why? Because she listens very carefully and intently to her clients and their needs.
Francisco Rosales
Web site: socialmouths.com
Twitter: @socialmouths
Why he’s a hero: Francisco is a pro’s pro in the social-media realm—smart, savvy, connected. But that’s not what makes him a hero. He’s a hero because, even with more than 13,000 Twitter followers, he will lend a hand to the greenest of solopreneurs.
Jill Salzman
Web site: momtrepreneurexchange.com
Twitter: @momtrepreneur
Why she’s a hero: Jill is the definition of a connector, bringing together mom entrepreneurs every day.
Sonia Simone
Web site: remarkable-communication.com
Twitter: @soniasimone
Why she’s a hero: Through efforts like the Remarkables Marketing Blueprint, Sonia improves the prospects of solopreneurs.
Pamela Slim
Web site: escapefromcubiclenation.com
Twitter: @PamSlim
Why she’s a hero: Is there anyone who has helped more solopreneurs launch their businesses? Pamela possesses a rare combination of smarts, encouragement, and empathy.
Stanford Smith
Web site: pushingsocial.com
Twitter: @pushingsocial
Why he’s a hero: Stanford helps us make sense of social media. He can cut through the clutter, because he really, truly understands the media landscape.
Marla Tabaka
Web site: inc.com/marla-tabaka
Twitter: @MarlaTabaka
Why she’s a hero: Marla probably helps more solopreneurs than anyone, in her role as Inc.com’s “The Successful Soloist” columnist.
Tommy Walker
Web site: http://tommy.ismy.name/
Twitter: @tommyismyname
Why he’s a hero: Yes, Tommy has street smarts and more than his share of creativity; he’s a hero because he’s so in tune with solopreneurs’ needs and challenges.
Pamela Wilson
Web site: bigbrandsystem.com
Twitter: @pamelaiwilson
Why she’s a hero: Pamela empowers solopreneurs, showing us that we can acquire new skills and put them to use effectively.
Terri Zwierzynski
Web site: solo-e.com
Twitter: @TerriZSoloCEO
Why she’s a hero: Terri has been providing top-quality, no-bull information and support to solopreneurs since 2003.
Who Are Your Heroes?
Who are the heroes in your solopreneur life? Tell us about them in the comments below.
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Comments
Great list! Very excited to look these people up. I can’t seem to find your Twitter list, though…will you take a look?
Hi Andrea: It should be fixed now! Thanks. The URL changed after I made the list public.
What a nice list! Great to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. Thanks so much for including me.
Wow Larry, Great list! What an honor to be included in this group of absolutely amazing people!
I am so honored to be included in this list — what an amazing group! There are a bunch of people I don’t know — I am looking them up right now to add to my referral list!
And I nominate my partner in crime Charlie Gilkey as another superhero — his special “keep up your momentum” and strategy mojo is a great thing for our community. http://www.productiveflourishing.com
Thanks again!
-Pam
Hi Everybody:
I’m glad you are enjoying the list! Pamela, Charlie definitely is a hero!
Larry
You never cease to amaze me with the depths of your thoughtfulness.
Thanks very much for including me on this list, Larry.
@Willie: My pleasure!
Larry, what a fabulous list! I’m so honored to be part of this prestigious group. Your spirit of collaboration and encouragement is something that helps us all stay up-and-at-’em… THANK YOU! I look forward to working my way through the list and getting to know new solopreneur colleagues!
Oh,and am I too late to add my own heroes?
I want to give shout-outs to Lynn Baldwin-Rhoades of Power Chicks International (“thepowerchicks” on Facebook), Leslie Irish Evans of Peeling Mom Off the Ceiling (“peelingmomofftheceiling” also on FB), Debbie Whitlock of Femme Finance (“femmefinance” on FB) and Arden Clise of Clise Etiquette (cliseetiquette.com).
All four of these solopreneurs (all introverts, I might add!) have had a profound impact on my life over the past year. They inspire and encourage me, and they all demonstrate grace, poise and GUTS. They are fierce in the best sense of the word. Like you, Larry, my list is not complete, b/c there are many others who light up our world every day… I’ll save them for a future shout-out!
And I also want to thank Leif Hansen of Spark Interaction – he’s partnered with me to present “Improv for Introverts” workshops, and thanks to him, I’m becoming a little fiercer myself!
Hi Beth:
Thank you for the kind words, and thank you for the info on your heroes. I really like your description of them; fierce is a GREAT thing to be as a solopreneur, isn’t it? I looked at Peeling Mom Off the Ceiling — it has 1.3 million listeners?! Wow! I need to give that show a listen.
Larry
Thank you Larry. Very much appreciated! It’s definitely an honor to be on a list with such kind and distinguished people.
p.s. Thanks for everything you do here. I enjoy watching you continue to innovate.
Larry there is one very important missing from this list.
You! You are definitely one of my heroes.
Thanks for including me on such a prestigious list. I’m also looking forward to getting to know those who are new to me.
Wow! What a list, Larry.
I am honored to be included on this list of amazing entrepreneurs. Thank you for sharing the people you know, lots of new ones for me… I’m going to check out some of these new faces, now.
Larry,
I am honored to be on this list of outstanding thought leaders! Thank you so much. I look forward to connecting with you and your network of creative minds.
And, thank you for your many contributions which add to resourcefulness, peace of mind, and creativity of Soloists everywhere!
Larry: I look forward to finding out more about everyone here! I’m so impressed on how innovative your blog has become over the last six months and am SO honored to be mentioned here!
Until a year or so back, I worked in not-for profits, here in UK. I came to admire the big-business guru Alan Chapman for his fact-packed, positive, humorous, clever advice site http://www.businessballs.com What he offers is as relevant to a charity as it is to a corporation or a solopreneur: he is strong on self-motivation, exploration, co-operation, and adds to that a stack of practical tips for success. Like Larry, a thought-leader.
Mike, Nicole, Nona, Marla, Rob, Howard: Thank you so much for the kind words. All of you inspire me; you’re the fuel for TheSolopreneurLife.com!
@Howard, I took a quick peek at BusinessBalls.com. Impressive. I have bookmarked it and will be returning to it soon!
After I read this great post, my curiosity got the best of me and I looked up each of the Heroes. I saw how each Solopreneur uses social media, and my curiosity turned into a project…I actually started documenting each Solopreneur’s facebook and blogging and twitter use. I think the results can be enlightening if you’re a Solopreneur and you’re at all curious to know how others are using social media. Enjoy!
http://www.solventurer.com/2011/02/12/the-solopreneur-life-heroes-the-inside-view/
this is my first visit and I just wanted to stop by and say hello there everyone
I love this list! I love seeing what other entrepreneurs are doing and seeing them receive recognition. I also really like that you put their twitter handles! I like following great new people
@MWYTsocialmedia
Hi Scarlet:
I’m glad you like the list! I checked out your Web site — it’s awesome. Keep up the great work!