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.

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.

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.

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.