It’s no secret that successful people read — a lot. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Why? Books are powerful. But, there’s a catch. To tap into this power, you have to read the right books. So, which books should you read? So here we go, the top books for entrepreneurs starting a new business.
Number 1: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
If you ever struggle with self-doubt, overthinking, or procrastination, this book is for you. Steven believes our biggest enemy is what he calls, ‘resistance.’ Resistance is our natural tendency to procrastinate and self-sabotage. And this book doesn’t just expose resistance so you can understand what’s really holding you back.
It also outlines a battle plan to help you conquer this internal foe. It’s succinct, and captivating. The perfect, no-nonsense guide to achieving success in any creative field.
Number 2 on our list of top books for entrepreneurs : The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
In this hugely successful book, Tim shows you how to live more and work less by constantly challenging conventional thought. The idea is to start thinking outside the box, to always test commonly held views, and push boundaries further than you ever knew possible. But that’s not all: at its heart, this book is about productivity and effectiveness. So, whatever you plan to accomplish as an entrepreneur, this book will provide a set of invaluable tools to help you achieve your goals.
Number 3: Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin In Purple Cow
Seth demonstrates how the traditional P’s of marketing — like product, price, promotion, and place — just don’t work like they used to. Why? Because now, there’s a new ‘P’ that’s more important: ‘Purple Cow’. This is Seth’s metaphor for something phenomenal, counterintuitive and remarkable.Simply, cows are boring after you’ve seen a few. But a Purple Cow? Now, that would grab everyone’s attention. To thrive, every new entrepreneur needs to know how to stand out from the competition. And, this book shows you how. Next on our list of top books for entrepreneurs…
Number 4: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau
Chris is a best-selling author who proves you don’t need a lot of money to start a successful business. His book features 50 case studies of people who have built businesses from a small investment, and which now earn over $50,000. What’s more, most of these people had no special skills to begin with. The book dives deep too. You’ll find out exactly how much money each entrepreneur had to get started, and what they did in the first weeks and months to gain traction. So, read this book to learn how to learn how to turn your passions into profit.
Number 5: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
This author defines ‘Deep Work’ as the ability to focus intensely on a difficult task for extended periods of time. And, in his book you’ll learn why this skill is becoming rare, just as it’s becoming more valuable. You see, while most people are frittering away their time in a frantic blur of shallow tasks — like email and social media — the most successful entrepreneurs are focusing their attention on tasks that truly matter. And, not only will this skill supercharge your effectiveness, Cal also argues that it’s the key to a lasting sense of fulfillment. Bottom-line? In today’s distracted world, the ability to go deep will put you miles ahead of the competition. And, this book will show you how.
Number 6: Mastery by Robert Greene This New York Times-bestselling author believes that we all have the potential to become a true master. And, in this book Robert lays out the path to Mastery: Learn the secrets of your field, commit to a rigorous apprenticeship, and then absorb the knowledge of those with years of experience. He also distills the common traits of some of the great masters throughout history, such as Darwin, and Leonardo da Vinci. And he shows that success isn’t about what you know, but about who you are. Read this book to learn which master traits you already have, and how to develop the ones you don’t.
Number 7: Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi
This author’s network of relationships stretches from Hollywood’s A-list, to Washington’s corridors of power. And in this book, Keith lays out the mindset, and steps he uses to create an impressive network. What’s so refreshing, is that Keith shuns the traditional glad-handing usually associated with ‘networking.’ And instead, he advocates basing relationships on generosity and connecting friends with other people. He also outlines timeless strategies used by some of the world’s most connected people, such as Bill Clinton, and the Dalai Lama.
To summarize, this master networker will show you how to grow your success, by creating relationship dynamics where everyone wins.
Number 8: The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
This book will teach you how to bootstrap a business, gain traction, and stay lean for maximum results. With the digital age moving so fast, businesses need to continuously adapt and learn.
Or, they’ll be outpaced and left in the dust. In this book, Eric provides an innovative, hands-on process for developing a more adaptable company. The Lean Startup is also chock-full of case studies that demonstrate the principles preached within. So, whether you want to create a scrappy startup, a small business, or a corporate machine, this book will help.
Number 9: The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries & Jack Trout
If you build an airplane, but ignore the laws of physics, it will never fly. And, so it goes with the laws of marketing if you want to build a successful brand. These essential insights have stood the test of time, and present a clear path to lasting marketing success. Read this business book to avoid fatal errors in your marketing, and keep your business on the road to success.
As Al and Jack write, “Violate them at your own risk!”
Number 10: Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson
Most business books offer the same advice to entrepreneurs — study up, write a business plan, pitch investors… But, this best-selling book challenges the mainstream business mindset and culture. Rework shows you that you need far less than you think to start a successful enterprise. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need investors. You don’t even need an office! This succinct, easy-to-read book, will show you a better, faster, and easier way to succeed in business today.
Number 11: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz This book is endorsed by a whole host of billionaire entrepreneurs, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Peter Thiel.
So, it’s almost certainly worth a read! While, many people highlight the excitement and freedoms of life as an entrepreneur, Ben shines a light on the difficulties and struggles that all entrepreneurs face. It’s packed with Ben’s trademark humour, and includes stories of what it’s like to poach competitors and even fire friends. Overall, this business book is a no-nonsense, uncensored view of what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur. And, last on our list of top books for entrepreneurs…
Number 12: Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence — and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
Not to be confused with his 2009 business book, ‘Crush It’ — this book showcases new lessons, advice, tactics, and strategies.
The lessons within are taken from Gary’s own experiences, and that of many other powerful influencers and entrepreneurs. Gary also dissects every major social media platform, and shows you how to use it to increase your brand awareness and grow your business. So, if you’re looking for actionable advice on how to build a powerful brand on social media, this book is for you. But, it isn’t just about professional and financial success. This book is about living life on your own terms. k Okay, that brings us to the end of our list of top books for entrepreneurs. There’s so many books out there that it can sometimes feel overwhelming.
So, to start, just pick whichever book seems the most useful to you right now, and read that first. You know what they say, “Read to lead!” So, which book are you most excited about? What’s in your list of top books for entrepreneurs? Let us know in the comments below, and I’ll reply with my thoughts! Thanks for watching, and if you liked this video, be sure to hit the subscribe button, and turn on the notification bell. And until next time, learn often, market better and sell more. .
