Taegan Lion
Between regulations, taxes, operational costs, salaries, management and, more importantly, the ability to come up with an amazing business idea, entrepreneurship appears an impossible task to conquer. But fear not, you can learn from the people that already did it, because they already told everything in the books they wrote, here’s a couple of the best of them.
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#1 Million Dollar Habits by Brian Tracy
Ever wondered what distinguishes ordinary people from extraordinary ones? It's their habits! This book will truly transform you in ways you can't imagine! It teaches you the best proven habits of millionaires, so you could achieve bigger results in your personal and business life. It's easy to read and no matter what stage of your life you are at, you will benefit from the tips and action steps provided in the book. Everyone has some bad habits, and often we don't even realize that we need to evolve and replace our bad habits with good habits. This book really helped me identify and get rid of my bad habits, so I could be more productive and successful in all areas of my life.
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Contributor: Amira Irfan from A Self Guru
#2 The Founder’s Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman
This is the first book I've read that really understands the human side of entrepreneurship. Noam Wasserman, a professor at Harvard Business School, has assembled data from over 10,000 new businesses and meticulously documented the most common pitfalls. As an entrepreneur myself, I am incredibly grateful to have read this book before starting a company.
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Contributor: Lauren Picasso from Cure Hydration
#3 Work Less, Make More by James Schramko, Kelly Exeter
His idea of really focusing on your EHR (estimated hourly rate) really inspired me to think differently about everything I did. When I read the book I was averaging around $20/hour with our business. Only 6 months later my EHR has skyrocketed to over $100/hour. This is a book every entrepreneur needs to read to understand the importance of our time, how to scale, and most importantly how to increase our EHR.
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Contributor: Kelan Kline from The Savvy Couple
#4 Success Attraction Notes & Quotes by Dr. Stacia Pierce
Success Attraction Notes & Quotes: 30 Days of Insight and Inspiration to Improve Your Life and Increase Your Income is a transformational guide to life and business. Dr. Pierce's book also gives journal pages to write down your thoughts and progress along the way!
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Contributor: Stacia Pierce from lifecoach2women
#5 The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
This book presents case studies of 50 different entrepreneurs who started a business with less than $100. Each of them now make over $50,000 and enjoy running a business on their own terms. Many of them live non-traditional lives with flexible schedules. There are stories of all different kinds of businesses, and anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit will enjoy the stories and find plenty of inspiration.
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Contributor: Marc Andre from Vital Dollar
#6 The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
This book has something that few business books have - credibility. Mr. Horowitz speaks from experience versus theory. He walks you through real-life examples and why he often had to go down paths that no one would have recommended.
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Contributor: Terence Finn from Velotooler
#7 Mastering the VC Game by Jeffrey Bussgang
Jeff talks about raising money from someone who has both been an entrepreneur and a VC. An example of an insight Jeff provides is that he would rather bang his head against a wall for a year than take money from a VC that is known to be hard to work with.
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Contributor: Terence Finn from Velotooler
#8 Reinvent Your Business Model by Mark W. Johnson
An excellent book that explains how to innovate your business model without either destroying your newco or your core business. Why most truly innovative ideas never see the light of day and how long it really takes for a new business model to add meaningful revenue.
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Contributor: Terence Finn from Velotooler
#9 The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
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Contributor: Scott Wesley from Making Momentum
#10 Zero to One by Peter Thiel
In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
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Contributor: Scott Wesley from Making Momentum
#11 The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
In it, Michael does a great job of explaining the three hats a new business owner will wear: the entrepreneur (visionary), the technician (the worker), and the manager (the pragmatic). While doing this, he shows with many examples how many new business owners mistakenly wear only their technician hat while running the business, turning their business into just another job - the worst kind. The book also details how business owners can balance the technical, strategic and operational roles of their business by building systems that can help them separate themselves from their company and understand their dreams and goals.
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Contributor: Riccardo Gonzalez from Gonz Property Group
#12 Principles by Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio who is the founder of Bridgewater wrote a book called Principles, which I think is pretty incredible when it comes to lessons that pertain to everyday life. It also has a lot of business application to it which makes it a double-win in my book. But I think from a life perspective, it's also incredibly important.
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Contributor: Blake Garrett from Aceable Inc
#13 Money Matters by Karen Ford
I recommend this book because passive income is income you earn without actively being involved. This means you continue to make income with no or little effort on your part to maintain that flow of cash. Passive income will include regular earnings from somewhere other than an employer or contractor. At the time of this writing, the IRS says that passive income can come from: rental income or a business in which a person doesn’t have to actively participate. This will include book royalties and stocks that pay dividends.
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Contributor: Karen Ford from KBF Management Company
#14 ENTREPRENEURing by Kenneth J. Taylor
Entrepreneuring is an easy to follow, step-by-step guide to launching your business. It walks you through everything you need to know about starting a business, from finding your WHY to setting up your team to writing your business and marketing plans and more.
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Contributor: Ken Taylor from Entrepreneuring School
#15 The Startup Owner’s Manual by Steve Blank
For me, Steve laid out all of the pre-work that was needed to be done before a company should even be started. From getting out of the building and getting feedback from random strangers to being on top of your company and not in it, Steve takes real-world examples and explains everything in detail. He gave me the confidence and the reasoning to get the ball rolling on becoming an entrepreneur.
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Contributor: Gene Caballero from GreenPal
#16 Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
The reason you should love this book is that there are so many wonderful ideas, techniques, and strategies Tony shares with us which can be put into action immediately and you start moving in the direction you always want to go. He gives us practical ways to master these five areas of our life:
- Emotions
- Physical Body
- Relationships
- Finances
- Time
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Contributor: Brett Helling from StartBlog123
#17 Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
Extreme Ownership, written by Navy SEALs turned consultants, is a fantastic book that takes a direct and eye-opening approach to leadership while giving both entertaining and applicable examples of how to employ these principles in your own pursuits. Responsibility and ownership are the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs, and if your goals require coordinating a team, hiring employees, or leading others, Extreme Ownership is a must-read to take your understanding to the next level.
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Contributor: Tyler Gibson from UberPrints
#18 Traction by Gino Wickman
The hardest thing about entrepreneurship and startups is prioritization. There are too many things to do and too little time. Traction lays out a concrete system of building a business. It helps you identify important business priorities and how to execute. I’ve seen tremendous growth in my business as we’ve adopted Traction’s methods.
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Contributor: Chris Gibson from Wavelength
#19 Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
Startups can flounder after initial adoption. How do you get past the early adopters to mainstream market success? Crossing the Chasm outlines a technology adoption curve. It helps you identify which customers should be priorities and how to gain broader adoption.
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Contributor: Chris Gibson from Wavelength
#20 The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly
An entrepreneur sole job is to communicate. The Copywriter’s Handbook distills effective communication across various mediums. It gives concrete steps and tips on improving your messaging so that it resonates. You can read it cover to cover, or use it as anthology of wisdom when crafting important messages. It has helped me in all facets of my business.
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Contributor: Chris Gibson from Wavelength
#21 Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Entrepreneurs know starting a company is hard, but seeing just how hard Nike's journey was to become one of the world's top brands provides perspective for new entrepreneurs. From massive debt, to bad suppliers, to fighting the IRS, most entrepreneurs will never face as many obstacles as Nike overcame. It's proof for entrepreneurs that time, persistence and a relentless team can create a great business, but it won't be overnight.
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Contributor: Claude Burns from Office Libations
#22 Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
Award winning restaurateur behind Gramercy Tavern in NYC and Shake Shake presents his philosophy on hospitality and why he believe it made him a success in the brutally competitive restaurant industry. While software is eating the world, this book shows that a human-centric approach to build emotional ties with customers creates loyal patrons who will not only frequent your business more but be your biggest marketing force. Great service (or hospitality) is a competitive advantage for all businesses and makes this book a must read for any customer facing role and all entrepreneurs.
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Contributor: Claude Burns from Office Libations
#23 The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
This is the online entrepreneurship bible where we can learn ways to leverage our time and be more effective. In many situations we can scale our own labour to the extent that we can remove ourselves from many tasks that would usually be seen as purely personal. Examples might include setting our diary, sending gifts to loved ones, and getting through most of our email inbox. The biggest lesson is the number of business processes that can be automated or outsourced, followed by the way Tim teaches the early stage testing of ideas. This book introduces us to a philosophy and way of living life that is so engaging, that you'd never want to only spend 4 hours a week on these practices.
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Contributor: Jason Lavis from Relentless Pursuit of Perfection Ltd
#24 Good to Great by Jim Collins
Good to Great examines a handful of publicly traded companies who all managed to drastically outperform the rest of their sector, some of which were even in dying sectors like paper products. The author interviews senior leadership and extracts a set of traits that was common about all companies that went from good to great.
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Contributor: Kris Kalish from Penny Parrot
#25 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Most of us want to be productive and running/starting a business requires a high level of efficiency. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People explains what it means to be effective as well as how to obtain high effectiveness, and get everything you need done.
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Contributor: Nate Masterson from Maple Holistics
#26 Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich is widely considered one of the most useful self-help books ever written. This best seller is a compilation of the best business minds of its time and the advice they have to share. It's definitely a must-read for anyone looking to make it big in business.
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Contributor: Nate Masterson from Maple Holistics
#27 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
Entrepreneurs hungry for insight in business can glean timeless lessons from Franklin's life. The last of 15 children to a working-class family, Franklin retired from business life at age 42. Entrepreneurs will learn the value of networking through Franklin's use of the Junto, as well as learn about Franklin's personal time management and personal improvement system that many successful business owners have implemented personally. The biggest impact Franklin's Autobiography has on entrepreneurs is the recognition that certain principles - hard work, thinking outside of the box, filling unmet demands - work the same as they did in Franklin's life 300 years ago.
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Contributor: David Duford from Buy Life Insurance For Burial
#28 Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
It has helped shape my outlook on business, life, and happiness - and how all three are much more closely aligned than I otherwise might have thought. The key business take away from it is the value of focussing on the customer and service you provide, and how they are both paramount pillars to long term business success.
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Contributor: Lana Elie from Floom
#29 The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Charles Duhigg breaks down the essence of habits and the power they can unleash in all aspects of life. He shares compelling insight from the fields of psychology and neuroscience to explain habit formation. He presents his findings through the use of captivating case studies and narratives that touch upon corporations and personal narratives. By understanding the science behind habits and the ability to remake them we have the ability to inspire behavior and achieve our goals.
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Contributor: Scott Crumrine from Guava Family
#30 Measure What Matters by John Doerr
This book outlines a clear and achievable system for companies to set and accomplish goals. Doerr presents a collaborative goal-setting protocol in which companies identify and measure Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).. His system encourages teams to focus on three objectives that are each tied to 3-4 succinct, specific and measurable results; this allows team members to work towards common goals, measure progress, create accountability - and ultimately turn ambitious ideas into effective execution. As the leader of a high-growth company in a dynamic industry, effectively managing change and growth is critical to my company's success. At Brilliant Earth, we have a very data-driven culture and utilize goals and metrics to measure progress on a wide range of areas across the organization, from website design to products to people. We recently implemented an online tool to align around, communicate and monitor our company and department goals, so this was a very timely and relevant topic given this company initiative. The book provided additional thought-provoking insights and tangible action items to improve our success measurement processes.
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Contributor: Beth Gerstein from Brilliant Earth
#31 The Answer by John Assaraf, Murray Smith
This book impacts my life because it has helped me build a strong foundation for my businesses and my life. This book helps you understand how to find your target customers; how to market to your customers; how to build your business; how to build goals, net-worth, and profits, etc. This book also gives great daily affirmations to use in all parts of your life as well as speaks upon, Vision, Focus, Action and the Laws of the Universe(Law of Attraction/Law of Action). This book is great for both new and experienced entrepreneurs, as well as anyone that is looking for self-help/personal growth.
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Contributor: Vid Lamonte' Buggs from VLB/VBJ Enterprises
#32 The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff
This book is one of the books Billionaire Mark Cuban suggests every entrepreneur read - and for good reason. Unlike the other entrepreneur must reads, this book is more of a novel than a self-help book. But while this book reads like a novel, the main point of this book is to present an idea in an engaging way. The idea that it is presenting is a strong statement on individualism, integrity, and principled living. This is a modern classic story of a tenacious young architect with integrity as strong as steel, a beautiful woman who loves said architect but married his enemy, and a society who wants nothing more than to condemn him. This book pushes the idea that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.
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Contributor: Igor Gramyko from Highwater Standard
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