Starting a business is a massive undertaking – and you don’t need us to tell you that. But we know it can be hard to know what you need before you commit to your business, that’s what entrepreneurs we reached out to have said.
Which is why we present the books that have become invaluable assets to those just starting out in business. Whether it’s your first or tenth venture, these books provide useful guidance – what mistakes to avoid, the best way of future-proofing, and more.
Perhaps the most useful aspect of all these books is that despite the challenges of business, the authors give off a contagious sense of confidence. You can prepare yourself all you want – in the end you just got to do it.
This contribution was made by Ethan Taub from Goalry
The Idea in You by Martin Amor
This is a great book for people to use what they love about their life, their hobbies and passions and turn them into a profitable business. It helps you really pin down what you want and help you get it.’
This contribution was made by William Taylor from VelvetJobs
Lucky Or Smart? by Bo Peabody
I strongly recommend reading Lucky Or Smart? by Bo Peabody, who was an Internet multimillionaire by his late twenties after co-founding five different companies in different industries. Was he plain lucky or smart to have achieved this feat at his age? He addresses this question in his book and helps us understand how luck and intelligence work together. Peabody notably observes that he was at least smart enough to know when he was getting lucky and goes in-depth to teach us how we too can cultivate the same perception and advantage.
This contribution was made by Aleksi Halsas from Trustmary
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars by Jim Paul
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars is a fantastic book for understanding the role of luck in building a business or career in general. Not really a guide to start a business, but more of a guide on how you should approach getting the necessary skills for building a business. Main concept to takeaway from the book is Green Lumber Fallacy, which explains why you cannot actually know what information is important to for example build a business, without actually building a business. Even if reader would not get practical advice for building a business out of it, every reader will become better at spotting bullshit, which is an important skill to have in business.
This contribution was made by Leia Kalani from Tropical Topics
Mind Your Business by Ilana Griffo
This best-selling book gives you actionable steps to start building your business. From the initial thought process to developing your design and brand to legal issues and taxes, this little workbook has everything you need to know for starting a business. Create a roadmap for your ideas with Mind Your Business.
This contribution was made by Karen Ford from KarenFord
You can do it by Karen Ford
Do you desire a greater income stream? Have you wondered how you can create a larger income so you have a lifestyle that allows for freedom?Whether you’re a real estate investor or delving into buying your first property, this book will provide the keys to real estate investing and it will be your go to book again and again.
This contribution was made by Max Runge from RocketWM
Built to sell by John Warrillow
It is a nice story of a business owner who struggles over years to make his business really successful. The reason why he succeeded is because he turned his business upside down! He just focused on one service he was really good at, rather than offer five different services. As I am the owner of a service business it really help me out and simplified my business a lot.
This contribution was made by Max Runge from RocketWM
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
This is a great book to literally clarify your business message! If I step now in a room, full with strangers everybody will understand what I’m doing in under 10 seconds. It helped me a lot, when setted up my business website.
This contribution was made by Ali Ubaid Ul Hassan from Decrum
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
This book is good and helpful for all today entrepreneurs who want get success in their business and startups. This book ultimately answer the question that how we can learn more quickly what works, and discard what doesn’t.
This contribution was made by Majid Fareed from James Bond Suits
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
The best thing in this book is it motivates you to start your business or side without professional skills. It will make you doer from the planner.
This contribution was made by Liz Brown from Sleeping Lucid
Built, Not Born by Tom Golisano
The world of business is bound to surprise and overwhelm someone and the best way one can cope is by doing extensive research. Golisano’s book simplifies but does not undervalue the problems one faces when running a business, and highlights that the #1 solution to one’s problems is self-improvement and professional development.
This contribution was made by Freya Kuka from Collecting Cents
Your Best Year Ever by Micheal Hyatt
There is no set of decisions you can take that will lead you to success which is why I consider most business books useless. However, there is a mental make-up that you absolutely need to have to succeed. For me personally, I struggled with that. I did not prioritize the right things and I had lost all motivation. I recommend Best Year Ever because it focuses on the mental state of mind that makes a success. The author, Micheal, uses his own experience to teach you how to deal with your doubts, set goals, prioritize your business, and even know when to quit.
This contribution was made by Andrei Vasilescu from DontPayFull
The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide To Starting & Running A Business by Steve Mariotti
This book is written by the renowned business professor Steve Mariotti who is the founder of NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship). Mariotti is known to be the taught more than 25,000 people how to start and run own businesses. According to him, there is no age limit to start your own business. In this book, Mariotti describes the significant characteristics of successful entrepreneurs how they become truly successful in their own ventures. He also explained all the minute details to start and successfully run a business. Moreover, Mariotti shows how to turn own interests, skills and hobbies into profitable entrepreneurship. This book should be the most dependable friend for those who are going to start their own businesses.
This contribution was made by Andrei Vasilescu from DontPayFull
Starting A Business QuickStart Guide by Ken Colwell
If you’re thinking to start your own business to live your life in your own terms, then you need exactly this amazing book to be your most trusted guide. Ken Colwell, the author of this book, explains the difference between an idea and an opportunity and how to identify the best entrepreneurial opportunity in this book. Colwell describes how to create a realistic business plan and all the steps to successfully execute it. You will get perfect knowledge of pricing, competition, customer identification, marketing, production and distribution from this essential handbook of business. In brief, Colwell has produced this book to help the would-be entrepreneurs, business students, inexperienced beginners, business owners and managers between the same covers.
This contribution was made by Andrei Vasilescu from DontPayFull
How To Start A Business by Greg Shields
When you’re starting your own business, you don’t know what things you don’t know and there are a lot of crucial things you don’t know. Each of these unknown things in business decides the fate of your entrepreneurship and most startups fail for this lack of knowledge. Greg Shields, the author of this book, clearly points out all the tiniest things of business processes which are known only to the successful entrepreneurs. These delicate tips will essentially help you to avoid the possible mistakes during startup. This book offers step by step guide to transform your business idea to a successful entrepreneurship. Shields describes every intermediate business processes with all the possible mistakes you might make. With lot more most useful business details, this book must be read before thinking to start your own business.
This contribution was made by Kelly Bertog from Future Founders
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Having coached hundreds of startups here at Future Founders, we rely heavily on books to share key lessons with our community of entrepreneurs. One of our favorites for those looking to start a business is The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. Equal parts instructional and autobiographical, this book shares some amazing insights into what business owners need to do to answer questions with no easy answers. It takes readers on an eye-opening journey, and better prepares them for the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
This contribution was made by Jeremy Lawlor from Active Business Growth
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
The 4-hour Work Week is great for productivity tips, and how to get more done with less. With practical tips on how to delegate, automate, and remove yourself from your business as much as possible while still keeping it a well-oiled machine – this is a book I recommend to anyone looking to start a business.
This contribution was made by Shiyang Gong from AILaw.Inc
Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute
The entrepreneurial journey is a tough job; before stepping into this new world, you must know the leadership and self-deception, and you should have to get out of your box. It is the reason why I am suggesting this book to you. The book is a parable with the message that self-betrayal is the germ that creates the disease of self-deception. According to the author, we are self-deceived as we inflate others’ faults, inflate our own virtue, inflate the value of things that justify our self-betrayal, and in the end, blame others. Actually, our thinking is confined, and we live in a box when we use other persons for our interests. Therefore we limit our ability to reach our full potential and betray ourselves. Rather if we see others as people, with their own hopes and dreams, we can get out of that box.
This contribution was made by Dan Edmonson from Dronegenuity LLC
SCRUM by Jeff Sutherland
Starting a business is not an easy task. Success requires hard-work and long-days. There is no time to waste on inefficient and slow processes. SCRUM provides the key to doing twice the work in half the time using an efficient productivity tool. Although it began as a methodology for technology companies, the leadership and project management processes of SCRUM are essential to all industries. Jeff Sutherland highlights the importance of sprints, prioritizing teams over the individual, forming cross-functional teams, and creating realistic goals to name a few of his many lessons and ideas. He provides both the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of SCRUM, and is able to prove the effectiveness of the methodology using examples across various industries. In the end, Jeff is able to provide both a convincing argument for using SCRUM in your business and the detailed steps to use the methodology correctly.