As an aspiring entrepreneur, you want to learn everything you can before starting a business. There are many ways to discover what you need to know and one of the most inspiring ways to do this is by reading books.
By reading these handpicked books for entrepreneurs, you will find tips, tricks, and inspiration for your journey toward entrepreneurship.
If you’re wondering which books to pick up for this purpose, here are some of the most informative and compelling reads for you to start with.
| Best Books for Entrepreneurs |
|---|
| The Lean Startup |
| Start with Why |
| SPIN Selling |
| The Startup of You |
| The $100 Startup |
| Click Millionaires |
| The Millionaire Fastlane |
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Eric Ries is a blogger, author, and American entrepreneur. This is a must-read book for entrepreneurs, as it includes all of the lessons Ries has learned from his experiences in leading startups.
He emphasizes lean manufacturing principles to develop ways to establish new companies. Companies that are capital-efficient and make the most of creativity. You will learn how to create a framework for your startup rather than writing an elaborate business plan, which takes more time.
Through the framework, you can learn, test, and make adjustments to your strategies as needed. This book will guide you on how to create strategies for your business. Ries explains business processes that aspiring entrepreneurs like you can adopt while planning.
You will also discover the importance of having the right goal for your startup. You need to find a solution to the problems faced by your target customers. And this book will help you through the whole process in an engaging way.
In this book, you will also learn how to deal with the uncertainties of businesses through testing using a minimal viable product. This is something you may employ when you need to test your growth hypothesis for validation. There is much to learn in this book and it’s perfect for you if your goal is to lead your own startup business.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek is an inspirational speaker and a British-American author whose mission in life is to help other people do work. Many consider Start with Why one of the best books for entrepreneurs as it contains real-world examples of incredible leaders.
If you want to become a business owner, you need to have the right mindset to inspire those around you. Communication is also incredibly important, especially when working with other people or reaching out to your target customers.
This is a life-changing and inspiring bestseller where you will first learn the most basic questions to ask when starting a business. You will also discover how to encourage your employees and customers to stay loyal to you.
Being an entrepreneur involves being a great leader too. In this book, you will learn all about the greatest leaders and how they act, communicate, and think. Sinek also introduces the concept of “The Golden Circle,” which will provide you with a framework upon which you can inspire others and build your business.
It will help you understand the ‘why’ behind businesses, which is essential for success. It will also help you realize why some businesses and people are more profitable, innovative, and influential than others.
SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham
Neil Rackham is an academic, author, and consultant who knows all about motivating customers. This is one of the best books for aspiring entrepreneurs to understand how customers are only motivated to make a purchase if they feel like they need to.
This is a big struggle for many people who want to start their own business. They have many ideas but they aren’t aware of the problems their target customers face. To come up with an idea that will ensure your success, you need to ask the right questions.
In this book, you will discover a powerful sales method that involves four relevant questions. By asking these questions in sequence, you will increase the likelihood of transforming leads into sales.
This is a ground-breaking book that specifically investigates the concept of selling high-value services and products. It’s an amazing book if your business goals involve managing a sales team or selling goods or services.
This book explains the revolutionary idea of SPIN selling that comes with easy, practical, and simple techniques that will help you launch your business. It includes plenty of graphics, case studies, and real-world examples for you to learn from.
The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman is an American author, internet entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. In this book, he provides a blueprint for you to build your career or thrive in your current job using tips and strategies from the most innovative entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.
As a successful entrepreneur himself—he is the chairman and co-founder of LinkedIn—Hoffman explains how you can propel your career forward in this world that’s filled with tough competition.
Here, you will learn how to manage your career by adapting the mindset of an entrepreneur. You will discover how to do this by learning how to manage yourself as a startup business.
Whether you’re already employed or you’re still working at a part-time job, you can already develop an entrepreneurial mindset to prepare yourself for the future. By doing this, you will also think like an entrepreneur even when making decisions.
And when the time comes that you are able to launch your own business, doing so would be much easier because you have already learned what it means to be an entrepreneur through this book.
You will also find out how to adjust the plans you have made with regard to your career as changes happen around you. Reading this book will give you a competitive advantage to succeed in the world of business.
The $100 Startup by Chris Gillebeau
Chris Guillebeau is an American entrepreneur, speaker, author, and blogger. This book is also considered one of the best books for entrepreneurs as it contains tons of tips from successful small businesses.
As Guillebeau visited all of the countries in the world, he encountered amazing people who were able to turn their small investments—mostly just $100 and below—into successful, lucrative businesses.
Here, you will discover the characteristics that all of these successful business owners share. One such characteristic is having a strong passion for their field. With this passion, they came up with clever ideas to earn money while enjoying themselves.
As you will read in this book, most of the entrepreneurs Guillebeau features didn’t have the “right skills.” But with determination, they learned and developed the skills they needed as they worked on their businesses.
Even if you haven’t met many successful entrepreneurs, reading this book will teach you so many things. This will serve as your guide when starting your business even if you have a small capital to begin with. And when your business starts picking up, you can scale it to the size you want.
Click Millionaires by Scott Fox
Scott Fox is an American self-help and financial author who specializes in advising entrepreneurs. This book focuses on online entrepreneurship and businesses, which are huge right now.
However, Fox approaches these businesses in a different way, which is why this book is such an interesting read. In this book, you will find inspiration to come up with business ideas based on your passions and lifestyle.
Focusing on your passions and lifestyle will increase your likelihood of long-term success since you will be enjoying your business venture. This entrepreneurial book also contains some tried-and-tested business tips.
In this modern day and age where we all go online to find what we need, starting an ecommerce business is a great idea. The knowledge in this book will help you combine automated online marketing and outsourcing to create a sustainable business.
Fox provides a comprehensive look at how you can build your online business using various tools. If you’re interested in online businesses, this is the perfect book for you. It outlines the steps you need to take and how to find success with each step.
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
MJ DeMarco is an investor, entrepreneur, international author, and advisor. He wrote this final book on our list and it’s all about becoming wealthy so that you can retire after 10 years, not 40.
Although the title might raise a few eyebrows, DeMarco has added plenty of hard-earned tips, tricks, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. All of this great wisdom comes from his own success after he made millions from his limousine booking site.
While most of us want to become millionaires, very few achieve that coveted status. This is mainly because the conventional paths we are used to taking don’t lead to lucrative businesses.
If you dream of fortune, you’re tired of your current job, or you just want to have your own business, this book will be a great starting point for you. Instead of spending so much every time big money comes your way, you will learn how to plan ahead.
Since we already know that conventional methods don’t work, you can take a different path to become wealthy. You know that the advice you will learn here works, because it comes directly from a person who has found success!
In Summary: Pick Up a Book Now!
Now that you know what the best books for entrepreneurs are, it’s time to start reading. Think about what your goals are, as this will help you determine which books to pick. I had to learn all of these lessons too, and that’s why all of these books have passed by my bedside table (also in my Audible and Kindle nowadays lol). If you can read all of these books too before starting your business, that would be even better!
The bottom line is that reading books about entrepreneurship will help you become wiser, especially when you are immersed in the world of business. Good luck!
Before you go, check out my other list sharing the 10 Best Books for New Real Estate Agents