You’ve decided to start your own business. You know what you’re selling, you’ve got a name and a logo. What you don’t have is every single skill guaranteed to ensure your company’s success. Not to worry – there’s plenty of advice to be had from all of the entrepreneurs who have come before you. Whether you’re a first-timer or a time-tested tycoon, these five books are sure to give you a new perspective on the various aspects of running your own business. This is our complete guide to the best books on entrepreneurship.
1. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Author Angela Duckworth is a pioneering psychologist as well as the founder and CEO of Character Lab, a foundation that aims to help children thrive using scientific insights. In Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Duckworth takes leaders on a journey to show them exactly what it takes to be successful. A great read to remind you to stay your course, even when you’ve just failed.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People
A perennial favourite on business and personal development reading lists [NF1] alike, How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie is a great resource for improving your people skills. Since its first publication in 1936, the book has sold over 15 million copies and continues to fly off the shelves every year. Carnegie offers practical advice for increasing your influence and making life more rewarding – invaluable knowledge for any entrepreneur.
3. All Marketers Are Liars
In All Marketers Are Liars, Seth Godin unpacks how marketers think to create stories – whether truthful or otherwise – around brands. He asks readers to think about what their story is, whether the people who need to hear it will believe it and, less importantly, whether it’s based in fact. Whether you’ve got experience in marketing or are a newbie reputation regulator, Godin will teach you how to build a brand and tell its story.
4. The Lean Startup
In the age of moving fast a breaking things, author Eric Ries encourages entrepreneurs to forego the bulky business plan for an approach that allows their businesses to adjust and adapt to changing situations, fast. The bookoffers a scientific approach to building a business that takes maximum advantage of the market by giving consumers what they really want when they want it. Whether you’re launching your new enterprise in a Fortune 500 boardroom or your garage, The Lean Startupwill help you to build an innovative brand that thrives.
5. Good to Great
If you want your business to be a household name like Coca-Cola or Intel, then it’s no use just being good. You have to be great. To figure out what sets the biggest names across various industries apart from their competitors, Jim Collins set off on a fact-finding mission with a 21-person research team. Over the course of five years, they read more than 6 000 articles and produced more than 2 000 pages of interview transcripts to create an in-depth analysis of what makes these companies tick. The result is Good to Great, which uncovers five somewhat surprising variables that enable these companies to make the leap to being great.
Conclusion
A well-rounded understanding of people and business practices are essential for any entrepreneur. And a bit of motivation to keep you going when times are tough doesn’t hurt either. These five reads are the best books on entrepreneurship to help you achieve business success.
[NF1]Opportunity to link to: 4 books for personal development
