If you are an entrepreneur or want to be one, then this article is for you! It’s hard enough starting your own business without having to read a bunch of books on what it takes. So we’ve done the work for you and compiled some of the most important books every entrepreneur should read before and during their journey.
1. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
Stephen Covey wrote this book in 1989. It’s a bestseller and has sold millions of copies worldwide. The reason for such popularity is that, according to the author, it offers an approach to solving problems in many different areas of life – not only professional but also personal as well.
2. “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries
This book is a must-read for any person who wants to start their own company. It will help you identify the need in the market and build your product or service accordingly by thinking about how people use it before building, testing assumptions with customers, iterating, then launching.
3. “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell
The book “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell is a fantastic read for entrepreneurs because it explores the concept of rapid cognition. The author describes how we can often make fast decisions based on instinct and a small amount of information, rather than taking time to deliberate over our options while weighing all available evidence.
4. “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr
John Doerr’s book “Measure What Matters” is a must-read for entrepreneurs because it explores the concept of leading by doing. This means that instead of focusing on your company’s vision and goals, you should focus on what needs to be done now to get closer to achieving those goals.
5. “The Founder’s Dilemmas” by Noam Wasserman
Noam Wasserman’s book “The Founder Dilemmas” is a fantastic read for entrepreneurs because it will help you understand the challenges that comeÂ
6. “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss’s book “The Four Hour Workweek” is a fantastic read for entrepreneurs because it will teach you how to live a life of luxury by working less and outsourcing tasks.
7. “The Fire Starter Sessions” by Danielle LaPorte
“The Fire Starter Sessions” is the perfect read for those of us who want to get our entrepreneurial journey started in a big way. It will inspire you, motivate you and give you all kinds of ideas about how to make your business work on every level.
8. “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki
In his book, Guy Kawasaki tells how he co-founded a $230 million company called Alltop. He also discusses some principles for entrepreneurial success that can be applied to any business venture and provides valuable advice on several issues.
9. “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber
The first book on this list is ‘The E-Myth Revisited ‘by Michael Gerber. This book provides a great insight into the challenges of entrepreneurship and offers many solutions for overcoming them.
10. “Founders at Work” by Jessica Livingston
Founders at Work is a book where Jessica Livingston interviews entrepreneurs who are now considered “giants of Silicon Valley”. This includes people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison.
11. “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World” by Martha Beck
I recommend “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World” by Martha Beck. This nonfiction, self-help memoir was chosen as one of Oprah’s Book Club selections and has sold over five million copies worldwide.Â
12. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
Carnegie’s 1936 classic is a playbook for success that teaches you how to stop worrying about what other people think of you, which will help you be more confident when negotiating with potential clients or customers.
13. “True North” by Bill George and Peter Sims
“True North” by Bill George and Peter Sims is a book that not only offers countless lessons for successful leadership but also sheds light on the importance of company culture.
14. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is one of the first books to mind when you think about self-help. It talks about how anyone can achieve success with these principles: desire, faith, autosuggestion, and visualization.
15. “The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker
“The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker is a must-read for any entrepreneur. It’s about the importance of excellence in management and leadership since so many crucial decisions are made at the executive level.
16. “True North” by Bill George and Peter Sims
This is one of the books I read before launching my first startup. George was CEO at Medtronic and Sims, a former Microsoft executive who co-founded Genentech, becoming one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.
17. “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr
Measure What Matters is a book written by John W. Doerr. The author focuses on teaching principles like measuring success with the most critical metrics, focusing leadership attention on the most impact, and continually setting stretching goals.
18. “The Obstacle Is the Way” by Ryan Holiday
“The Obstacle Is the Way” by Ryan Holiday is a good read for entrepreneurs as it will teach readers about overcoming adversity and turning disadvantages into advantages.
19. “Creativity, Inc.” by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace is an essential book for entrepreneurs because it shows how Pixar grew from the company that created Toy Story into the powerhouse of animation studios they are today.
20. “Rework” by Jason Fried and David Hansson
In this book, the authors share many insights on how to run your business in this book, which has become an industry staple for all entrepreneurs. It’s filled with anecdotes rather than theory and comes across as a very accessible yet authoritative read for beginners.
21. “The Barefoot Executive” by Carrie Wilkerson
The Barefoot Executive by Carrie Wilkerson is a must-read for any entrepreneur. This book teaches business owners how to take care of themselves to better support their company and Work on the right things, as opposed to simply working all the time.
22. “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
In this book, Kahneman lays out the two systems that drive our behavior – System One and System Two. He discusses how we often make irrational decisions because of mental shortcuts such as anchoring or loss aversion.
23. “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel
“Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” is a book by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters. The book covers venture capitalism, entrepreneurship, innovation of products and ideas, creating monopolies for competitive advantage, and the history of business.
24.”Enchantment” by Guy Kawasaki
“Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions” by Guy Kawasaki is a book I recommend to anyone who has an idea or dream but isn’t sure how to grow it.
25. “Founders at Work” by Jessica Livingston
Founders at Work was written by Jessica Livingston in 2008 and is an interview-based book that features interviews with 25 founders of highly successful startups.
26. “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World” by Martha Beck
The author’s goal is to help you reboot your life, stay focused on what’s important and understand how everything has changed in a digital world that moves so quickly.Â
27. “Getting Things Done” by David Allen
Getting Things Done outlines a system for organizing tasks and projects by taking action, making decisions, processing email in batches, managing interruptions more effectively, and setting priorities.
28. “Crushing It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk
You’ll learn about how to build a personal following on social media, the power of video marketing, and much more from this book.
29. “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek
The author talks about handling challenging situations better, communicating more effectively, creating iconic brands, building trust in uncertain times, knowing what drives your organization—and yourself—and understanding sincerely why customers do business with you
30. “Dying for a Paycheck” by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Jeffrey Pfeffer’s book, Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance (2009), is an excellent read to dive into the subject of how modern management harms employee health.
We hope that this article has helped you on your entrepreneurial journey.Â
