Running a business doesn’t come naturally to most people, and even the most successful entrepreneurs admit that they’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. Luckily, there are thousands of excellent books out there that can help you avoid common pitfalls, run your business more profitably, help your employees grow within your company, and leave a legacy to be proud of. Let’s take a look at some of the best!
Starting Your First Business
From coming up with a concept, getting honest feedback before you take the plunge, navigating the accounting and financial side of managing a company to hiring the right staff, launching a startup is one of the most daunting challenges a would-be business owner can undertake. Check out this title to give you the boost of courage and knowledge you’ll need:
The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup, by Noam Wasserman
The great thing about this book is that it’s based on the real-life experiences of actual startups (many of them now household names). It gives the reader a chance to expose themselves to problems and challenges faced by every kind of industry, how they were overcome, and more importantly, how they could have been avoided altogether. Because of this, it’s a valuable tool no matter how far you are into starting your own business, whether it’s still just a concept, or whether you’re already growing.
Making Sales
No matter what the nature of your business is, selling is always going to be a part of it, even if you’re just selling a service or set of skills. We recommend:
Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness, by Jeffrey Gitomer
An extremely fun book packed full of charming cartoons and a quick read to boot, this is one of those books you’ll keep coming back to over and over. It’s applicable for every industry, as it guides the reader back to the most important aspect of all when it comes to sales and marketing – understanding why people buy in the first place.
Marketing Your Business
Probably the most challenging aspect of running a business today is how to market your product or service in a world where digital media seems to be changing every minute. So what are the experts reading? Shiftone Digital Marketing recommends the following:
Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is About Help Not Hype, by Jay Baer
With so much noise out there, having an excellent relationship with your customers is more important than ever. This book teaches you how to engage with them on their own terms, and give them what they’re really looking for. Funny, insightful and packed with plenty of real-world examples, it’s easy to see why this book became a New York Times bestseller.
Future Marketing: Winning in the Prosumer Age, by Jon Wuebben
Today’s customer is more empowered than ever to make their own decisions about what they choose to spend their money on, and you need to be ahead of the curve if you want to impress them – this book will teach you how!
Dealing with Setbacks
No business journey is without its fair share of challenges, and sometimes you need a little bit of encouragement to keep forging ahead.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz
In this great book, Horowitz shares examples and stories from his own business journey, how it all very nearly fell to pieces, and how any business can overcome failure. If you’re looking for motivation, then this is a book you can keep coming back to time and again.
Sparking Your Creativity
We all know we need to think outside of the box to be successful in today’s world of business, but how do you actually go about it? Creativity is a key factor for guaranteeing a long lifespan for your home business.
Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, Hugh MacLeod, 2009
Hugh MacLeod’s quirky sense of humor makes this book as fun to read as it is insightful, and it covers a simply enormous range of business topics. Learn about where creativity comes from, how to spark new ideas, and how to turn those ideas into results that people will love with this charming book.
Looking for even more ideas? 800CEOREAD have published the ultimate book on well, the ultimate business books! Why not get yourself a copy of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time for more inspiration, available in paper and audiobook versions to suit your preference.
