Starting your journey as an entrepreneur can be lonesome. You have to figure out many things on your own that you have no experience dealing with. The two things that are essential at such times are mindset and skillset. Both are intertwined; you need to have a curious and resilient mindset to learn new skills, and a positive mindset alone can not help you get ahead; you need to learn the required skills. They both go together.
Reading is an elixir that can help you cultivate a healthy mindset and learn new skills. If you are wondering how reading can make you a better entrepreneur, check out these best books for business success recommended by entrepreneurs.
Here is a list of 15 entrepreneurship books for starting an online business, recommended by entrepreneurs-
1. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
"Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network. You aren't learning from these guys if you are copying them."
This book is simply genius. Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor, and his rich experience is reflected wonderfully in this book. The books have been recommended by business moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
This book is not a cheat sheet to success but an honest guide that helps you think initially and creatively. The book focuses on creation and is a must-read for all entrepreneurs.
2. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
"The big question of our time is not, Can it be built? But Should it be built? This places us in an unusual historical moment: our future prosperity depends on the quality of our collective imaginations."
This book has been recommended by many business geniuses, including Bogdan Iordache, Dragos Novac, and more. The book's central idea claims that entrepreneurship is a skill or process that can be learned. It also firmly states that as a business or entrepreneur, it is your job to figure out the correct thing to build, something that people will pay for. Use the MVPs to cycle through the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop as fast as possible.
Many other ideas are discussed in the book that can not be sufficiently discussed in a blurb; that is why I suggest you read this book on your own with a pencil.
3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
"Things like communication, common knowledge, and decision making, do not seem big when you have just started but eventually seem bigger when you start to grow."
Ben Horowitz is the co-founder of a16z, one of the world's biggest Venture Capitalist firms. In this book, Horowitz talks about his experience working as a CEO for Opsware, a tech firm.
In this book, he shares his lessons about managing and recruiting and explains how to think about problems only CEOs run into. I'd recommend this book to people who seek a future in the world of big tech. It is an excellent book for learning how to be a CEO and impress a CEO. This is one of those books that help you in the long run. It is not precisely sugar-coated, which is excellent because the lessons are delivered in a way that makes you think independently.
4. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
"Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, realized that as customers form routines around a product, they depend upon it and become less sensitive to price."
This book has been recommended by Marc Goodman, Raluca Radu, and others. Mullenweg gives you a peek into this book's next generation of product creation.
It will teach you about customer and customer behavior in a practical and monetizable way. It is a must-read for not just entrepreneurs but those in marketing and sales as well. The main model or loop given in the books is : Trigger => Action => Variable reward => Investment. Definitely, a must-read for product-based entrepreneurs.
5. The Power Of Broke by Daymond John
"Everyone has different advantages, and you should work accordingly so that you can get your things done properly and properly."
The Power Of Broke teaches you to utilize your creativity, passion, and authenticity when you have no money. The book will give you hope and motivation to work hard. In this book, John promotes the idea that focusing on hard work results. If you are broke, that is not a problem because you will find resources others don't look for.
If finance stops you from actualizing your idea, then definitely read this book; you'll learn a great deal from it.
6. Rework by Jason Fried
"Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality is even scarier."
Rework follows the idea similar to The Power Of Broke. It emphasizes that you need less to start a business than you think. It also talks about how plans don't always work out, and productivity does not equal working long hours. The books suggest having an honest, personal and nimble approach to marketing. This book has a fresh and unique approach to starting a business. It is a must-read for young entrepreneurs with no experience.
7. Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas
"Leave us alone in the competitive marketplace, and we will tend to you after the winnings are won. The money will be spent more wisely on you than it would be by you. You will have your chance to enjoy our wealth in the way we think you should enjoy it."
Giridharadas helps you closely observe the ultra-rich. It won't be wrong to say that it exposes the self-serving and shady strategies, including the idea of "making the world a better place," which is nothing but a front for their greed to hide.
Anand Giridharadas puts a surprising question in front of the readers- What does social justice have to do with entrepreneurs?
He makes us understand how improvements are not accessible to everyone. Small businesses have to work against monopolies. So how can we make the world a little more just for this small business?
The book also sheds light on how the elite control social progress, which ultimately benefits them, although it might seem like it benefits us. They sell us this idea of the "win-win" situation, which is valid only if the game is rigged so steeply that it only serves them. This is the kind of book you read when you don't just want to make a profit but want to bring an actual, positive change in society. It is a must-read for not just entrepreneurs but all young people, regardless of their profession. Yes, it is that good!
So these are the best books for business success recommended by entrepreneurs that you should definitely read. Not only will they teach you a great deal about business but also the work we live in and how it is governed by big corporations while we are oblivious to it.
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