If you’re an entrepreneur looking to start a business, the best place to start is by cracking open some books. Books offer free education, unlike the hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to acquire an MBA.
Books written by founders can provide readers with valuable advice on starting a business. They also help you learn about business mistakes–making it easier to avoid doing the same.
There are numerous books that can help people begin their path in business.
Here is a list of books to start you off on the path to success.
“The Lean Startup” By Eric Ries
This New York Times Best Seller is written by Entrepreneur and Blogger Eric Ries, who challenges entrepreneurs to think about business differently. In this book, Ries established a new management approach that throws out the rigid traditional business plan and introduces agile management, rapid prototyping, and increased efficiencies. This is an excellent book that gives a scientific approach to creating a successful business that can continuously test your vision and adapt and adjust to the changing economy.
“Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook” by Gary Vaynerchuk
New York Times bestselling author and social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk provides entrepreneurs with a blueprint to a social media marketing strategy that helps businesses shine online. In today’s business world, social media is a vital tool that can make or break a business. Vaynerchuk’s book teaches how to amplify a business online from creating content tailoring to targeting specific people in the development of high-quality content for social media platforms. This book provides the tools to brand your business, connect with your target audience and use social media to outshine the competition and establish your niche.
“The Founder’s Dilemmas” By Noam Wasserman
The Founder’s Dilemma is a book that focuses on helping entrepreneurs understand how early decisions can make or break a startup. Based on a decade of research by Noam Wasserman at Princeton, the book is a study of many founders in different industries. Wasserman reveals an in-depth look at founders, detailing their successes, pitfalls, and failures. Using examples like Twitter, the book provides captivating details about some of the most popular and successful businesses that we all admire. This is a great book to learn how to make a business run smoothly. It’s also a good read to learn the good, bad and ugly of startups.
“Will It Fly?” by Thomas K. McKnight
Drawing on his experience helping hundreds of businesses launch, McKnight provides a comprehensive checklist for determining whether an idea has wings. The assessment includes 44-points of success that examine everything from your mindset, protecting yourself and much more. Use this book to fine-tune ideas, understand competition, and all the other key elements to set up a successful business.
“Good To Great” by Jim Collins
In this book, author Jim Collins gives readers an in-depth look at why some companies garner great success and why others don’t. Some companies are dominant and successful from the very start, but some start out as just ok. Over the course of five years, Collins explored how these “good” companies become giants.
