From established entrepreneur to aspiring business owner, these 10 business books that have made a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs around the world:
1. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Horowitz distills his years as a Silicon Valley CEO into this fast-paced, behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be a successful entrepreneur.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
After nearly 80 years in print, this classic business book of people skills and anecdotes has very successfully stood the test of time.
3. The Goal: The Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Presented in a compelling, relevant novel, The Goal illustrates the author’s “Theory of Constraints” through a series of problems and solutions faced by a down-to-earth plant manager.
4. Entrepreneurial DNA by Joe Abraham
Abraham’s experiences as a small business entrepreneur depict the value of identifying and leveraging your unique strengths to create “radically successful businesses.”
5. The Lean Startup by Eric Reis
Drawing on the ideals of lean manufacturing, The Lean Startup offers a new, agile approach to successfully applying financial and human capital in a new organization.
6. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Backed by a scientific study of habit, Duhigg uses current and historical examples to illustrate “why we do what we do in life and business.”
7. Making the Jump into Small Business Ownership by David Nilssen and Jeff Levy
Written by two serial entrepreneurs, this roadmap to small business success lays out every twist and turn in plain language, with a bevy of personal experience to back it up.
8. Good to Great by Jim Collins
This established go-to takes a concerted look at how 11 companies made the leap from “good” to “great” and the commonalities they share.
9. Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Examples from over 30 industries show the art and value of skipping altogether the bloodied oceans of competition-crammed markets and creating blue oceans, those “untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.”
10. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
A step-by-step depiction of the life of a small business, E-Myth takes a close look at “why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it.”
