Entrepreneurs face many challenges in today’s ultra-competitive business world. Every year innumerable energetic individuals take up this lucrative career. Though the amount of handwork one has to put in is immense, if all goes well the returns are equally proportional and the satisfaction of achieving such unbelievable feats is what attracts more and more people to become entrepreneurs.
But, with little or no formal training in this discipline, most of the entrepreneurs succumb to their early failures and end up getting frustrated and later giving up on their dreams. Below are some of the biggest obstacles faced by today’s entrepreneurs and the best selling business books that offer solutions.
Let’s have a look at the best selling business books that offer solutions
1. Finance Management
Many start-up entrepreneurs struggle to meet monthly expenses as they desperately wait for the checks to arrive and get cleared, even though they’d be aware that managing finances is the most essential step in any business. The problem partially arises from delayed invoicing, which is common in the world of business. Compensating for the problem requires you to have a fantastic sales pitch and a solid business plan to improve your chances of attracting the financing you need to run your business effectively. However, you can build a successful company even with the challenges associated with limited funding.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
This book advocates the importance of financial literacy, financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, starting and owning businesses, as well as increasing one’s financial intelligence to improve one’s business and financial aptitude.
2. Hiring The Right Employees
It is never easy being the boss and even harder when you are the owner of the company and your profitability is at stake. In most cases, entrepreneurs lack experience in managing employees prior to starting a business. Those who did will probably have very limited experience. Hence, at the time of hiring employees for their own organizations, their skills will be tested to the core. In a recent groundbreaking study, the training firm Leadership IQ found that 46 percent of all new hires fail within their first 18 months.
Hiring for Attitude by Mark Murphy
This book provides an insight on how to hire the right people and build a company culture designed for long-term success. It also speaks about the biggest reasons why new hires fail, the five-part interview question that gets candidates to reveal the truth about what their last boss really thinks of them. It also provides case studies from Microchip, Southwest Airlines, The Ritz-Carlton, Google, and other companies that drive great results by hiring for attitude.
3. Time Management
The most organized people can still struggle when they start up and run a business of their own. It requires structure, goals and of course time management. When you’re working on different responsibilities at the same time, it can be almost impossible to manage them all and allocate the appropriate amount of time to each of them. Just know that you’re not alone in this struggle – most entrepreneurs are likely to have issues with time management, even the most disciplined ones.
Getting Things Done by David Allen
This book is a time management method for organizing your to-dos, priorities, and schedule in a way that makes them all manageable. It also has a strong emphasis on getting your to-dos out of your head and into a system you can refer to. This clears your mind of any mental distractions that will keep you from working efficiently.
Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
This book is another marvelous piece of eight key concepts from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making that explains why some people and companies get so much done. This painstakingly researched book also explains what separates the merely busy from the genuinely productive people, companies, and organizations.
4. Facing Criticism
Criticism comes naturally for any budding entrepreneur. Sometimes for the ideas, creativity or sometimes plainly from negative people who envy your entrepreneurial vision or feel threatened by your success. An entrepreneur will be constantly evaluated and discouraged for the business decisions and expected to prove his capabilities to the world.
Business Adventures by John Brooks
This book is a classic read to give you a better understanding of yourself. It is Bill Gate’s all-time favorite business book. He says “Business Adventures’ is as much about the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in challenging circumstances as it is about the particulars of one business or another. In that sense, it is still relevant not despite its age but because of it.”
Resilience by Mark McGuinness
This book is another worth reading guide to facing and overcoming criticism in the pursuit of your goals and success. The book gives some good insights on understanding and building resilience.
5. Self-Worth
To begin with, entrepreneurs are individuals possessing strong personalities.
In most cases, the success of a business is measured by the size of the company and the revenue it generates. Many entrepreneurs tie their self-worth to their net worth for this very reason. Hence, if a business fails it results in entrepreneurs struggling with identity issues, financial issues, and other issues that have been previously based on high expectations.
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
This book gives an insight into the lessons of successes and failures of leading companies. It presents a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation and emphasizes on when it is right not to listen to people etc.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
This book helps you in asking yourself ‘why’ and seeking answers to why some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others, why some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike, etc. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, it weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire.
6. Social Rejection
Social rejection faced by the entrepreneurs is a rarely discussed issue yet a very serious one as many fresh business owners aren’t prepared for the situation. Being an entrepreneur is lonely as it’s a singular position, you won’t have teammates to rely on. Your employees will be forced to remain at a bit of a distance. But feelings of social rejection will eventually subside with the growth of your business.
The Lonely Entrepreneur by Michael Dermer
This book extraordinarily explains how to thrive in the entrepreneurial struggle by changing your perspective. The book will teach you how to Identify the flawed perspectives you develop under the influence of the four Ps-pressure, passion, pleasure, and pain and how to change your perspectives from those that stifle progress to those that empower you to thrive in a tough but exhilarating environment.
Lastly,
The Obstacles is the Way by Ryan Holiday
This book examines leaders like Marcus Aurelius and Steve Jobs who’ve effectively led others using the principles of ancient Greek Stoicism. It is a timeless book widely loved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do.
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it”
Moliere
If you can work your way past these major obstacles, you’ll be well on your way to establishing yourself as an entrepreneur. That isn’t to say they won’t continue to nag at you as the years go on, or that new and varied challenges won’t arise to take their place, but you’ll be prepared to handle them.
