Behind every entrepreneur’s success lies an abundance of wisdom, hard work, and passion. In whatever your interest lies, you stand a great chance of turning it into a successful business if you do your homework well in advance; and who can guide you better than a book?
We earn a commission when you buy through the links on this page. Affiliate disclosure.
Books have long proven to be a man’s close friend, carving a pathway to the future. Here are the most entrusted books that can be useful throughout your entrepreneurial journey.
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”
Margaret Fuller
On this page
Start-Up Books 📚
Before you begin, you must know starting a business requires a lot of time and effort, and unfortunately, many entrepreneurs fail in their start-ups because of a lack of knowledge and guidance. These books can provide you with the basic guidelines to initiate and operate a business or simply to be successful at work.
Zero To One by Peter Thiel
It is specifically written for startup entrepreneurs to help them in building a successful future.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
It provides a good insight into overall entrepreneurial struggles at every step of your way.
How to Become CEO by Jeffrey Fox
This is for everyone in the workplace as it provides easy-to-understand tips to help you raise your ranks within a company and to be a successful entrepreneur.
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Even though it’s not your typical go to business book, you can draw information about general business challenges faced by entrepreneurs.
Books for Planning 📚
A strategically written business plan can give you a strong base to launch a business as an entrepreneur. You can start with basic resources and abilities, but as the business grows, you might require other things to attain greater profitability.
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
A memoir written about the most successful investor in the world it outlines the best business planning and investment tips.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
A very realistic book on business illustrating different steps towards planning and attaining success.
The Feynman Lectures of Physics by Robert Leighton and Richard Feynman
This is not a business book yet, to understand how the dynamics of planning and calculations work, it can come in handy.
Leadership Books 📚
The right leadership skills undoubtedly amount to the success of an organization. Do you have what it takes to be a great leader for your employees?
Mastery by Robert Greene
It demonstrates the ultimate source of mastery by presenting the lives of past and recent leaders as guidelines to follow, to become successful leaders.
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
This is an art of war, wherein a potential ruler is schooled in the process of achieving and staying in power.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
This philosophical work is a book full of ideas to acquire power.
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
Another great read on leadership and social power.
Books to overcome challenges 📚
Every business comes with its own set of challenges and dealing with them gracefully with patience and confidence can be challenging in its own right.
Unstoppable Confidence by Kent Sayre
You will learn to be unstoppable; to gain confidence; to face the challenges and build a richer, fuller life.
The Odyssey by Homer
An epic tale of Homer’s 10-year struggle to return home after a war. The obstacles he had faced can prepare you for your entrepreneurial challenges.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Another epic story that can prepare you for general challenges and achieve success.
Books on Efficiency 📚
A disorganized work area can directly hinder your productivity. Achieving and maintaining efficiency at work can be rather simple and serious work time can be saved.
The Startup Owner’s Manual by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf
This can be an effective step-by-step guide to achieving efficiency at the workplace.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
You will learn how the leaders of society will seek to chain the men of the mind to their jobs so that they stay productive at jobs.
Speeches and Letter of Abraham Lincoln by Abraham Lincoln
The book discloses some insights on how Abraham Lincoln achieved efficiently in difficult times, in his real-life situations.
Finance Books 📚
Cash flow is the fuel that keeps a business running smoothly. Money management can be tricky and many entrepreneurs fail because of poor financial management. Thoughtful investments can keep your business humming for long.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
An interesting insight on financial struggles in a business, trouble finding clients, and using your money wisely.
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
A direct and bold approach to learn about the greatest economic meltdowns in history. It can teach some of the best investment strategies.
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Medelson
It gives reliable information on venture capital deals that can help entrepreneurs successfully finance their companies.
What Every Angel Investor Wants you to know by Brian S. Cohen
It reveals how to find investors and get smart funding for your billion-dollar business idea.
Books on Problem Solving 📚
Addressing a problem in a timely manner is absolutely essential for any business, and ineffective problem-solving strategies can quickly affect a smoothly operating company.
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology by Ayn Rand
It offers startling solutions to the problems by reasoning and logic.
Books for Innovation 📚
Innovation plays a key in any business. A business needs to keep innovating its products, operations, services with the current market demands. It is absolutely essential for a business to not just come up with new ideas but to implement them in their products and services to keep the customers excited.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The book shares some informative strategies on innovation for startups.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
This is an autobiography of Apple’s co-founder “Steve Jobs”, throwing light on his struggles, ideas, planning, innovation, change, etc.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
This is an interesting to read about why we do what we do and how to train our brains to innovate or to bring change.
Books on Products 📚
Millions are invested in manufacturing new products each year, but more than half of the products underperform. An entrepreneur must know if the product is not good enough, there is no existence of the business.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
The title says it all. It’s about building “habit-forming” products.
Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet
It is a workbook that helps you understand how to acquire, design, and build your product.
Books to Acquire Customers 📚
Acquiring and satisfying customers is also crucial for a business’ success. One happy customer can bring in 10 more customers for your business equally, one sad customer can take away 10. The following books can help you learn the tricks to identify, acquire and retain your customers.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
This book can help you acquire knowledge on how to persuade customers.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: It Works for Me – It Can Work for You by Albert Ellis
This book on “Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy” discusses the client’s or customer’s thought process and how to adapt to the same.
Books on Marketing and Promotions 📚
One cannot deny the role of marketing and promotions in the success of a business, be it a mere start-up or an already established company. A product or service is only successful when it reaches the right audience.
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson
You will learn why selling less is more. It provides information on new markets, product promotions, the rules of marketing, etc.
Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, + Website by Matt Blumberg
Being a technology and marketing entrepreneur, the author provides an overall insight into starting a business. It teaches you how to manage any type of market.
Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday
This book shares an abundance of knowledge on grabbing markets and product promotions.
Books for Competition 📚
Every business plan requires data on competitive analysis. It helps you understand your target market and your competition. No business reaches success without having rivals/competitors. The more the demand of business, the more the competition!
33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene
These strategies can help you stay competitive and ahead in the game of business.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
This is a novel that speaks volumes about rivals and competitors.
The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
This can guide an entrepreneur to learn leadership and competence.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Another great book that can prepare you for challenges in business or in general and competence.
Decision-Making Books 📚
An efficient business requires day-to-day decision-making, whether you run a small company or a large organization. A small business, especially, relies completely on the entrepreneur’s decision-making skills.
Classics of Western Philosophy by Steven M. Cahn
A classic read on aristocratical business ways of decision-making.
Frogs Into Princes: The Introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming by Richard Bandler and John Grinder
This can help you enhance your communication and decision-making skills.
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence (with featured article “What Makes a Leader?” by Daniel Goleman)(HBR’s 10 Must Reads) by Harvard Business Review
This lets you understand your emotional ability to make decisions.
The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness by James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher
It teaches you how to cut off unimportant things and make the right decisions to be successful.
Books for Motivation 📚
Never take the power of “the will to work” lightly. Staying motivated to run the business or motivating employees to perform better will take you and your business a long way.
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
The books help you in setting goals, finding success, and staying motivated.
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists – Neil Strauss
This book speaks about the motives behind what you chose to do and finding passion and motivation.
The Golden Rules: 10 Steps to World-Class Excellence in Your Life and Work – Bob Bowman, Charles Butler
The title speaks for itself. The book can be a big source of motivation in your life and work.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values – Robert M Pirsig
You can learn and evaluate your self-worth via this book.
Most of these books have proven to be very useful to budding entrepreneurs and are highly recommended by successful business personalities. So, what do you think of this list of books? Which of these books are your favorite reads and recommendations? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Books source: alltherooms.com
