Are you an entrepreneur? Or, wish to be one? Or, simple do not think that you belong to a 9 to 5 job situation? Or, have a great idea that you want to pursue? Then, what should be the first step towards actualizing that dream? How to know what you are doing is right? And, where to find the motivation when you need the most?
Books have all the answers to all the questions and doubts that anyone may have. They are the perfect guiding star and are always there for rescue. There are books for all topics, subjects, skills and anything we can think of. For entrepreneurs also there are many books available that one can read. Here are a couple of books that will guide you to realise your dreams, potentials, and how to achieve what you wish.
1. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Art of War should be a compulsory read for all. It not only talks about you but also about competition and how to understand their modus operandi. Written in points, this is a quick read.
2. Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson
This is a small book with big wisdom. You can read this in one sitting and be enlightened for the rest of your life. It is about four types of personalities, how these different personalities can affect your efforts, and the process of decision-making. By the end of this book you will certainly realise where you are going wrong and what needs to be done.
3. The $100 Startup by Chris Gillebeau
Finance can not be a deciding factor if you are planning to start something on your own and this book proves the same. It has 50 success stories that prove that money is not as important as you like to believe. The $100 Startup is a good motivation for to-be-entrepreneur.
4. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
This is another bestseller that you must read if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. This book helps you to develop a mindset which will require you to work for just 4 hours a week and gain success.
5. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to build the Future by Peter Thiel
Thiel is a co-founder of PayPal and also an investor who tells the readers about the startup philosophy and how Silicon Valley should take it easy with the idea of disruption.
6. The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth by James Altucher
This book is for those young professionals who are part of the corporate world but has an idea that has good potential to work. Altucher presents a strong case on why one should invest on themselves and their ideas. By sharing his personal experiences, the author will make change your perception about job.
7. Email Marketing Rules: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Best Practices That Power Email Marketing Success by Chad White
Marketing is a defining factor for any business and entrepreneur. And, email marketing is a strong tool to reach out to a large number of people. If done in a perfect way email marketing can change the destiny of your business.
8. Big Bang Disruption: Strategy in the Age of Devastating Innovation by Larry Downes and Paul Nunes
How innovation is crucial for the survival of your business and what strategies you must adopt to stay ahead of your competitors is what this book is all about. If you do not have a strategy to tackle the innovations of competitors then your business might not survive for long. This book works as a guidebook to keep the innovative streak alive in you.
9. Ask by Ryan Levesque
Ask is about sales. This bestselling book is a step by step guide about what consumers want and how to sell them using scientific approach. This is a perfect book that can help you to gain revenues.
10. Rework by Jason Fried
Rework is a highly recommended book for entrepreneurs. Jason Fried in his book negates the conventional ways of doing business and tells about how to do business your way by cancelling out everything else.
11. How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead
Communication is a skill in which an entrepreneur must excel to represent something that he believes in. You are the captain of a ship that you have built and you must have the communication and convincing power to make everyone believe in it. This book helps the reader to figure out their strength and weakness, as well as how others see you.
12. E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
For system organisation to process building, this book is about how to streamline your business and make it some productive. This book helps you to understand working of your business and how to optimise things for better results.
13. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
In general, this is a great book that teaches about social skills as well as ways to be a better entrepreneur. To make proper contacts and to gain good business connections, this book is gives perfect tips.
14. The Startup of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman is the co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn and this book gives you tips of managing your career and how to make everything work in your favour. Developing entrepreneurial mindset, staying focused and motivated are some of the things that you will learn from this book.
15. Click Millionaires by Scott Fox
Click Millionaires is about making most of the internet power. It guides you through all the available tools that help your business to expand and grow at a faster pace. This book will help you to understand a whole lot of techniques, online tools, and software to maximise your business.
16. Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder
Plan and act, and this book will tell you how to do that right. Graphs, targets, timelines, pictures to devise a perfect plan are what Business Model Generation teaches you. From the basics to the success, you will learn from this book.
17. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
This book is about dealing with the realistic aspects of startup. Understanding problems, working on a solution, making decisions work are some of the aspects that it takes about. The Hard Thing About Hard Things can be a mentor for many.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe