10 Books Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Must Read
Books are one of the mediums used for sharing revolutionary ideas, great thoughts or stories of success and failures within countries and across the borders. They are an invaluable source of knowledge and help us with solutions for all our problems. Entrepreneurs too can benefit from reading books as it not only motivates them to reach greater heights but also warns them against the possible risks in their journey. Realizing the importance of books in an entrepreneur’s life, we have come up with a list of ten books which every aspiring entrepreneur must read:
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.”
As an aspiring entrepreneur, if the thought of not having the required skills or money for starting a business crossed your mind then this book is for you. In this book, the author focusses on fifty individuals who built business earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (many cases $100 or less). Almost all these people lacked special skills, but they discovered their personal passions and started earning money from that. Chris Guillebeau details out the activities carried out by these people in their initial days and the mistakes they made on their journey while setting up a successful business.
The 7 Day Startup- Dan Norris
If you have a conversation with a friend about your business idea this month, and next month you are having the same conversation, you are a wantrepreneur.
Aspiring entrepreneurs who wait for a long time to establish in the market must read The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norris, which explains how he built a successful small business startup from scratch in 7 days (which then grew into over $400000 annual recurring revenue in a short period of time). After reading this book the reader will learn about choosing a proper business name, building a website in one day under $100 and proven ways to market business quickly.
CONNECT THE DOTS- Rashmi Desai
“You don't need a fancy degree to dream big and make it happen. It's all in your head, your heart, your hands.”
Connect the Dots will inspire those aspiring entrepreneurs who never attended B-school by busting the myth that degrees from business schools are essential for setting up a successful business. Written in the form of a conversation, this book is divided into three sections consisting of stories of twenty businessmen from across India. Stories of determined people who took the lesser travelled roads and set up a prosperous business are covered in the first section. The second section covers the growth of seven entrepreneurs, driven by growth and passion. Creative people who successfully channelled their immense talents to create a business platform for themselves are covered in the third section.
EntreLeadership- Dave Ramsey
“People who change their values, their ethics, are not trustworthy and should be avoided.”
A leader has the power to motivate people working in the company. Despite playing an important role in the organisation, no proper guidance is given to them to carry out their role effectively. It is important for every aspiring entrepreneur to have leadership qualities for which he should read Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey. The book talks about leadership and offers a practical step-by-step guidance to grow business and covers different areas like inspiring the team to do what they love, getting rid of gossips in office premises and achieving goals which a person wishes to achieve.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- Stephen Covey
“How you treat the one reveals how you regard the many, because everyone is ultimately a one.”
John Wooden, American basketball players said- It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is based on this idea. This book is a must-read for all the aspiring entrepreneurs as it educates people on how to live their lives properly and guides them in their goal of being a successful individual. After implementing the ideals of this book in your life, no aspect of your life remains untouched.
Innovators Dilemma- Clayton Christensen
“Sound managerial decisions are at the very root of their impending fall from industry leadership.”
The game of snake and ladder teaches us an eternal truth that for every ladder you climb a snake is waiting just around the corner and for every snake, a ladder will compensate. Similarly, every aspiring entrepreneur must be aware of the fact that successful individuals can face failures while climbing the ladder of prosperity. Clayton Christensen wrote a book on this idea and showed how most outstanding companies which do everything right, have chances of losing market leadership. Innovators Dilemma, a book cited by people like Steve Jobs, is a must read to avoid committing similar mistakes made by successful people as much as possible.
The Greatest Salesman in the World- Og Mandino
“Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried.”
Unlike other books, The Greatest Salesman in the World is a book dealing with the philosophy of salesmanship and success. Og Mandino tells the story of Hafid, a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance. Mandino laid down a reading structure which asks the reader to read some chapters for many days several times a day. This was done so that the reader inculcates the ideas mentioned in this book inside him. Actor Matthew McConaughey recommends this book saying that this book changed his life.
The Lean Startup-Eric Ries
“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”
Strategies are very important for an entrepreneur to succeed. He cannot experiment with everything on a trial and error basis and should make every move with a plan. Lean Startup by Eric Ries is a perfect book for understanding the concepts of strategizing. The author guides the entrepreneurs through his proposed lean startup strategy and helps them to avoid wastage of time by suggesting best ways to formulate strategies. The processes explained in this book have been adopted by organisations like Dropbox, Wealthfront and General Electric.
Zero To One- Peter Thiel
“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”
Availability of well-organised notes is very crucial for passing an examination. How convenient would it have been if similar notes were made available for entrepreneurs to pass in their examination of setting up a moneymaking company? Understanding this need, Paypal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel along with Blake Masters wrote a book Zero to One to help the entrepreneurs. It is an updated version of online notes taken by Masters for the class on startups taught by Thiel at Stanford University in Spring 2012.
As A Man Thinketh- James Allen
“Self-control is a strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.”
To become a successful entrepreneur, a person needs to organise and reflect on his/her thoughts and deal with every situation wisely. As A Man Thinketh is an extremely helpful book for entrepreneurs as it discusses the power of thought. James Allen talks about how each man holds the key to every positive or negative condition in his life. He further explains that a person can remake his life and transform circumstances by working patiently and intelligently on his thoughts.
