8 Books That Should Be A Mandatory Read For Entrepreneurs
An easy education for entrepreneurs
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Most of the books you will pick up off the shelf are garbage.
What I mean by that is you will go through 300+ pages just to get 1 page of valuable information. They could be summarized in a blog post and you’d be fine.
Entrepreneurs have a crazy journey in front of them and the truth is, it never really ends. That’s why entrepreneurs have to keep reading and keep learning.
In the spirit of saving time, I’ve made a list of the 8 best books for entrepreneurs.
The choice is yours, but I highly recommend you read them all.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Let’s start with an obvious one.
This book sold a ridiculous amount of copies and if you’re just getting into reading self-improvement books now, this is a great place to start.
It’s a straightforward concept. You pick up good habits and over time you will become smarter, faster, stronger, etc. Good habits compound over time and will improve your life.
James goes through how and why to establish good habits.
I highly recommend this one. It’s an easy read and the information is valuable.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Business, or entrepreneurship, is (almost) all about relationships.
You’ve got to know the right people to get deals on supplies, to make partnerships, to earn high-value clients, and for many many more reasons. That means you have to know how to win friends, and influence people.
This book is a legendary book that most entrepreneurs will have on their list.
When you apply the teachings laid out in this book you will understand why everyone recommends it.
Give it a shot.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is one of the founders of Paypal, and more recently the founder of Palantir. He’s also very well known for being a contrarian and for criticizing the education system.
In my opinion, he’s a genius, which is why when I found a book written by him, I jumped on it.
You should want to learn his knowledge.
There is a part where Peter talks about the 7 questions a start-up must answer. It’s actually brilliant.
Simply put, the book is about how to create companies that build new things.
Sounds like something an entrepreneur should read… right?
Tools Of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Tools of Titans is the bible for those who want to be great.
Tim Ferriss has gained immense valuable knowledge by constantly interviewing the most successful people in the world on his podcast.
This book takes that valuable information and shares it in such an easy-to-digest way.
Whether you want to improve your body, mind, or wallet… this book is for you.
And as an entrepreneur, you should want to improve all of those.
All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
I had to include at least one book by Seth Godin.
Seth is known for writing incredible marketing books. To be honest though, most of them are a little repetitive and you don’t need to read them all.
This is one of the books you should read.
Entrepreneurs need to have some marketing knowledge, especially if you are starting by yourself. If you want people to know about your product or service, you have to be able to market.
All Marketers Are Liars talks about the importance of storytelling for a business.
What’s your story?
How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis
Felix is the founder of Maxim Magazine and a bunch of other successful magazines.
In How To Get Rich, Felix explains exactly as the title describes and let’s be honest, part of the reason you want to be an entrepreneur is because you want, or need to make money.
This book is great because he has no filter. He talks about his mistakes, his successes, what kind of mindset you need to have, and a whole bunch of other stuff you need to know.
I originally read this book because it’s always brought up on the My First Million Podcast.
It’s one of my favourite books of 2023. Read it.
Steve Jobs Biography
To be clear, you don’t need to read this biography specifically, but you should read biographies. I put Steve Jobs’ biography on this list because it’s the one that stuck with me the most.
I feel like most people know of Steve Jobs for being an asshole, stealing credit from engineers, etc. Those people misunderstand him.
He was brilliant, he was a visionary, and he was human. He had faults as we all do and his biography doesn’t shy away from sharing them.
If you rather read a biography about someone else, pick someone who you find inspiring.
I personally love Richard Branson’s and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biographies as well.
Snow Leopard by The Category Pirates
What does it mean to create your own category and why is that valuable to you as an entrepreneur?
If you can’t answer that question, then read this book.
Personally, I really wish I would have read this book a year earlier. It’s one of those books that if you read it too late, it seems kind of obvious, but if you would have read it earlier, it would save you from reading 5 other books.
It lays out frameworks for category creation so beautifully and simply.
I recommend reading this one before most books (especially if you write), with the exception of biographies.
Conclusion
It’s hard to pick good books. There are so many that come out each year and it gets confusing.
Plus, when you start reading, everyone starts recommending the ones that resonated with them the most.
If you ask me, these books should be mandatory to read prior to starting any business.
What books do you think I should add?
Thanks for reading,
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