Are you an aspiring business owner trying to figure out how to launch your project? These six best books about entrepreneurship will change your life. Both seasoned business owners wishing to improve their craft and new entrepreneurs seeking guidance on how to launch their ventures will find these books to be beneficial.
Many people have considered starting a business and working on it full-time or as a side gig to earn some additional cash during this uncertain economic period. You will gain knowledge from these entrepreneurship books about how to launch and grow your business.
These books provide valuable insights, strategies, and perspectives from experienced entrepreneurs who have already walked the path I am about to embark on. In this article, I will share with you the top six entrepreneurship books that have the power to transform your mindset and unlock your entrepreneurial potential.
Here is the list for your quick reference, along with links to get them for free.
How to Begin
The Millionaire Fastlane
Rework
The Lean Startup
The E-Myth Revisited
The 10% Entrepreneur
Before we dive into the details of these books, here are some fun facts about entrepreneurship:
- According to the Global Entrepreneurship Index, the US ranks highest for entrepreneurs and developing small businesses.
- 88% of millionaires in the US are self-made as per Fidelity Investments.
Table of Contents
1) How to Begin
Why get this book?
This is your practical guide to finding the focus and courage to set a Worthy Goal: one that lights you up, compels you to grow, and serves a bigger game by being thrilling, important, and daunting.
The reviews say:
“Piercingly frank, funny, gorgeous, vulnerable, and ultimately really damn helpful.”
“I loved this book, and that’s coming from a gal who’s never been big on goals.”
“Powerful, magical, and compelling. We don’t need more time, we simply need to decide.”
Key points:
With Michael’s trademark humor, compassion, and laser-focused clarity, you’ll walk through a tested process to:
- find and strengthen your Worthy Goal to the very best it can be;
- get absolutely clear on your commitment so you know what you’re up for;
- develop the resources to cross the threshold, so you don’t have to travel alone;
- build momentum, progress, and impact.
Don’t regret a life half-lived. Use this book to start doing something that matters.
2) The Millionaire Fastlane
Why get this book?
This book teaches that the traditional paths to wealth, such as saving, investing in the stock market, or climbing the corporate ladder, are slow and unreliable. Instead, the author suggests that the “fastlane” to wealth is through entrepreneurship and creating value for others. Personally, this book was an eye opener and one of the reasons I got serious on starting a side hustle. That’s how this blog got started.
It is an interesting listen as well so feel free to listen to audiobook or read it.
The reviews say:
“The best book on acquiring wealth ever written…”
“You’ll learn more in 2 days from this book than you will in 2 years of business college courses…”
“If you want to get “rich” while you’re young enough to enjoy it, read this book …it short-circuits you though a lot of the BS.”
“There are moments in your life where a light bulb just seems to turn on, a switch just seems to flip. If you’re looking to induce one of these, look no further than this book.”
Key points:
- Why jobs, 401(k)s, mutual funds, and 40-years of mindless frugality will never make you rich young.
- Why most entrepreneurs fail and how to immediately put the odds in your favor.
- The real law of wealth: Leverage this and wealth has no choice but to be magnetized to you.
- The leading cause of poorness: Change this and you change everything.
- How the rich really get rich – and no, it has nothing to do with a paycheck or a 401K match.
- The mathematics of wealth and how any “Joe Schmo” can tap into real wealth real fast.
- Why the guru’s sacred deities – compound interest and indexed funds – are impotent wealth accelerators.
- Why popular guru platitudes like “do what you love” and “follow your passion” will most likely keep you poor, not rich.
- And 250+ more poverty busting distinctions…
Demand more. Change lanes and find your explosive wealth accelerator. Hit the Fastlane, crack the code to wealth, and find out how to live rich for a lifetime.
3) Rework
Why get this book?
Goodreads Choice Award nominee.
Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business.
Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you’re looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.
Read it and you’ll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don’t need outside investors, and why you’re better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need to staff up. You don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. Those are all just excuses.
What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You’ll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.
With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who’s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs they hate, victims of “downsizing,” and artists who don’t want to starve anymore will all find valuable guidance in these pages.
The reviews say:
“If given a choice between investing in someone who has read Rework or has an MBA, I’m investing in Rework every time. This is a must read for every entrepreneur.”
Key points:
- Break down big projects until you know what needs to be accomplished this week.
- Forget about the details at the start. Focus on what people really care about.
- When you’re new to something, the most important thing is to start building. Momentum fuels motivation.
- Don’t wait around for perfection. Make a decision and move forward.
4) The Lean Startup
Why get this book?
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
The reviews say:
“Eric has created a science where previously there was only art. A must-read for every serious entrepreneur—and every manager interested in innovation.”
“This book should be mandatory reading for entrepreneurs, and the same goes for managers who want better entrepreneurial instincts. Ries’s book is loaded with fascinating stories—not to mention countless practical principles you’ll dearly wish you’d known five years ago.”
“The Lean Startup is the book whose lessons I want every entrepreneur to absorb and apply. I know of no better guide to improve the odds of a startup’s success.”
Key points:
- Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs—in companies of all sizes—a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever.
5) The E-Myth Revisited
Why read this?
Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
The reviews say:
“Thanks to Gerber l have freed up over three hours a day, significantly increased my sales, more than doubled my bottom line, and been able to take my first vacation in four years.”
“Without a doubt, the most important message for our company over the next decade.”
Key points:
- Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.
- It explains how to get your people to work without your interference. It tells how to systematize so the business could be replicated 5,000 times. It shows how to do the work you love rather than the work you have to do.
6) 10% Entrepreneur
In the 10% Entrepreneur, the author Patrick J. McGinnis states: “The simple fact is one job is not enough to give you all the thrills that chasing a dream can deliver. If you keep your steady job and become a part-time entrepreneur, you can get all the benefits with none of the pitfalls and few if any of the sacrifices entrepreneurs usually make. You can get all the upside benefits with limited if any downside risk.”
What if there was a way to have the stability of a day job with the excitement of a startup? All of the benefits of entrepreneurship with none of the pitfalls? In The 10% Entrepreneur, Patrick McGinnis shows you how, by investing just 10% of your time and resources, you can become an entrepreneur without losing a steady paycheck. If you’re interested in learning more about the 10% entrepreneur way, then check out this book.
McGinnis details a step-by-step plan that takes you from identifying your first entrepreneurial project to figuring out the smartest way to commit resources to it. He shows you how to select and engage in projects that will provide you with upside outside the office while making you better at your day job. He also profiles real-world 10% Entrepreneurs such as:
•Luke Holden, a cash-strapped recent college graduate, who started his lobster-roll empire and oversaw much of its first year of operations, all while working full-time in corporate America
•Dipali Patwa, a designer and mom whose side project designing and selling infant clothing is now a sensation.
•A group of friends who met at a 6 am Bible study class and went on to start a brewery that now generates millions in sales.
A successful 10% Entrepreneur himself, McGinnis explains the multiple paths you can follow to invest your cash, time, and expertise in a start-up—including as a founder, angel, adviser, or aficionado. Most importantly, you don’t have to have millions in disposable income to become a 10% Entrepreneur. When you put McGinnis’s 10% principles into action, you’ll quickly start racking up small wins, then watch as they snowball into your new (and far more entrepreneurial) life.
Click here to get it for free.
Conclusion
These top six entrepreneurship books have the power to transform your mindset and unlock your entrepreneurial potential. By reading these books, you will gain valuable insights, strategies, and perspectives from experienced entrepreneurs who have already achieved success. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial for overcoming challenges, embracing opportunities, and staying resilient in the face of adversity. So, take the time to invest in your personal and professional growth by diving into these books and applying the lessons learned.
You may also want to read our blog post on how to turn goals into reality.
We also have a YouTube video on the best entrepreneurship books that you may find helpful. Check it out here.
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