11 must-read books for starting a small business

books for starting a small business
books for starting a small business

These are some of the best books for starting a small business that can improve your leadership, productivity, branding, and marketing abilities while assisting you in managing and expanding your small company

The most successful businesspeople in the world would concur that learning new things and expanding their knowledge base are crucial for personal and professional development.

We have compiled a selection of the top books for starting a small business to help you become a better leader, be more productive, and sharpen your marketing abilities.

Don’t worry; it doesn’t imply you have to enrol in a time-consuming course or pursue an MBA. Fortunately, there are several methods to learn. Reading a few excellent books is one of the simplest and most accessible methods to do this. Here are some of the best books to read if you are starting a small business

Management books for starting a small business

1. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Focus: Staying in control and avoiding burnout

Starting a small business can make anybody overwhelmed, distracted, and ready to give up. All entrepreneurs and company owners experience the typical issues of feeling irritated, burnt out, and overburdened.

By utilizing The Entrepreneurial Operating System®, a strategy Wickman developed for establishing company success; Traction wants to assist you in overcoming those difficulties. This book is packed with strategies and tactics that will enable you to reclaim control over both your life and your company via a systematic, strategic approach.

The best part of Wickman’s writing is that it is simple to understand and read so that anybody can read it (no MBA required!).

2. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone by Simon Sinek

Focus: Developing leadership skills

A person who is starting a small business must have great leadership abilities. This book makes the case that inspired leadership is a critical component of success. According to Sinek, the success of companies, organizations, and movements depends on outstanding leaders thinking, acting and communicating in the same manner.

Sinek advises readers to get back in touch with the reasons they founded their company in the first place to become inspired leaders (thus, it all begins with “why?”). According to Sinek, if you rediscover the motivation behind why you started your company rather than just the day-to-day operations, you’ll feel reenergized and be better able to motivate your staff.

3. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Focus: Improving productivity

This is the book for you if you want to increase your productivity. To understand how the most productive individuals and businesses do so much more, Smarter Faster Better focuses on eight fundamental productivity ideas, including motivation, goal setting, and decision-making.

To explain what motivates productivity and how readers might increase their and their employers’ productivity, Duhigg relies on anecdotal experiences and empirical results. Duhigg provides you with the knowledge and resources you need to work harder and smarter in every area of your company, including team development, decision-making, and personal time management.

4. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Focus: Working hard to achieve results

With Grit, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth sends a very strong message: By just working hard and persevering, you can become the best version of yourself, regardless of the natural abilities you were born with.

She illustrates how “grit,” Duckworth describes as a unique blend of enthusiasm and tenacity, can help anyone—from students to parents, athletes to business owners—achieve success.

Grit demonstrates via data and personal stories that enthusiasm and a strong work ethic are more important for success than natural skill. In essence, she explains to readers how and why they may attain their objectives if they are dedicated to working hard for it.

5. The power of Broke by Daymond John

Focus: Bootstrapping

Read this book if you believe that your bootstrapping is preventing you from moving forward. Daymond John, an author, the creator of FUBU, and a prominent Shark Tank participant on ABC, modestly launched his company with only $40.

Due to his limited financial limitations, John was forced to be more creative and develop inventive, low-cost campaigns that helped turn his fashion company FUBU into a $6 billion worldwide sensation. But if he had started with more money, he may not have felt the need to act differently.

Financial difficulty is your biggest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur or small company owner since it encourages and necessitates innovative thinking, according to The Power of Broke. Because there is no space for loss, being “broke” drives you to utilize resources more wisely and effectively.

marketing books for starting a small business

 1. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

Focus: Writing good content

You write a great deal of marketing copy as a company owner. Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at Marketing Prof, has written a terrific book that will help you write more effectively, intelligently, and meaningfully.

2. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Reis and Jack Trout 

Focus: Branding

This an essential book for understanding customer communication, corporate branding, and setting your objectives about the competition.

3. Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Build an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks) by Dave Kerpen

Focus: Branding on social media

When becoming the most pleasant person online, Dave lives what he preaches. This article will show you how to create a powerful (and likeable) brand and help you interact with your consumers or customers online.

4. Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by Theodore Kinni 

Focus: Giving great customer service

Learn from the experts at Disney how to provide exceptional customer service and inspire brand loyalty in your customers.

5. Maximize Your Social: A One-Stop Guide to Building a Social Media Strategy for Marketing and Business Success by Neal Schaffer

Focus: Social media marketing

Neal is one of the top authorities on social media today. Thus every company owner should read their book. Pick this up and use social media to increase your social following (and revenues).

6. Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao

Focus: How to scale up a business

This book, about how to build and scale your organization to optimize profitability successfully, is included among the 10 Best Business Books of 2014 by Inc.com. Could you make a note of it for future reading?

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