Good reading material for would-be titans of industry and commerce.
Nobody who starts a business wants to fail, not a single, solitary person. What’s the point of starting a business you know won’t make it? Unfortunately though, despite the best intentions, approximately half of all new businesses fail in their first 5 years, with 1 in 4 actually needing to fail in order to change course and move on to eventual success.
It’s hard work starting a business, and even harder maintaining it in the cutthroat commercial arena! So, if you’ve started a new business – or are actively planning to – how can you avoid the numerous traps and pitfalls that can bedevil a new business and stop it in its tracks?
In a word, experience.
Not your own because you’ve only just taken your first steps into the wonderful world of entrepreneurship, but rather someone else’s who has already traveled down that same road and become successful.
One of the most effective ways to utilize other successful entrepreneurs’ experience is through reading books written by them. Entrepreneurial books are big business unto themselves, selling over 80 million copies worldwide in 2021, and accounting for 25% of all adult-oriented non-fiction title sales.
In this article, we will list what we believe are the Top 5 books written by successful entrepreneurs that can be hugely educational, aspirational, and inspirational to any budding new entrepreneur.
Let’s go…
1. Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Thiel is a self-made billionaire, venture capitalist, founder of PayPal, and early investor in Facebook.
In his book, he takes the reader through his experiences in entrepreneurship and elucidates on the philosophical lessons he’s learned in that time. Among the lessons he passes on to new entrepreneurs are the importance of asking the right questions, the necessity of vision to take your business from zero to one, and making maximum use of the power that you have to propel your business forward.
2. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Carnegie was a writer, lecturer, entrepreneur, and developer of training courses for self-improvement, salesmanship, and corporate sales techniques that have become the industry standard.
Published in 1936, this book is one of the best-selling titles of all time, selling around 30 million copies worldwide to date. While the lessons that Carnegie talks about are universal across most professions, they are definitely invaluable for the business world, among them the importance of leadership, getting people to buy into your vision, techniques in building solid interpersonal relationships, and how to get people to like you from the outset.
3. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
Gerber is a prolific author on e-business and founder of the eponymous business skills training company.
His book is the sequel to its bestselling 1986 predecessor, and in it, he shows why approximately 80% of new businesses fail eventually, and the steps you can take to ensure it doesn’t happen with yours. Among the lessons he imparts are why franchising is a sound business strategy, how being technically adept is no guarantee of success, and why your business depending solely on your own fortunes is a quick route to failure.
4. The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump
Love him or loathe him, the 45th President of the United States needs no introduction, and in his bestselling 1987 book, he elucidates on what he learned in navigating the choppy waters of business to get where he is.
In the book, he takes the reader through his life to date, from early investments to the establishment of the global-reaching Trump Organization. Amongst his detailing of numerous successful projects, Trump also outlines an 11-point plan for how to build your business into a success.
5. Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
Written by the founder of Virgin, this book is both a Richard Branson autobiography and an educational manual on how to become a successful entrepreneur.
Branson shows how and why doing business should be fun and not a chore. Among the life lessons he imparts to readers is the value of self-belief in your vision even when everyone around you says it’s impossible, always being on the lookout for the next big opportunity, and the absolute singular importance of developing and maintaining your creativity.
We hope this reading list proves useful and advantageous to you and we wish you all success and prosperity in the future!
