Business Book Recommendations
It’s January and the time of year where everyone starts planning for the year to come. If you like to read as I do, you may be making lists of books to read in the New Year. If you are, I’ve got a few books to recommend.
These are all books that I’ve read in the past two years, that have really had a huge impact on my business. I’m sure many of you in the audience are small business owners like me. When I started out I really didn’t know much about business and what I was getting into. These books have definitely helped to guide me. Hopefully, you will also find them useful.
If you are not a business owner or thinking about becoming one, many of these books may not pertain to you, but I still recommend you check out Entreleadership. It’s got lots of great leadership advice that you can put to use regardless of whether you are an employee or a business owner. Also the Storybrand book is great for anyone doing any marketing or sales.
EMyth by Michael E. Gerber
This book was recommended to me by Malcolm and Fab. The E-Myth is the myth that most small businesses are started by entrepreneurs. Most are started by technicians: people with a lot of technical skills, but few business skills. If you look around the LabVIEW community, you see this quite a bit. Some hotshot LabVIEW programmer gets layed off. They print up a business card and away they go on their own. The problem is that most technicians who go into business for themselves, don’t really own a business. They simply own their job. The business revolves around them. If they go on vacation or get sick or injured, the business stops producing revenue. A business should make money on its own. The Emyth lays out a plan for how to become a business owner instead of just owning your own job.
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
There are business owners out there whose business generates a lot of revenue and yet at the end of the day, they have nothing left over to pay themselves. According to Mike Michalowicz the problem is the formula we use and our priorities. Instead of treating profits as the leftovers (ie. Sales-Expenses=Profit), take the profit first (Sales-Profits=Expenses). This simple change (and the few others Mike suggests) can radically transform the way your business handles money.
Making Money is Killing Your Business by Chuck Blakeman
Many business owners are so focused on making money today that they fail to build a business that functions without them. They get stuck on a treadmill chasing more money now for years until they get burnt out and finally quit. It doesn’t have to be that way. Your business should not only produce money, but it should also produce time which leads to significance. Chuck’s book gives you the practical tools to use your business to build your ideal lifestyle. It’s as much a book about building a great life as it is a business book,
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
If you confuse, you lose. We are constantly marketed to and if your message isn’t clear and compelling, it will get lost in the noise. Donald Miller has created a framework that uses the power of storytelling to clarify your message. It will change the way you see your business and it will change the way your customers see your business.
EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey
If I could only buy one business book, this would be it. It covers everything about building and running a business including building culture, hiring and firing, finances, time management and everything in between. While it certainly touches on theory, but it is mostly focused on practical tips and tricks. It also includes plenty of examples of the principles in action. This is the How-To book on business. If you ever wondered “How do I …?”, then this is the book for you.
What are your favorite business books?
