Attending meetings, customer outreach, market analysis; you name it, it’s easy to lose yourself to entrepreneurial duties and forget to feed your mind. However, financial books differentiate an average entrepreneur from a great one. From Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to Mark Cuban and Oprah Winfrey, famous business leaders are also great readers.
For starters, books impact communication. Besides increasing confidence, reading expands your vocabulary to improve your articulation in business conferences, client meetings, and public speeches. Books also increase your focus and resilience. You need the discipline to follow through with a task to become a successful entrepreneur. The following books will improve your personal and business life.
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki first published this book in 1997. It has since grown to become one of the bestselling finance titles of all time, with dozens of translations and millions of copies sold. The book talks about Kiyosaki’s two influential fathers. His biological father, Poor Dad, is an educated man who emphasizes the importance of getting good grades and landing a high-paying job. On the other hand, Rich Dad is Kiyosaki’s best friend’s father.
Although he shares Poor Dad’s work ethic, Rich Dad believes in financial literacy, understanding how cash works and making it work for you. He may have only reached the eighth grade, but Rich Dad made money work for him and ended up a millionaire. Rich Dad Poor Dad explores different ideologies about wealth.
For instance, you become wealthy by not only working but also purchasing income-generating assets. The book also recommends real estate as an asset, seeing it offers a stable foundation. Rich Dad Poor Dad also advises entrepreneurs to invest in acquiring new skills even if they won’t bring instant income.
2. The 4-Hour Work Week
This book grabs your attention right from the title. After all, becoming rich by laboring only four hours every week sounds like a good idea. Tim Ferriss explains how he went from being overworked to becoming an accomplished entrepreneur with a stable work-life balance.
First released in 2007 and expanded two years later, the book has sold over 2 million copies and remained a New York Times Bestseller for more than four years. Ferriss encourages entrepreneurs to be free by embracing outsourcing. This way, you run your enterprise instead of your enterprise running you.
The book also explains how to introduce your next big idea into the industry. All you have to do is pick a topic that you have more experience in than your audience. Afterwards, develop a product after exploring different positioning methods and discovering your audience’s needs.
✋ Warning
🔥 Ignite your passion for entrepreneurship with these 10 reasons why it’s better than working for someone else! 🌈
3. The Effective Executive
Although it was published in 1966, this book is as practical today as it was back then. Peter Drucker starts by naming efficiency as one of an executive’s primary roles. Drucker goes on to list the qualities of an effective executive, for example, time management, decisiveness, and the emphasis on strengths rather than weaknesses.
Drucker’s insights come from his engagements with successful executives and organizations. He also gives examples of what these personalities and companies did to succeed. You’ll enjoy this book if you’re a member or leader of a large organization.
This book will also come in handy if you want to improve your decision-making skills or struggle to complete important tasks. You can read The Effective Executive: Summary by Olivier Roland for more of Drucker’s teachings.
4. The $100 Startup
Chris Guillebeau wrote this book after vetting 1500 entrepreneurs who earned $50,000 or more from their SMEs per year despite small investments of around $100. Guillebeau advises entrepreneurs to use their skills to solve market problems. He also provides a one-page template you can use to create your business plan. Another lesson is cloning yourself.
The $100 Startup recommends outsourcing, partnerships, and affiliate recruitments, so you’re in several places at a time. This book also shows you how to build your business without drastically increasing labor and overhead costs. Some of these strategies include creative cross-sells and upsells and adding services to product-based enterprises and vice versa.
Self-promotion also features prominently in this book. According to Guillebeau, customers might come when you build a product. However, you have to tell them what you’ve created and how to find you. Overall, the book encourages action over perfection.
Developing Reading Habits as an Entrepreneur
Now that you know what books to read, the next step is developing a reading culture. Start by listing your reading goals. For example, you can purpose to read a book or two every month. Additionally, read every day. For instance, you can read in the morning or grab a book before going to bed. You can also set a monthly or weekly reading day where you devote all your time to books. Not forgetting the reading environment. Invest in a good reading chair and proper lighting to prevent neck and eye problems.
