7 Books for Entrepreneurs

That will help you improve your business

Entrepreneurship means making decisions, solving problems and learning constantly. From turning an idea into a business to managing finances, leading a team or finding new ways to attract customers, every stage presents a different challenge.

That's why books for entrepreneurs can become a valuable learning tool. Experiences, methodologies and different perspectives help you better understand some challenges of entrepreneurship.

If you're looking which books to read to start a business, with this list you will find seven titles that address issues such as business, productivity, leadership, finance, innovation and personal development.

The point is not to read for reading’s sake. The real value is finding an idea you can put into practice in your business.

Why read entrepreneurship books?

There's no book that will guarantee a success of a business. Nevertheless, reading can help you get to know different ways of thinking, analyzing experiences and discovering tools that can suit your own reality.

Entrepreneur's books can help you develop skills related to:

• decision-making.
• Leadership.
• Time management.
• Finance.
• Productivity.
• Innovation.
• Planning.
• Creativity.
• Communication.
• Personal development.

Also, reading about entrepreneurship can help you find answers while you are facing a specific problem with your business.

1. The art of starting 2.0 - View the official English edition

Ideal for: people who want to start a business or turn an idea into a project.

The Art of the Start 2.0, by Guy Kawasaki, it's a guide focused on turning an idea, product or service into a corporate project.

The updated edition incorporates issues related to online marketing, digital transformation, social networks, crowdfunding and cloud computing. It also addresses different issues that an entrepreneur should consider when starting a business.

The book appeals both to those considering starting a business and those who already own one and want to explore new opportunities.

What can you apply to your business?

Before investing time and money in a new idea, try to answer three questions:

• What problem am I solving?
• Who am I solving it for?
• Why would anyone choose my solution?

Having clear answers to these questions can help you build a value proposition that is easier to communicate.

2. The 4 hour work week - Timothy Ferriss

Ideal for: entrepreneurs interested in productivity, time management and automation.

The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss, challenges some traditional ideas about work, productivity and time management.

The book puts forward concepts related to the elimination of unnecessary tasks, delegation and automation with a view to focusing efforts on those activities that really generate value.

Beyond its title, it may lead you to ask an important question:

Am I Working More or Am I Working Better?

What can you apply to your business?

Make a list of the activities you perform during a week and classify them:

1. Income-generating activities.
2. Activities necessary to operate.
3. Activities that consume time but bring little value.

Then, identify which ones you can automate, delegate or remove.

3. The 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen R. Covey

Ideal for: entrepreneurs who are trying to strengthen their habits, organization and leadership.

The 7 habits of highly effective people, by Stephen R. Covey, presents a principle-based approach to improving personal and professional effectiveness.

The book addresses issues related to personal responsibility, priorities, objectives, interpersonal relations and collaboration.

To an entrepreneur, these concepts can be especially useful because leading a business doesn't only require technical knowledge. It also involves setting priorities, making decisions and working with other people.

What can you apply to your business?

Start each week by identifying the three activities that can have the greatest impact on your objectives.

It's not about filling up your schedule.

It's about identifying what really deserves your attention.

4. The Leader Who Had No Title — Robin Sharma

Ideal for: entrepreneurs and professionals seeking to develop leadership skills.

The Leader Who Had No Title, by Robin Sharma, starts from an interesting idea: leadership does not depend exclusively on holding a management position.

This perspective can be especially useful for entrepreneurs who are starting out and do not yet have a large team.

Leadership can also mean taking initiative, taking responsibility, solving problems and setting an example.

What can you apply to your business?

Leadership can start with simple actions:

• To fulfill your commitments.
• Listen to your clients.
• Solve problems.
• Take initiative.
• Recognize the work of others.
• Lead by example.

You do not need a large team to start developing leadership skills.

5. Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert T. Kiyosaki

Ideal for: entrepreneurs who want to reflect about personal finance and income generation.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad It's one of Robert T. Kiyosaki's best known titles and uses his personal history to put forward different perspectives about money, income and assets.

The book puts forward concepts related to financial education, income generation and the difference between working for money and looking for money to generate income.

As with any personal finance book, its ideas should be analyzed in context and adapted to each person’s and business’s circumstances.

What can you apply to your business?

A simple practice is clear separation:

• Personal money.
• Business money.
• Operating costs.
• Profits.
• Investments.

Having this separation makes it easier to really know how much money your enterprise generates and how much you need to keep it functioning.

6. The Lean Startup - Eric Ries method

Ideal for: entrepreneurs that are developing a new product or service.

The Lean Startup method, by Eric Ries, proposes a methodology based on experimentation, validated learning and continuous improvement.

One of its main concepts is to test ideas quickly, measure results, and use the information obtained to decide whether to continue, modify, or rethink a proposal.

This can be especially useful when you still do not know for certain whether there is sufficient demand for a product or service.

What can you apply to your business?

Before investing large amounts of money in a product, ask yourself:

Can I create a simple version and have it tested with real customers?

For instance, instead of developing a product for months without knowing if it will have demand, you can create an initial version, introduce it to a small group of customers and use their comments to improve it.

The idea is to learn before committing more resources.

7. Screwed but Happy — Jesús Sánchez Puebla

Ideal for: entrepreneurs and professionals who seek to reflect on the attitude, challenges and how to face challenges.

Fucked but happy, of Jesús Sánchez Puebla, brings a different perspective to this list of books for entrepreneurs.

While some of the earlier titles have been focused on productivity, leadership, finance and business creation, this book starts with a reflection about a reality that many entrepreneurs know about: The professional path isn't always easy and the circumstances aren't always under our control.

Jesús Sánchez Puebla is Master Trainer and CEO of JS Training & Consulting, a firm dedicated to training, consulting and developing professional competencies.

The title itself, Fucked but happy, proposes a provocative idea: facing difficult times does not necessarily mean giving up the possibility of enjoying the journey, learning from experiences and continuing forward.

For an entrepreneur, this perspective can be important because starting and developing a business means living with uncertainty, mistakes, changes, pressure and difficult decisions.

What can it offer an entrepreneur?

The book can serve as a starting point to reflect on questions such as:

• How do I react when things don't come up as I had hoped?
• What do I do when a project faces challenges?
• Am I allowing a problem to define my results?
• What can I learn from a complicated experience?
• What attitude am I bringing to my business and my team?

A particularly important idea for anyone who's undertaking is to understand that To have challenges is part of the process and to learn how to face them also forms part of growth.

Why put a Mexican book on this list?

Many lists of entrepreneurs' books are dominated by foreign authors and corporate cases from other markets. Including a work by a Mexican professional brings a perspective closer to the reality of people who start businesses and work in Mexico.

Fucked but happy also provides a perspective connected to Jesús Sánchez Puebla’s professional experience as a Master Trainer, consultant, and corporate trainer.

About the author:
Jesús Sánchez Puebla is Master Trainer and CEO of JS Training & Consulting. He has been involved throughout his career in training, consulting and skills development projects for professionals and organisations.

You don't have to read all seven books at once.

Choose the one most relevant to the challenge you are currently facing and focus on turning its ideas into actions.

Read a book or listen to an audio book?

Reading is not the only way to benefit from a book.

Audio Books can be a useful alternative for those with little time and wanting to learn while driving, walking, exercising or performing other activities.

However, listening to an audiobook from beginning to end does not guarantee that knowledge becomes learning.

A good strategy is:

Listen → identify an idea → take notes → apply it → measure the result.

Thus, the audio book ceases to be only content that you consume and becomes a tool to generate new actions.

How Can You Get More Out of a Book for Entrepreneurs?

To finish a book doesn't necessarily mean to have learned something you can use.

To better use every reading, you can follow this method.

1. Define what you want to learn

Before we start, identify the problem that you want to solve.

For example:

“I want to learn to manage my time better.”

2. Take notes

Record ideas that may have an actual application in your situation.

Don't have to write everything down.

Focus on what could help you solve a problem.

3. Choose a single idea

One of the most common mistakes is trying to change too many things at once.

Select a concrete action.

4. Test her

Apply it for a few days or weeks and observe what happens.

5. Measure the result

Ask yourself:

• Did it work?
• What's changed?
• What can I get better?
• Is it worth keeping?

Thus, reading ceases to be only a learning activity and becomes a decision-making tool.

From reading to action

Business books can give you new ideas, but no book builds a business itself.

Learning begins with using what you found to analyze your company, improve a process, test a strategy or make a different decision.

It does not matter whether you are starting a business, seeking to improve an existing company, or simply want to develop new skills.

Choose a book that addresses the challenge you face today. Read, listen, take notes, and turn at least one of its ideas into a concrete action.

Because learning's important but applying what you have learned is what can lead to real changes in your undertaking.