10 Inspiring Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read
Entrepreneurs around the world are feeling the pinch at the moment. Many of us are not sure if our businesses will survive past COVID-19. We feel the pressure to innovate quickly in order to stay relevant. I feel you! To be honest, I have been feeling a little demotivated recently, so I decided to read some of my favourite books again in order to feel inspired and motivated.
Here are my top 10 reads:
This book is designed for the entrepreneur who is deliberately setting out to create a scalable, high growth business. The book covers topics ranging from such as building your dream team to measuring your business with data analytics.
2. The 360 Leader by John C. Maxwell
This has to be one of those books that I keep going back to because there are just so many golden eggs in it. Ask yourself, where is the best place from which to lead?
One chapter that really stood out for me was: Be willing to do what others won’t.
“Successful people do the things unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”
John C. Maxwell.
25 ways to Win with People by John C. Maxwell with Les Parrott, Ph.D.
As a content creator, this book really helped me find my purpose and drive for writing again. Chapter 16 focuses on how to find the keys to their hearts which helped me learn how to communicate a little better with my audience and connect with them on a much deeper level with my writing.
3. The 5 am Club by Robin Sharma
The exercises in this book have been life-changing for me. To be honest, I found the story in this book boring until the end when he broke down step-by-step methods to implement in order to see a change in your work productivity. The 5 am method taught me how to become disciplined and manage my time a little better.
4. Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss
This book features 100 electric mentors to help you navigate life. You will learn how and why Facebook Co-founder Dustin Moskovitz says no to most incoming requests and why TED curator Chris Anderson thinks ‘pursue your passion’ is terrible advice.
5. The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker. Foreword by Jim Collins
Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can-and must-be mastered. It doesn’t matter what size your organization is, (or even whether you run an organization at all).
Practices include: Managing time and Setting the right priorities.
6. Blue Ocean Shift by W. Can Kim and Renèe Mauborgne
This is a follow up from the famous book called Blue Ocean Strategy. Blue Ocean Shift is packed with inspiring, real-world examples of how leaders in diverse industries and organizations made the shift from red oceans of crowded competition to wide-open blue oceans of new market space by applying the process and tools outlined within.
One of the headings that stood out for me was: “Energy flows where your attention goes.” — I think it is so important for us to focus and have meaningful goals. I believe in Law of Attraction, do you?
7. Find your WHY by Simon Sinek
We all watched his TED Talk video and felt inspired to take on the world, but have you wanted to know more about his method? The reason I enjoyed this book was because it broke down everything in detail which is what I needed to figure out my WHY. I enjoyed doing the activities. It is also an informative book to use with a group of friends or team members.
8. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
This book is great for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to speak to customers and figure outlearn if your business is a good idea. It is a great read if you are planning to do a survey soon with your users or just starting a new business.
9. Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh. Foreword by Bill Gates
The lightning-fast path to building massively valuable companies! The book features case studies from numerous prominent tech businesses such as Airbnb and WeChat and offers a specific set of practices for catalysing and managing dizzying growth in burgeoning startups.
10. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
This book has dozens of case studies, practical step-by-step advice, and Mike Michalowicz’s sense of humor to tone down the seriousness a little. The author shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash chows.
These are books I repeatedly go back to which motivate me and inspire me to be and do better as an Entrepreneur. I hope it helps you too.
