Top 10 Books for Entrepreneurs to Widen Their Skills

Curious people learn something new every day. Globalization and the Internet have connected the entire world, and information is just a search away. Tremendous progress and developments are made in various industries like healthcare, transport, communication, networks, etc. The stock prices also fluctuate daily. On January 4th, 2022, Amazon witnessed its market capitalization rise by $190 billion in a single day! Due to this, the current market trends also change rapidly, and understanding them becomes a challenging task. Then, if you want to expand your business, start upskilling yourself by reading some books for entrepreneurs.

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Top 10 Books for Entrepreneurs

• The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferris:

This book talks about how one can escape from a 9-5 job and live a millionaire’s life without actually being one. He talks about automating your income and freeing up your time. He highlights the 80/20 principle in his book. To earn the lifestyle of the rich, he emphasizes four strategies: Define your objectives and priorities, eliminate distractions, automate your sources of income, and free yourself from societal obligations.

• Good to Great, by Jim Collins:

This is one of the best books for entrepreneurs. According to the author, “Good is the enemy of Great”. He says that transforming from good to extraordinary is challenging, and very few manage to do so. He talks about the framework and processes to follow for this transformation. It includes level-five leadership, finding the right people with great vision, confronting brutal facts without losing hope, cultivating discipline, etc. 

• Purple Cow, by Seth Godin:

The author says that to be successful in running a business, the product or service you provide should be impactful, unique and noticeable. He gives an example of the “Purple cow” for this purpose. He feels so because most of the marketing today is because of word-of-mouth. The book talks about taking risks, building remarkable products, and targets early adopters and sneezers. He also talks about the problem with the “Purple cow” and says that if there is a will, there is a way.

• The Startup Playbook, by David S. Kidder:

This book deals with the five secrets shared by successful entrepreneurs to grow from a start-up to a successful company. This is one of the best books for starting a business. The ideas include: anticipating the problems of the market but starting early, keeping your business model a secret and planning for the future, maximizing the usage of resources to create new products and reacting quickly to feedback, nurturing enthusiasm among employees and customers, and keeping your primary focus on the customer and developments of the future.

• Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss:

This book highlights the habits and beliefs of successful investors and entrepreneurs. The patterns one develops in the present will be the key to success in the future. The ability to set long term goals, being courageous and not being bound by fear, the authors fear exercise, the need for focus, taking action, prioritizing tasks, etc., are some highlights of this book. He also emphasises the importance of being creative and techniques to improve your creativity.

• Smarter Faster Better, by Charles Duhigg:

This book for entrepreneurs talks about the secret to success in life and business. It gives you insights on developing a skill you are already good at and focuses on decision-making, goal-setting, and motivation. The author says that goals must be set using the “SMART” framework. He says that the roots of innovation lie in finding new ways to do things based on older beliefs and practices. He calls motivation a skill that is developed over a period of time. He also uses cognitive tunnelling, the Bayes rule, etc., to strengthen and prove his point of view.

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz:

In this book, the author talks about his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges he came across, the dilemma he was in, and the tough decisions he had to take. He tells the inside truths and difficulties faced by founders and CEOs of organisations. He says that a CEO has to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. He talks about different types of CEOs, embracing the struggle, Peter principle, etc. He talks about developing the mindset of a CEO by giving practical wisdom throughout his book. 

• Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin:

The book drives home that many people who have achieved great heights have reached such positions because of their skill and consistent efforts. The author feels that talent is overrated as many believe that someone is good at something because they are born with it. The author disagrees and says that outstanding performance is in one’s own hands. He strongly feels that finding the best talent is a scarce resource. This applies to people and organizations. He talks about healthy competition and the multiplier effect too.

• The Search, by John Battelle:

The book is about how Google and its rivals have played an essential role in transforming what we see as a business today. The author was involved in “Internet Journalism” and, through his book, gave great insights on how Google started and the concept behind the search. He talks about Google’s business model, how it makes money through advertisements, what separates it from other search engines and how it has managed to transform the culture of the business. He also highlights the problems faced by Google in its journey, how they thrive for perfection and how it has influenced its business. 

• Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell: 

The author feels that successful people have the edge over others because they are motivated to learn, work and grow. He thinks that intelligence has a threshold, and it is the practice and efforts one puts consistently that make one successful. According to him, success relies less on talent and more on deliberate efforts. He says that intellectual smartness combined with practical intelligence is required for success. He says that success is based on various factors like where you come from, when you are born, etc. 

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Conclusion

In the fast-paced world where so many developments occur each day, upskilling oneself is essential to stay relevant, which applies to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs need to widen their skills, follow the market trends, keep revising their business model and have the right mindset to be successful. They can do so by reading some of the best books for entrepreneurs and applying their learnings to their businesses to boost their revenue, trust and profits.