Best Entrepreneurship Books – The Silicon Valley is abuzz with young and fresh energy that constantly innovates and creates businesses that leave a lasting impression in the world. If something should inspire you is the fact that the majority of the Silicon Valley is thriving with Indians. No wonder it’s high time that we bring these young minds to work in the country to actively see the vision of Make in India come true.
New Talent is always hungry for information and knowledge and what better way to shape young minds than immersing them in the world of books. Books play a pivotal role in providing a guiding light and fostering personal growth because at the end of the day you want your business to make money and loads of it. We have come up with a list of 10 Entrepreneurship Books that should be a must read for any entrepreneur to achieve valuable insights into the world of entrepreneurial success.
Entrepreneurship Books
#1 – The Startup Playbook:
Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from Their Founding Entrepreneurs
by David Kidder (Author), Reid Hoffman (Foreword)
All startup businesses are created to strike gold and Kidder has decided to turn the arch lights towards them and help them achieve success through his invaluable insights into the industry from the grueling experiences of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs and CEOs, revealing their closely kept secret success formula. Kidder has interviewed 41 founders who have made their businesses a household name to discover the key ingredients to enjoy a successful journey in the business world.
Kidder has managed to bring his passion into the writing of this book propelling the interest of small and big entrepreneurs to succeed in their business or industry. The book is abound with wisdom which is sure to benefit each individual in knowing themself; keeping their focus intact on the big ideas to eventually become a better businessman than the competition ahead and be a monopolist at the end of the day.
Written in a casual coffee table manner style the book is inevitably abundantly filled with pearls of wisdom from the likes of Steve Case of AOL, Robin Chase of Zipcar, Scott Harrison of Charity: Water, Jay Walker of Priceline, Sara Blakely of Spanx; inspiring people to stay ahead of their game. The book is a great read not only for entrepreneurs in the startup phase but also top management officials in the companies.
#2 – The Lean Startup:
How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
by Eric Ries (Author)
There is no shortcut to success and there is no guarantee for any businesses that they would not fail or suffer any losses. However, failures and losses are preventable with the timely invention of good strategies and approaches that will allow you to enjoy a stellar performance in your business. The Lean Startup is definitely the right step in that direction as the book inundates the idea that companies can enjoy being both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, Eric in his book relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. According to Ries this approach is the ideal shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute in a company.
Ries advice is very crucial for all who aspire to become corporate bigwigs, test your idea before you bet on them. Evaluate your vision continuously to reap benefits before you run into the path of losses.
#3 – The 4-Hour Workweek:
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss (Author)
Our lives our rut and we have accepted this fact. However, Timothy Ferriss is sure to jostle you up and ask you to wake up to become a part of the ambitious, organized group who is here to achieve their dreams of escaping the monotony and achieving a luxurious life that you see only in your dreams. The 4-Hour Workweek is step by step blue print of achieving professional fulfillment even in the volatile financial times of today. Recommend reading it to get all fired up to go for the action.
#4 – The $100 Startup:
Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future Hardcover – May 8, 2012
by Chris Guillebeau (Author)
Everyone is in love with the idea of achieving that perfect blend of passion and income into their work life that will reap them profits without shelving on things that they currently do. However, the author proposes a very unconventional idea to do the following, which at the onset seems a little weird but once given a thought it falls into place with the scheme of the things. The author initially wants the reader to start with a small venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you’re sure it’s successful. Chris concentrates on the fact that personal passions can be used to the benefit to achieve monetary gains to enjoy a greater freedom and fulfillment in life.
The book is sure to rouse the man in you to follow your dream to the hilt. The ideas in the book are a great mix of figuring out and developing your expertise to achieve and sell a product that is in demand and will get you paid. Chris Guillebeau has the knack of enwrapping you in his words and making things like starting businesses sound very easy.
#5 – Abundance:
The Future Is Better Than You Think
by Peter H. Diamandis (Author), Steven Kotler (Author)
You have the world who’s who hobnobbing about the idea of protecting the environment. The storm has reached the corporate world to an extent that companies to day feel the pressure to participate in bringing about a societal change with respect to the environment. Abundance is the book that exactly addresses the problem that plagues our society and the author provides very practical solutions to overcoming age old difficulties of overpopulation, food, water, energy, education, health care and freedom. Peter who is an innovator provides a positive note that perhaps abundance for all is within our grasp and all this is possible through the pioneering technology of today’s age whether it is artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, or other exponentially growing technologies. According to Peter this progress is going to be initiated by inventors who will eventually turn into entrepreneurs to see their dream of reaching out to all people.
This book is to be read not with the notion of achieving any entrepreneurial advice but with the open mind that every businessman has to broaden his horizon regarding the philanthropist work that they should indulge in to benefit the society.
#6 – Zero to One:
Notes Startups, or How to Build the Future
by Peter Thiel
Imagine someone urging you to think beyond the idea of doing business in Silicon Valley. Possible! When Peter Thiel presents a crisply written book with the conviction that there is more to innovation than just restricting our self to the computers and technology. Innovation can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
So the next big thing for you to create as an entrepreneur is not a search engine or a social networking website but ruthlessly competing with your brain to create a new, unique idea that will make your business unique. Thiel urges the budding entrepreneurs to give up on their obsession on market size and look for small niche market when they start their business and try to dominate them.
Businesses flourish because it presents a novelty of service and product that makes the user or customer compelled to use it. The book leads you to learn to ask questions to yourself that will ultimately allow you to find value in unexpected places.
This book is sure to provide the aspiring entrepreneurs a motivation to build a business which is beyond expectations. The lucidity with which the counter-intuitive ideas have been explained is simply marvelous and makes it compelling for the reader to finish the book till the end. The shear genius and academic rigour which is coupled with the firsthand experience of the executive turned entrepreneur Thiel at the top of the pyramid and makes this book an exceptional read.
#7 – True North
by Bill George and Peter Sims
Businesses require great leaders to run them efficiently thus betting on the idea is just the first phase, as the entrepreneur you need to learn the vital skills of leadership to reign control of the other factors that have been employed in your business. True North in this regards is a guide to learn to follow the internal compass to successfully overcome the trials and tribulations of life and become an authentic leader. The authors have shared the wisdom of 125 top leaders, presenting a concrete and comprehensive program for leadership success, showing how to create your own Personal Leadership Development Plan which is to be centered on five key areas:
- Knowing your authentic self
- Defining your values and leadership principles
- Understanding your motivations
- Building your support team
- Staying grounded by integrating all aspects of your life
The book is not a simple give away of tools to become a leaders. In retrospect the Entrepreneurship books provides a platform for the readers to figure out themselves how to become a leader.
#8 – Click Millionaires
by Scott Fox
Earning Millions required a lot of qualities, qualities that would a normal human being on a pedestal to be worshipped as a hero of a businessman, since he made so much of wealth. This logic is applied no more because the American Dream is just not about relegated to shining beacons of human characteristic but it applies to anyone sadly following the monotony of the boring work life and dreams to make millions by launching a startup. Today a successful business is no more dependent on an office; businesses today are run from the home, beach, from any place you are willing to work. You can redesign your life and career according to your interests and skills. The author uses simple, plain language to explain on how to combine automated online marketing, expert positioning, and outsourcing to build a lucrative and ethical Internet business, all while working less and setting your own hours. The book makes it easy to choose an online business model and get started. Learn how to do the work you were born to do instead of working a job you don’t enjoy just to pay your bills.
#9 – How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
An all-time favourite and a best seller to end this list, because this book is for everyone irrespective of their field of interest. The book is an absolute gem and a master piece in guiding people through to be a great influencer and communicator to be successful in their life. The book bring out the very best in you by providing
* Three fundamental techniques in handling people
* The six ways to make people like you
* The twelve ways to win people to you way of thinking
* The nine ways to change people without arousing resentment
Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks making you more sensitive to the people around you.
