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7 Top Business Plan Books for New-age Entrepreneurs

Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

Free Ultimate Guide On Writing A Business Plan

  • October 18, 2023

12 Min Read

7 Best Business Plan Books for new-age Entrepreneurs

Business Plan books are the first thing to go for once you have decided on the idea you want to pursue as an entrepreneur.

Starting up as an entrepreneur is not as simple as it seems. Transforming your idea into a business that creates value for the world is a long process.

The process is full of uncertainties, hurdles, and burnout. To make consistent efforts without giving up, you need a plan you can rely upon.

The ultimate guide to starting a business

A plan that helps you in making wise decisions in your entrepreneurial journey is known as a business plan.

It also helps in refining processes and keeps you in line with your business goals.

Now, how would you create a business plan?

Well, you can anyhow get to know what it contains. However, to easily create a business plan that covers all aspects of your business, you must read these books.

In this article, we are going to discuss the 7 top business plan books written for ambitious entrepreneurs like you!

Best Business Plan Books

  • Art of the Start 2.0
  • The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies
  • The Founder’s Dilemma
  • The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur
  • The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan
  • Anatomy of a Business Plan
  • The Complete Book of Business Plans

1. Art of the Start 2.0

Art of the start 2.0

Goodreads rating: 3.87/5

The author of this book is American millionaire Guy Kawasaki. Though his name is enough for anyone to stand up from their seats let me tell you a few things about him.

  • He worked with Apple in 1984 as a part of the marketing team for Macintosh computers.
  • He is the author of 12 books including The Art of Social Media, and Enchantment.
  • He is currently working as the chief evangelist of Canva which is a graphic designing software.

Now coming to what this book holds for you, it’s one of those books that focus on transforming your business idea into a full-fledged organization.

Guy Kawasaki explains why it is important to have a vision and how you, as an entrepreneur, can feed your team with the same vision.

If your team does not adhere to the same vision, there will always be chaos in the workspace.

You must also share stories about your product and your journey. Everyone loves stories. You don’t have to write a 300-page book but a few social media posts, and videos that resonate well with your target audience.

The book also guides entrepreneurs while hiring. It tells you to hire people who are new in the industry. They are most likely to innovate new products as they consistently ask questions.

Key Highlight:

This book will help you in writing a business plan along with guiding you in various steps of entrepreneurship. This book holds something for every aspect of entrepreneurship.

It also stresses how you can use the internet and cloud tools to make the processes more accessible and more efficient. In the modern era, businesses are equipped with tools that are affordable and accessible to everyone.

Moreover, the book also throws light on socializing and partnering with the right people for leadership roles or to get funding.

By reading this book, you will feel more powerful as an entrepreneur and will be ready to take on challenges that come along with entrepreneurship.

This book doesn’t sound like rhetoric and probably that’s why this book received appreciation from all across the world.

Book Link- Art of the Start 2.0

A reader’s review:

The focus is on tech entrepreneurs. While much of the advice is applicable to other industries, the book will hit the bullseye specifically with those starting technology businesses.

Anita Campbell (via Goodreads)

2. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies

The successful Business Plan Secrets and Strategies

The author of the book is Rhonda Abrams who has written more than 12 books on entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur herself, the knowledge she shares is absolute gold and trustworthy.

She also writes one of the most popular columns in the US known as Small Business Strategies.

Let us now discuss what Rhonda Abrams has taught in her book.

The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies is a complete guide for anyone stuck in writing. It is one of those books that give you a push to start working on your idea.

This book contains various worksheets and charts which makes it consumable as well as practical.

You will get enough examples of various parts of a business plan , giving you an in-depth idea of what it looks like and how it is written.

This book not only teaches you to write a business plan that reminds you about your vision but also this plan can help you get investors on board.

It also equips you with strategies to get funds at the best possible rates and also to minimize the costs involved in running a business.

It gives you an in-depth understanding of positioning your brand in the market to gain the attention of your target audience and thus derive maximum profit.

Moreover, you can also use it for competitions related to showcasing plans for their businesses. The book is used by many entrepreneurs and is recommended to every small business.

Book Link- The Successful Business Plan

There’s enough information here to help you get almost any business started. This is a proven source, for it’s been through several re-prints since 1991.

Jeffrey Brown (via Goodreads)

3. The Founder’s Dilemma

The Founder’s Dilemma

Goodreads rating: 4.01/5

The book, The Founder’s dilemma, is one of the best business plan books by Noam Wasserman. Apart from this, he has written another bestseller known as Life is a startup.

Noam Wasserman served as a professor at Harvard Business school for 13 years and is currently working at the University of Southern California as a founding Director at the Founder Central Initiative.

The book he wrote is an absolute beauty. Not because he has told some hidden secrets but because he has addressed a problem that many entrepreneurs often ignore.

And that problem is the company’s leadership. You might have a billion-dollar business idea and even have cracked the tech for it, but you might still fail because of listening to the wrong advice.

If you want your business to not suffer due to wrong decisions made by top leadership, you must read this book.

This book will help you in deciding whom you want to work with, and how to share the equity among co-founders and employees without being emotional.

However, this book might not be useful for small businesses but is a gem for someone planning to launch a high-growth business.

Book Link – The Founder’s Dilemma

I’ve never seen a book before that was particularly helpful – to a founder – about the wide range of issues a founder will face.

Brad Feld (via Goodreads)

4. The One-Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

Goodreads rating: 3.86/5

The author of this mind-blowing book is none other than Jim Horan.

Known for his expertise in solving complex business problems , Jim has helped many entrepreneurs in turning their businesses into profit-making machines.

Jim Horan has also been a Fortune 500 executive and has written six books in the One Page Business Plan for Creative Entrepreneur series.

This book is quite different from other books as it is written for entrepreneurs who do not understand a lot about business figures but want to get started soon.

There’s a saying that if you cannot write your business plan on a single page, you are probably doing it wrong.

The book enables you to write it in a couple of hours which includes your mission, objectives, and plans.

It will be crisp and easy to understand for your investors as well as the team. In this fast-moving world, it becomes really uncomfortable to give a week preparing a business plan.

You have the idea and with the help of this book, you can turn the idea into a business in no time.

Having said that, this book is not recommended to someone who is building a high-growth company or a business with many manufacturing units.

This book is specially designed for small businesses to increase their profits and improve their vision.

Book Link – The One-Page Business Plan

One of my favorites! I have used these templates many times. It really forces you to be concise and focus on your vision. Highly recommend!

Teri Temme (via Goodreads)

5. The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

The Secrets to writing a successful Business Plan

Goodreads rating: 3.70/5

The author of this book Hal Shelton is an extremely experienced executive who has worked with many corporations, non-profits, and investment companies.

Hal Shelton completed his BS from Carnegie Mellon University and then pursued an MBA from the University of Chicago.

The secrets to writing a successful Business Plan focus on each section of the plan to help you create one that stands out in front of the investors.

The book also informs you about the common errors entrepreneurs make while writing. These errors sometimes cost very high as they might create confusion for investors as well as for the team.

You will also learn to do the market analysis and write the same in your plan. You will be able to answer questions like how big is the market and whether it is sufficient to run a successful business or not.

Investors receive a lot of business plans and going through each one of them is not feasible. Therefore writing an executive summary becomes extremely important.

The executive summary is an easy way to grab investors’ attention and help them understand your business without going through lengthy documents.

If you are launching a non-profit organization, this book can help you in many ways as a section of the book is dedicated to non-profits.

Moreover, the book also consists of secret strategies for writing a business plan and getting bank loans or funding from investors.

Book Link – The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

This book provides a very solid foundation to write your plan. The author also provides excellent examples and instructions as to what to and not to do in writing your business plan

Kirk G. Meyer (via Goodreads)

6. Anatomy of a Business Plan

Anatomy of a business plan

The author of this book, Linda Pinson, has worked very closely with the U.S. small business administration to write the government business plan publication.

She has also been honored as Education Advocate of the year and SBA regional women in Business advocate of the year.

Apart from this book, she has written many books on entrepreneurship such as Keeping the books and steps to start a small business startup.

This is one of the best business books for people who do not know anything about business plans.

This book provides you with an in-depth understanding of different business plans and will enable you to choose your ideal kind.

After reading the book, you will learn to update your plan according to the needs of your business and the position of your brand in the market.

The author also highlights the importance of mentioning the table of contents and executive summary in navigating smoothly through the book.

Apart from this, it also throws light on how you can efficiently market your business. You will also learn how to mention the financials of your company which is an important thing to do.

The Anatomy of a Business Plan also contains five real-life business plans which give you an understanding of how successful businesses can be explained in a few pages.

You also get a few worksheets which makes the overall experience of reading the book delightful.

Book Link – Anatomy of a Business Plan

This book is like “a mentor for your business plan”. Really informative and helpful.

Marvin Musfiq (via Goodreads)

7. The Complete Book of Business Plans

The complete book of business plans

Goodreads rating: 3.47/5

The authors of this book are Brian Hazelgran and Joseph A. Covello. Both of them have a great understanding of how businesses operate in this book. They have told us that one size doesn’t fit all.

That means business plans for different businesses cannot be written in the same way.

This book contains 12+ plans that give you an idea of how you write one for yourself.

This book also focuses on how you should bring people into your business and what vision you should have to run the business for decades.

Moreover, when you read the book you will have to ask a lot of questions to yourself. The book will compel you to ask questions yourself that are immensely important before writing it.

Once you give satisfactory answers to the questions asked, you will feel more motivated to start a business , and writing a business will look like a cakewalk.

The above quote shows how important it is to plan your business and create a visionary plan for your business.

Book Link – The Complete Book of Business Plans

Great book encompassing everything about writing business plans.

Denny Troncoso (via Goodreads)

Bottom Line

All the Business plan books that we discussed above are going to help you in some way or the other.

But don’t worry you don’t need to read all of them. Just figure out where you stand and where you would want to go and select a book accordingly.

Innovative tools present in the industry like Upmetrics have helped many entrepreneurs in business and financial planning. If you need more help writing a perfect business plan, check out Upmetrics NOW and grow 2X faster.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

crossline

Related Articles On Business Plan Writing

  • A Guide to Write an Effective Business Plan Executive Summary
  • Formulating a Detailed Business Plan Outline
  • Get Your Business Plan Written by Expert Writers
  • How Many Pages Should a Good business Plan Be
  • Understand the Operations Plan Section in a Business Plan
  • How to Design a Compelling Business Plan Cover Page
  • Guidelines for Formulating a Business Plan Table of Contents
  • Importance of a Confidentiality Statement in a Business Plan

About the Author

best book about business plan

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan

  • Ivaylo Durmonski
  • Reading Lists

There are a lot of insightful thoughts around the concept of planning. In a sense, planning helps you forecast the “weather” of your business. Prepares you for what might happen. And distance you, hopefully, further away from your business going to dust. Most importantly, it allows you to think about the type of tasks you should focus on doing today. Do we know how to plan our business if we’re not business owners , though?

There is nothing wrong with having a regular job.

A lot of people are doing it.

Theoretically, since we’re born. We enter a sophisticated system of government-operated institutions that aim to spit us out after approximately 20 years, ready to help someone else grow his dream business.

You’re thought -sort of – how to plan your career. But you’re never thought how to plan your business.

Regardless of your current situation. The idea of starting a business or learning basic business skills will surely reach your mind at some point.

If you’re still not sure whether or not this is something you can achieve on your own. The business books mentioned below are specifically selected to boost your planning skills.

These books, of course, primarily serve business owners or people that are dreaming of becoming such.

Yet, these reads will definitely expand your horizon even if you don’t plan on starting your own thing right now. They will give you a perspective that will force you to think long term – the best way of thinking.

The 10 Best Books for Writing a Business Plan:

1. the goal by eliyahu goldratt, 2. the one page business plan for the creative entrepreneur by jim horan, 3. mind your business by ilana griffo, 4. business plan template and example by alex genadinik, 5. the best-laid business plans by paul barrow, 6. smart business by ming zeng, 7. measure what matters by john e. doerr, 8. your next five moves by patrick bet-david, 9. business model generation by alexander osterwalder, 10. playing to win by a.g. lafley.

The Goal by Elliot Goldratt cover

What’s the book about?

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt is a novel. A fascinating story that describes the life of a business owner who is facing a series of obstacles that, if not handled well, will lead to a catastrophic ending of the company he is running. Mr. Goldratt presents this fictional business environment to teach us an important lesson: That the speed of a convoy is determined by the slowest ship.

Who is it for?

Especially interesting for people who already own businesses but are struggling to grow. For people who can’t adequately articulate what is wrong with what they are doing. Eliyahu Goldratt teaches us that we should observe a business as a series of systems . The faster the systems operate. The faster you’ll grow. To speed up this process, first, you need to identify the weakest link and improve upon the process.

Thought-Provoking Quote:

“Since the strength of the chain is determined by the weakest link, then the first step to improve an organization must be to identify the weakest link.” Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Get the book | Read my summary

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur by Jim Horan book cover

In this book, Jim Horan compiles his years of experience as a Fortune 500 executive and business consultant. The pages will help you quickly form a simple business plan based on the most successful companies in the world. The book goes through the 5 stages every organization hoping to make a profit from their products and/or services needs: Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Action.

This resource is great for people just starting their online or offline venture. Folks who are considering the idea of starting a business but are not quite sure what to do first. The One Page Business Plan For Creative Entrepreneur will show you the exact steps you need to begin your entrepreneurial journey.

Get the book

Mind Your Business by Ilana Griffo book cover

This long-winded title is here to show you how to start a business from scratch. Ilana Griffo, the author, shares her journey on how she started her side hustle which eventually become a six-figure design studio. A lot of readers describe this title as everything you need to learn about being your own boss. Of course, it all starts with planning.

Great book for anyone dreaming about starting a creative project both online and/or offline. The honest tips and the real-world insights will show you exactly what you need to do. How to start and how to plan your day. The book is the perfect companion that will be your guide in your money-making journey.

Business Plan Template And Example by Alex Genadinik book cover

Simply put, this title will help you create a professional business plan. The author even boasts that you will do the planning in minutes. Not that you should rush. But the included exercises and the questions Alex Genadinik is asking in the book will help you think critically about your overall structure and the products you will be creating – or refining if you already have existing goods.

The program presented in this title is used by a number of universities to teach students how to plan better. As stated in the description, the book… “will help you identify the most effective business strategies for your situation.” You will start by writing a short 3-sentence business plan which will focus you on what’s truly important.

“Product: What is the product or service? What benefit does it provide and to whom? Can you make it inexpensively and of high quality? What form will it take? Website? App? Brick and mortar business? Marketing: Identify a few of the most effective marketing strategies to promote your business Finances: What are the major sources of revenue? How will this happen profitably? When will you achieve financial sustainability? Do you need to raise money for this? How much?” Alex Genadinik

The Best-Laid Business Plans by Paul Barrow book cover

The first book I read on business planning. Foreword by Richard Branson. This title is dated, but still adequate even though everything is happening online these days. The text will teach you the most important ideas around planning a business. It’s full of case studies about different projects and ideas. The author carefully explains how to present your business plan to others in a way that everyone will get.

This book will explain in a simple way why it’s essential and how you should approach the subject of planning in general. The ideas inside are great for people who are looking to raise money or get approval from seniors for their proposed course of action. Also, if you’re still not convinced that you need planning, this book will surely change your perspective.

Smart Business by Ming Zeng book cover

Written by Ming Zeng, the former Chief of Staff and strategy adviser to Alibaba Group’s founder Jack Ma. This book presents a framework that will help business owners create a winning future strategy for their companies. The titles reveal some of the revolutionary practices Alibaba developed to rapidly increase efficiency.

We commonly read about what Google is doing or about what other Silicon Valley unicorns are working on. It’s a good idea to take a fresh eastern perspective on how to operate your business. Smart Business will show you how to use cutting-edge technologies to plan and scale your business.

Measure What Matters by John E. Doerr book cover

Measure What Matter will teach you how to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as an approach to make decisions in business. The legendary John Doerr has helped some of the best companies in the world to scale and exceed their yearly goals by using this simple method.

With time, every owner begins to collect all kinds of data to measure whether or not his project is succeeding. Sadly, many entrepreneurs end up being fixated on the wrong things. This book will explain what you need to measure and why. Helping you focus on the right things so you can reach explosive growth.

“We must realize—and act on the realization—that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.” John Doerr

Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David book cover

In short, this book is about figuring out what you should do next. Taking a holistic view of your business is always a good way to think about where you plan to go. Occasionally, though, you also need to think and plan about what you should do right now – planning your next few moves. The steps inside this title will help you gain clarity on what you really want, who you want to be, and what to do to get these things.

For those who are not only working on businesses, but in business as well. Patrick Bet-David explains how to not let emotions cloud your judgment. How to switch from a broad view of your business to a narrower view. Essentially, the lessons inside will help you identify your true self. Understand who you want to be and where you want to go, both in your life and in your business.

“Your vision must align with who you want to be. Your choices must align with your vision. Your effort must align with the size of your vision. Your behavior must align with your values and principles.” Patrick Bet-David

Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder book cover

Full of visual elements, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers will help you soak up the knowledge and figure out your own business model. This is not your regular book where you’ll be presented with a wall of text. The title is full of infographics and design elements that will prompt you to actively work on defining your business plan and your strategy.

I’d say that this book is for people who are kind of tired of the traditional corporate-heavy jargon that is usually part of business literature. This title combines useful information and presents it in an easily digestible matter that will surely increase your comprehension and your participation when using the material.

“People are moved more by stories than by logic. Ease listeners into the new or unknown by building the logic of your model into a compelling narrative.” Alexander Osterwalder

Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley book cover

Written by a long-standing Procter & Gamble Chairman and CEO, this book might seem a bit dry for your taste. Well, it surely is. Rarely anyone below CEO will relate to the mentioned examples. Yet, this read will change the way you think about your business. You’ll become more strategic with your daily decisions. You will become better at identifying what to do and what not to do.

Great companies do not become great by accident. They become great thanks to the strategic choices they make. Even if you don’t end up getting the book, simply consider the title for a moment: “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works”. Now, ask yourself, are you playing to win, or are you simply playing? This question alone will disturb your current processes and assist you in finding the best course of action for your business.

“The heart of strategy is the answer to two fundamental questions: where will you play, and how will you win there?” A.G. Lafley

Some Closing Thoughts

Business planning is important for various reasons.

Not only you’ll get clarity on where you’ll want to go. But you will also set a to-do list that will portray how to get to where you want.

More specifically, conducting a business plan will force you to think about what type of business you want to create. Understand your core motivators. Help you find your unique proposition and how you are different from the rest of the businesses out there.

I’ve hand-picked the selection of business books above so you can plan better. Of course, you don’t need to read all of the titles. Usually one or two from the list is enough to get you moving in the right direction.

If you’re looking for more reads on the topic. Make sure to check my must-read business books list. Or, the selection of books on how to start a business (plus my business book summaries ).

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Our goal : Find the best Business Plan books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

  • Type "best business plan books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
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  • Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

  • Best Business Plan Books

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur

The fastest, easiest way to write a business plan.

The Art of the Start 2.0

The Art of the Start 2.0

The time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything.

Guy Kawasaki

Successful Business Plan

Successful Business Plan

Secrets & strategies.

Rhonda Abrams

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

A pro shares a step-by-step guide to creating a plan that gets results.

Hal Shelton

The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup

How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses.

The Founder's Dilemmas

The Founder's Dilemmas

Anticipating and avoiding the pitfalls that can sink a startup.

Noam Wasserman

How to Write a Business Plan

How to Write a Business Plan

Mike P. McKeever

The Complete Book of Business Plans

The Complete Book of Business Plans

Simple steps to writing powerful business plans.

Joseph A Covello

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

Get new customers, make more money, and stand out from the crowd.

Business Model Generation

Business Model Generation

A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers.

Alexander Osterwalder

Starting a Business QuickStart Guide

Starting a Business QuickStart Guide

The simplified beginner’s guide to launching a successful small business, turning your vision into reality, and achieving your entrepreneurial dream.

Ken Colwell

Mind Your Business

Mind Your Business

A workbook to grow your creative passion into a full-time gig.

Ilana Griffo

Writing Winning Business Plans

Writing Winning Business Plans

How to prepare a business plan that investors will want to read and invest in.

Garrett Sutton

Burn the Business Plan

Burn the Business Plan

What great entrepreneurs really do.

Carl J. Schramm

Anatomy of a Business Plan

Anatomy of a Business Plan

The step-by-step guide to building a business and securing your company's future.

Linda Pinson

Hurdle

The Book on Business Planning

Writing a Convincing Business Plan

Writing a Convincing Business Plan

Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D.

Hit the Deck

Hit the Deck

Create a business plan in half the time, with twice the impact.

David Ronick

Creating a Business Plan For Dummies

Creating a Business Plan For Dummies

Veechi Curtis

  • 12 Books You Should Read Before Starting a Business www.businessinsider.com
  • Business Plan Books www.mymoneybooks.com
  • The 9 Best Business Plan Books www.thebalancesmb.com
  • 20 Best Books on The Business Plan - Bigger Investing www.biggerinvesting.com
  • 20 Best Books on How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 www.profitableventure.com

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The 29 best business books to read in 2023, ranked by Goodreads members

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

  • Entrepreneurs can learn business concepts, tactics, and advice from books. 
  • The best business reads include self-help, leadership, and psychology books.
  • We turned to Goodreads to rank the best business books to read in 2023.

Insider Today

Whether you're a small business owner , entrepreneur, or just someone seeking useful career advice, there are many great books to turn to. Business books can provide psychological concepts for better negotiation skills , personal anecdotes to avoid repeating mistakes, or self-help tips to improve productivity. 

To find the best ones, we turned to Goodreads, the world's largest platform to rate and review books. Among the highest ranking are classics like " How to Win Friends and Influence People " as well as newer memoirs like " Shoe Dog ." From fascinating leadership reads to analytical management books, here are the best business books to read in 2023.

29. "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.29

This productivity book is a necessary business read as it teaches readers how to transform the way we work by de-stressing and organizing. Believing that a relaxed mind is most effective, David Allen presents realistic productivity systems and the ways in which we can implement them.

28. "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.29

Originally published in 1949 by the "father of value investing," "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham delivers realistic financial advice for individuals and businesses looking to grow their wealth. Far from principles that guarantee you'll become a millionaire, this book encourages readers to create practical goals and find success in any size a victory.

27. "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" by Sheryl Sandberg

best book about business plan

Available on Amazon and Bookshop from $12.60

"Lean In" sparked global conversation after its publication in 2013 because of its honesty about the experiences of women in business. This book encourages women to be voracious, courageous, and strong-willed at work in order to not only help themselves but improve the future for upcoming businesswomen.

26. "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.94

With over one million ratings on Goodreads, this book is a biography of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. Walter Isaacson conducted more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs and 100 interviews with family, friends, and colleagues to create an all-encompassing portrait of a man who revolutionized technology with his inventiveness.

25. "The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business" by Josh Kaufman

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.99

Written for those who cannot or don't intend to go to business school, "The Personal MBA" outlines the fundamental principles of business for people at any stage of their business career. With lessons on sales, marketing, negotiation, and strategy, this self-help read offers an overview of many business school topics to help readers master the MBA basics. 

24. "Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration" by Ed Catmull

best book about business plan

Available on Amazon and Bookshop from $13.69

Drawing on his experiences as a co-founder and president of Pixar Animation, Ed Catmull unveils some deeply ingrained processes and beliefs that have made Pixar so successful. His teams' philosophies can be applied to any business, creatively driven or otherwise.

23. "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15

In this leadership fable, a CEO attempts to unite a team under high stakes discovering along the way why even the greatest teams struggle. If this style of business book interests you, Patrick Lencioni also wrote "The Five Temptations of a CEO" and "Death by Meeting" in the same form.

22. "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99

Brothers Chip and Dan Heath use different business theories in this book to analyze the "stickiness" of an idea, or what makes some ideas work so well. They draw from successful and unsuccessful business ventures to help readers discover the principles within great ideas and therefore how to make their own ideas stick.

21. "Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant" by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

best book about business plan

Available at Bookshop , from $18.59

In this business book, authors Kim and Mauborgne assert that lasting success does not come from fighting direct competition in a small pool but rather from creating "blue oceans" or untapped market spaces where new growth can bloom. They outline strategic principles and tools that readers can translate to nearly any market and master their niche. 

20. "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.49

Over a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, authors Collins and Porras studied the habits of 18 successful and long-lasting companies in direct comparison to their competitors. "Built to Last" lays out the tactics, habits, and ideas from these successful businesses that managers and entrepreneurs can apply to their own and inspire new success. 

19. "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $16.99

"Influence" is a psychology book about persuasion, dubbed a business read by Goodreads reviewers for its usefulness in management, marketing, and communications. This book teaches the readers six principles of persuasion, how to apply them, and how to know when they're being used against you.

18. "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $9.99

"The Power of Habit" argues that habits are the key to success in business, communities, and our personal lives. Through an analysis of human nature and examples from successful business people, athletes, and leaders, this book demonstrates how mastering powerful habits can change our entire lives. 

17. "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $6.99

"Freakonomics" is a fascinating read that questions the ways we've conventionally understood the world functions and offers a way to question what we've assumed is conventional wisdom. Loved for its thought-provoking nature, this economics and business read separates morality from economics and asserts such as a system of incentives to get people what they want or need. 

16. "Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike" by Phil Knight

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $9.08

"Shoe Dog" might be a memoir, but Goodreads users love Phil Knight's focus on his success in business as he grew his company from $50 into the Nike empire. Knight's story brings readers into the details of the company's growth, the challenges he faced as a leader, and the breakthroughs he experienced.

15. "The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail" by Clayton M. Christensen

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.71

Malcolm Gladwell is a bestselling author best known for his nonfiction writing on psychology and sociology. In this psychology read, Gladwell analyses the "outliers" of the world — the best, the highest-achieving, the most famous people — to find what made them different and, thus, so successful. If you enjoy Gladwell's clear writing style and fascinating perspectives, you can check out his other popular books here . 

14. "Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It" by Chris Voss

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.97

Written by a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI, this business book transforms the psychology of interrogation into civilian-applicable negotiation tactics, such as skills you might need while discussing a raise or navigating interpersonal conflict . Using emotional and behavioral sciences, this book is about gaining trust, discovering motives, and understanding those around us. Voss also teaches a MasterClass on the same subject .

13. "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $12.99

12. "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael E. Gerber

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.29

The "e-myth" is the entrepreneurial idea that people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs and anyone with technical business understanding can start one. In this book, Michael E. Gerber analyzes assumptions, expectations, and misconceptions around starting a small business in the hope that readers can succeed on their own.

11. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don't" by James C. Collins

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.49

In this business book, James C. Collins analyzes what makes a company "great" and how good companies can achieve enduring success. He used a team of 21 researchers to develop his theories and back each principle with grounded statistics.

10. "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $11.99

With over 735,000 ratings, "The Tipping Point" is a business favorite of Goodreads members, helping readers understand when a good idea crosses the threshold to becoming a business or a product. Beloved for Malcolm Gladwell's concise and digestible writing style, this book uses sociology to analyze the personality types of business leaders, indicators that past trends would become massive, and interviews with great business people to find the traits of the next great idea.

9. "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

best book about business plan

"Rework" strives to be different from any other business book on the market by taking traditional business advice and analyzing how to work smarter for faster results. It approaches standard business principles from a new angle, highlighting the typical challenges and helping readers stay one step ahead.

8. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyoskai

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $6.82

Robert T. Kiyosaki is a millionaire businessman who grew up with two dads — his own, and his best friend's father (the "rich dad"). In this business and finance book, Kiyosaki explains how his two dads shaped his view of money and investing and gives the readers advice on how to invest and grow their money.

7. "The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz

best book about business plan

Filled with personal anecdotes and advice "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" analyzes some of the most challenging issues entrepreneurs may face while building a business such as firing a friend, managing bad employees, deciding whether or not to sell your company, and managing your own mind as a leader. Readers love this book for Horowitz's brutal honesty and his perspective as he writes to current and future CEOs as a CEO himself. 

6. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" by Stephen R. Covey

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $12.26

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is a self-help book that uses seven principles to help readers streamline their personal and professional lives toward success. Inspirational and practical, these habits use psychological reasoning to determine our goals, focus on reaching them, and maintain positive thinking throughout the process.

5. "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action" by Simon Sinek

best book about business plan

Simon Sinek is an inspirational speaker whose book encourages leaders to articulate why their business exists, their idea is great, and their movement is necessary. When people lead with "why," it is easier to lead and inspire.

4. "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.99

Based on a series of lectures given at Princeton University on entrepreneurship, Timothy Ferriss' business book is essentially about how to life-hack your business and when it is the appropriate time to make these moves, from outsourcing certain tasks to implementing new management principles. He also encourages entrepreneurs to break out of the 9-5 mold in order to become more well-rounded business people.

3. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

best book about business plan

Available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.60

This 1936 psychology book has become a business staple, necessary in understanding how to lead or manage a team. With principles on how to get people to like you, win people to your way of thinking, and change people without making them hate you, this popular book has sold over 15 million copies. 

2. "The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries

best book about business plan

Written to help more budding entrepreneurs create successful start-ups, "The Lean Startup" introduces a clear and dynamic approach for businesses to test, analyze, and continually adapt their vision and goals rather than fail by sticking to an original business plan. Both inspirational and validating for readers, this business book demonstrates first why conventional business plans can cause start-ups to fail and then offers advice and wisdom that can be applied to nearly any new business.  

1. "Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future" by Peter Thiel

best book about business plan

Peter Thiel is a billionaire investor and entrepreneur, a co-founder of PayPal and Founders Fund. In "Zero to One," he aims to help readers find unique opportunities for progress in an already advanced business space, incorporating his optimistic view of future entrepreneurs' ideas.

best book about business plan

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best book about business plan

The 8 Best Business Plan Books in 2022

best business plan books in 2022

You are finally ready to start that business you’ve been sitting on for a while, but you have no idea how to begin. There is a lot of planning to do and so much advice in the pipelines. So, how do you begin? Start with the best business plan books in 2022. The curated list below includes books from year past but they represent the best options to launch your business today.

business plan workbook download

This business plan book comes in PDF format takes an innovative approach to writing a business plan that is not only effective, but fun.Download this business plan workbook PDF now and walk through:

  • Setting tangible goals and milestones
  • Creating a powerful elevator speech
  • Precisely defining your target customer base
  • Intelligently understanding your competition
  • Articulately structuring the core of your business plan
  • And much more!

Write the business plan of your dreams! This business plan workbook goes beyond the cold numbers to help any entrepreneur plan a business with his or her life ambitions in mind. You’ll be able to crystallize your vision.

Table of Contents

Best Business Plan Books in 2022

It is often said that every prosperous owner is an avid reader of self-help books, so let’s begin from there. Get some real-world guidance from the best industry leaders and business owners in these eight books we have picked. Master how to position yourself properly, create personal connections, and build your dream team.

Yes, you have to separate the fluff from the real counsel. Learn how to lay the proper foundation for your startup with these best business plan books in 2022.

1. “Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning” by Tim Berry

This trusty gem has made it on many lists and stays atop of our best business plan books in 2022. Tim is the founder of Palo Alto Software, makers of Business Plan Pro and Live Plan, and was one of MoreBusiness.com’s partners when we started the site many years ago.

If you want a book that would break down the steps to constructing a solid business plan, then “Hurdle” is an amazing option. Written by Tim Berry, the book teaches the reader the basics of business planning, daily organizational management, and how best to implement what you’ve learned in real-life situations.

That is not all; you also get multiple examples on profit monitoring and calculation, cash flow tracking , plus a 53-page workbook to master drafting a working business plan. So it’s two for the price of one. With this book, you get to practice your business plan while you read.

2. “Anatomy of A Business Plan” by Linda Pinson

If you read this book, you will discover that the writer, Linda Pinson nailed her goals, as the name of the book suggests. With this title, you can draft a tailor-made business plan that considers your business case and specifics.

From organizational structure, financial documentation, marketing systems, marketing, and planning, this title holds your hand through it all. Get extensive reviews, valuable hints and ideas, workbooks, plus five real-world sample business plans to get you started.

Josh Radnore, a businessman, books critic and a writer for PapersOwl underlines the key principle of a business plan: “The right business plan should take your long-term goals into consideration. Ask yourself what you want to achieve and set realistic and achievable goals”. He carries on by adding: “When you do this, you can know what you need to do to get where you want to go”.

3. “The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur” by Jim Horan

Are you trying to draft a concise one sheet business plan to meet up urgently with an investor? Jin Horan and Tom Peter came up with a quick but detailed guide that focuses on the exact details you need to write that plan. You get a book that can guarantee your success without taking too much of your time.

There is no need to read this overnight; you can figure out clear ways to outline your business systems, objectives, road map, action plan, and the vision and mission statements in a few hours.

4. “The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan” by Hal Shelton

Read this concise and well-written guide to get a glimpse into the secrets Hal Shelton has to share. Just by reading this step-by-step title and implementing the teachings, you can set your organization up for success.

Learning from your mistakes is so last year; this book will teach you the common errors business owners make when planning. You would also grasp how to develop your unique style to help you attract investors and loans, help – when, where and how to get it – and how to stand out.

5. “The Art of The Start 2.0” by Guy Kawasaki

It’s not just about drafting a business plan; there are other necessary things that can affect your small business when you are starting. To help you plan and achieve your goals more easily, Guy Kawasaki, who you might know from the Canva design platform, has prepared the “essential guide for anyone starting anything”.

Get access to real-world counsel on how to perfect your pitch, crowdfunding, bootstrapping, the role of social media and other digital innovations in drafting the ideal business plan.

6. “The Complete Book of Business Plans” by Joseph A Covello and Brian J Hazelgren

This title made it to our best business plan books in 2022 because of the examples it provides. Get ahead with the dozens of business plan templates this title offers. Do you need motivation or counsel on attracting the right investors? Only by answering these questions in detail can you create a successful business plan to help you begin a profitable company.

You’ve got all you require in detail here, including the right steps to statistical analysis. You can even grasp how to pick the right business partners and plan for success and business longevity.

It does not matter if you are a first-timer or starting your fifth organization. With this book, you would be forced to ask yourself every difficult question that needs to be answered.

7. “The Founder’s Dilemmas” by Noam Wasserman

Business planning goes beyond market research, drafting a pitch and attracting investors with a business plan template . Along the line in this never-ending journey, you would need to think about leadership and how it can affect your new company. The staffing and leadership roles and whom you employ can say a lot.

The author, Noam Wasserman, helps you look at these factors before they can become issues. Take a break from the “how” and “why” of the ideal business plan and focus on the “who” in this interesting read.

8. “Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies” by Rhonda Abrams

Not every business plan will work, and this title would help you determine whether the one you have in mind is a winner. Authored by an expert in all business matters, Rhonda Abrams, you can learn about positioning, organizational costs, proven strategies for funding, and the competition.

With graphics, exercises, and worksheets to make reading fun, this is one of the best business plan books in 2022 and you will discover a thing or two, especially if you take some guidance given by other experts.

The guidance you get and the information you consume when starting any business are crucial to its success. Don’t start one of those companies that fold up early on because of poor organizational design and systems. To plan properly, you need to master tips and tricks from the best of the best, and you can get this by reading the best business plan books in 2022.

So, pick one of the titles in this carefully curated list and download MoreBusiness.com’s sample business plans today and you’ll be well on your way to planning a successful business that promises longevity.

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The 5 Best Business Plan Books (& Why You Shouldn’t Read Them)

best business plan books

You probably know that having a business plan will improve your chances of success in starting and growing your business. Reading the right business plan book can help you craft the perfect plan. But, there are more efficient ways than reading a book to learn about business planning and to complete your plan. In this article, I’ll show you such options, and if you’d still like to read a book, I’ll tell you the top 5 business planning books to consider.  

Why You Don’t Need To Read a Business Planning Book

There are many books about business planning that you could read, but why shouldn’t you? 

The simple answer, time. 

Reading even the best business plan books will take time to read and then process, and this is on top of the considerable time it takes to complete market research and write a solid business plan.

Instead, technology has provided today’s entrepreneurs with easy-to-follow simple business plan templates that teach you how to write the business plan as you complete the plan. Although every business is unique, a business plan template will offer you a great starting point and often includes customizable financial plans specific to your industry.   

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

The right business plan template will include all essential components of a successful business plan including:

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Overview
  • Market Analysis
  • Customer Analysis
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Marketing Plan
  • Operations Plan
  • Management Team
  • Financial Plan

You can learn more about each of these business plan components and how to write a business plan from the business planning experts at Growthink.

    Finish Your Business Plan Today!

If you enjoy reading & want to learn more….

successful business plans

   

So, you don’t actually need to read a business book, but if you do, learn from the experts who have ventured on the same entrepreneurial journey. Their practical advice provides a step-by-step guide through the planning process to help you complete the necessary market research to stay competitive while completing the financial analysis needed to secure funding.  

How We Can Help You Succeed

At Growthink, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners develop business plans to start and grow their companies. With this extensive experience, we’ve created a simple business plan template and business plan examples for 100+ sectors (and we’re still going!) to save you time and make it even easier to write a successful business plan. Check out the links below or learn more in our Business Plan Writing Help Center to help you launch or expand your successful business.

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

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20 Best Books on How to Write a Business Plan

Are you wondering which book is best to learn how to write a business plan ? If YES, here are 20 best books on how to write a business plan in 2023.  Starting and running a new business to success can be quite daunting. According to reports, a little more than 1 in 5 businesses tend to crash just within their first year, this is why having a detailed business plan is vital to the success of any business.

Putting together a good business plan from scratch is a challenging undertaking that needs extensive market research, statistical analysis, financial calculations, and much more. You need to understand how to make your business case, describe why there is a demand for your product or service, explain in detail how you intend to build your team, and also explain how you are going to finance your business and remain competitive.

Business plans are quite similar to a GPS; it is possible to travel without a GPS, but it may take you longer and the possibility of getting lost is always present. So instead of having to stop and ask for directions, you can use your business plan as a map to help guide your business.

Nonetheless, here are the best business plan books to take your business dreams from idea to reality.

The One Page Business Plan

According to reports, various corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs around the world leverage The One Page Business Plan process to quickly and easily establish highly focused and simple business plans. Instead of beginning with a blank piece of paper, the book and planning tool kit include business plan templates, as well as sample business plans to help get you started.

Have it in mind that the easy-to-fill-in-the-blanks business plan outline makes the process fast and easy. The book is divided into 5 unique sections… Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans providing a useful and complete business plan format that will show you step-by-step how to write a business plan.

Tim Berry is a globally known expert on business planning, and this book is his latest one that will help you get your business up and running. “Hurdle” extensively explains each and every step of a solid business plan in a way that anyone can understand. Also, note that you will see many examples of how to calculate profit and keep track of your cash flow.

Complete with a 53-page workbook, have it in mind you will be constructing your business plan as you read the book rather than trying to understand the fundamentals of business planning and applying them later. After you must have written a workable business plan, you will find yourself turning back to this book for advice on the everyday management and implementation of your business as well.

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan

If you want a step-by-step guide, then opt for this book. Hal Shelton will expertly take you on a journey of putting together a well arranged plan. Understand what your personal style is, where to go for help and the simple errors people make when putting together a plan.

Note that putting together a marketing plan and establishing a strong management team are also topics covered in this short and simple guide. Hal’s secrets to success will ensure you spend less time putting together a business plan, freeing up time for you to focus on other aspects of your business. In addition, you will learn how to acquire a bank loan and get proven strategies for attracting investors.

The Successful Business Plan

Note that this is a well detailed step-by-step guide for anyone eager to start or grow a business, and has been used over the years by close to two million entrepreneurs. It comes with expert help, worksheets to jumpstart the process, a sample business plan, tips on attracting funders, winning tips for competitions, secrets to successful crowdfunding, building a global business, and much more.

Well recognized in over 1000 business schools globally and appreciated by entrepreneurs; this guide touches every aspect of a successful business plan, from business strategy, winning over investors or lenders, and much more.

Hit The Deck

Have it in mind that this book shows entrepreneurs the perfect way to create business plans, leveraging best practices used at top business schools, and with leading angel and venture capital investors. Also note that the book provides step-by-step instructions on how to think through new business ideas and prepare concise, compelling business plan presentations .

Owning to its comprehensive content, founders can plan faster, pitch more effectively, and modify their plans more easily as they get feedback from advisors and investors. Hit the Deck includes interviews with sophisticated investors, like Ted Schlein at Kleiner Perkins, and with successful entrepreneurs, like Tommy Hilfiger.

Writing a Convincing Business Plan

First and foremost, this book was written by the company that has aided generations of students to prepare for standardized tests. Note that it approaches the challenge of putting together a business plan in the same straightforward, system-minded way.

Have it in mind that this book is no-nonsense: you will have to analyze your business structure, your goals, and your forecasts, and no amount of mantras will help you do so like good old-fashioned hard work. According to reviews, this is a thought-provoking book that ensures you take a closer look at different aspects of your business with plenty of questions to ask yourself. It also guides you in finding supporting data that justifies and promotes your business.

How to Write a Business Plan

Regardless of what your intentions are, be it starting or selling your own business, business plans are a vital and pertinent part of the business cycle. How to Write a Business Plan offers you the expert guidance you require to make an impact with your plan, including advice on researching competitors, presenting your management skills, and successfully communicating your strategic vision.

Be it is to source funds, sell a business or develop a particular project, this is your one-stop guide to putting together the most professional and convincing business plan for a new venture. How to Write a Business Plan offers priceless help with sales, cash, and profit forecasts and is supported by the inclusion of full-length plans available to download online. This new edition has been enhanced to cover digital developments like crowdfunding, online retailing, and digital marketing.

The Founder’s Dilemmas

While putting together your business plan, you will also have to bother about who will run your organization coupled with all of the other information contained inside. While the “who” of your organization can be less exciting than the “what” and “how,” staffing and leadership decisions are definitely not to be ignored.

Notably, when you are considering whether to start a business on your own, with friends or relatives, or with trusted colleagues, it is pertinent to consider extensively the decision — and this book helps you do so by analyzing why these decisions matter so much. Noam Wasserman, leveraging a decade of research, educates you on how to shape the leadership section of your business plan in order to make your company as successful as earthly possible.

Burn the Business Plan

This book dissects the myth of the cool, tech-savvy twenty-something entrepreneur with nothing to lose and venture capital to burn. Notably, a good number of people who start businesses are juggling careers and mortgages. Note that the average entrepreneur is actually thirty-nine years old, and the success rate of entrepreneurs over forty is five times higher than that of those under age thirty.

Also, note that entrepreneurs who come out of the corporate world often have discovered a need for a product or service and have priceless contacts to help them get started. Well stocked with stories of successful entrepreneurs who drew on real-life experience rather than academic coursework, Burn the Business Plan is the guide to starting and running a business that will actually work for any willing soul.

The Art of the Start 2.0

With this wonderful book, you can learn about perfecting your pitch, get real-world advice on bootstrapping, and obtain advice on building your team. The author Guy Kawasaki is behind the wildly successful online design service Canva. He wrote this guide extolled as the “essential guide for anyone starting anything,” to help young entrepreneurs separate the fluff from the foundation and build your business plan into one that really works for you.

Coupled with the old standards, this book seems to extensively discuss crowdfunding, social media, and other digital revolutions as well. With the knowledge imbibed in this book, you will be ahead of the competition — and much calmer, too, because you will know how to position your product with stories that create a personal connection with potential customers.

Pulling Together

This book come well recommended for the leader of any team. Pulling Together is the unbelievable list of advice for achieving greatness on a team. From “Respecting Diversity” to “Building Trust,” the rules for teamwork contained in this book will inspire camaraderie and demand excellence.

Also note that what makes this book astonishing is its depth of content coupled with its gift-sized packaging. Every rule for “pulling together” is complemented with photographs, quotations, thought-provoking questions, and smart insight. Notably, it is the perfect size to be given as a gift to each person on the team and could be given as a gift to coaches, athletes, business leaders, or co-workers.

Business Model Generation

Note that this is a handbook for visionaries, game-changers, and challengers eager to defy outmoded business models and create tomorrow’s ventures. If your business needs to adapt to harsh new realities, but you lack the strategy that will get you out in front of your competitors, you need Business Model Generation.

Co-created by 470 “Business Model Canvas” practitioners from 45 countries, the book comes with a wonderful, highly visual, 4-color design that leverages unique strategic ideas and tools and makes them easy to use in your organization. You will learn how to systematically understand, design, and implement a game-changing business model–or analyze and renovate an old one. In addition, you’ll have a much deeper understanding of your customers, distribution channels, partners, revenue streams, costs, and your core value proposition.

Starting a Business Quick Start Guide

In his comprehensive Starting a Business Quick Start Guide, Ken Colwell explicitly noted the core fundamentals that all new entrepreneurs have to understand to get started, find success, and live the life of their dreams. Business and entrepreneurship students, small business owners, managers, and soon-to-be entrepreneurs will indeed find enormous value within the pages of the Starting a Business Quick Start Guide.

Colwell’s clear voice, extensive experience, and easy-to-understand presentation all come together to make this book a must-have resource in the library of every budding entrepreneur!

The Lean Startup

According to reviews, the Lean Startup approach helps to build companies that are both more capital efficient and that use human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it depends on “validated learning,” steady scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that reduce product development cycles, measure actual progress without using vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want.

Also note that it enables a company to shift directions with eagerness, changing plans inch by inch, minute by minute. So, instead of wasting time establishing elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup provides entrepreneurs—in companies of all sizes—an avenue to test their vision continuously, to adapt, and adjust before it is too late.

The Complete Book of Business Plans

Inside this staple of the business world, you’ll find plenty of business plan templates you can leverage to boost your business and attract investors quickly. Also note that you will find advice on ensuring and sustaining motivation, how to make sure you are bringing the best possible partners onto your project, and how to push your business forward for years to come.

Have it in mind that a good part of the book is set up like a workbook and asks highly detailed questions that are expected to be answered before writing can start. These questions will also force the would-be entrepreneur to analyze and address a series of questions that many first-timers would forget or not even know to ask or consider.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

To establish and run a successful business, you have to stop doing random acts of marketing and start leveraging a well articulated plan for rapid business growth . Ideally, creating a marketing plan has been a daunting and time-consuming process, which is why it rarely gets done.

In The 1-Page Marketing Plan, serial entrepreneur and rebellious marketer Allan Dib explicitly states marketing implementation breakthrough that makes putting together a marketing plan simple and quick. It is more or less a single page, divided up into nine squares. Note that you’ll be able to map out your own sophisticated marketing plan and go from zero to marketing hero.

Mind Your Business

Mind Your Business remains one of the top books that teaches you everything you need to know about how to create a successful business from scratch. Right from building your brand to designing products to identifying your legal and tax needs, note that this well detailed guide will take you through every step of the process and help you create a unique and well noted roadmap for your business.

Mind Your Business is for aspiring entrepreneurs who are savvy, ambitious, creative, and eager to establish a business and life they love. Author Ilana Griffo shares the formula that turned her creative hobby into a six-figure design studio.

Creating a Business Plan for Dummies

Irrespective of what you intend to do, be it starting a new business or trading for a while, Creating a Business Plan For Dummies puts into consideration everything you need to know. In this book, you will find out whether your business idea is likely to work, how to identify your strategic advantage, and what you can do to gain an advantage over the competition.

Also, note that you will discover why a business plan doesn’t have to be a thirty-page document that takes centuries to put together but can be a simple process that you do in stages as you work through your business concept. Also know how to make an elevator pitch, create a start-up budget, and establish realistic sales projections. Also discover how to predict and manage expenses, and assemble a financial forecast that enables you to calculate your break-even.

Writing Winning Business Plans

Clearly written and featuring real-life illustrative stories, Writing Winning Business Plans extensively discusses all the major elements of a successful plan. Topics include focusing on your business vision, analyzing your financials, and knowing your competition. In addition, you will learn how to really use your business plan as a tool and how to attract funding for your new or existing businesses.

Note that as business plan competitions become more intense around the world, Writing Winning Business Plans also explains how to enter and how to win these ever lucrative contests. Furthermore, how to quickly interest a potential investor, also known as the elevator pitch, is well discussed. And, as opportunities arise around the world, how to present your plan in various countries is explained extensively.

Documentation: Anatomy of a Business Plan

According to experts, this book will help you create a well articulated business plan that is sure to lead you towards success. If you require some additional hand-holding to get started, this book is for you: You will understand how best to choose an organizational structure that is ideal for your business, learn how to market that business well using means and strategies that helps your business grow, and learn how to organize your business plan into the traditional sections.

Also, note that the marketing strategies in this book are priceless and you will be happy to see financial documentation reviewed deeply. Howbeit, it is not the most glamorous part of your business, but it is vital to your business success. This book will also walk you through five sample business plans and also provides helpful hints to accompany the worksheets provided for drafting your own project.

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The 12 Top Business Books for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business

The 12 Best Books for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business

Successful people read.

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year .  Mark Cuban reads for more than 3 hours every day .  And, when asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk simply said, “ I read books. ”

Is this a coincidence?  Nope.

Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals , studied the role that reading plays in success .  His findings? 

Wealthy people (defined as those with an annual income of $160,000 or more, and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for education, self-improvement, and success. 

But, poorer people (defined as those with an annual income of $35,000 or less, and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained.

Bottom-line? 

These types of books for entrepreneurs are powerful. But , to tap into this power, you have to read the right books.

In this article, we share the top 12 books for entrepreneurs starting a new business .

Post Contents

1. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

2. the 4-hour workweek: escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich by tim ferris, 3. purple cow: transform your business by being remarkable by seth godin, 4. the $100 startup: reinvent the way you make a living, do what you love, and create a new future by chris guillebeau, 5. deep work: rules for focused success in a distracted world by cal newport, 6. mastery by robert greene, 7. never eat alone: and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time by keith ferrazzi, 8. the lean startup: how today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses by eric ries, 9. the 22 immutable laws of marketing: violate them at your own risk by al ries & jack trout, 10. rework by jason fried and david hansson, 11. the hard thing about hard things: building a business when there are no easy answers by ben horowitz, 12. crushing it: how great entrepreneurs build their business and influence – and how you can, too by gary vaynerchuk, bonus business book: the ultimate guide to starting your first ecommerce business by tomas slimas, summary: pick one book for entrepreneurs.

The War of Art - Steven Pressfield

You’ve probably heard of ‘The Art of War,’ written in the 5th century BC by renowned military strategist Sun-Tzu.

In comparison, Steven Pressfield’s ‘ The War of Art ,’ is Sun-Tzu for the soul.

What really prevents us from reaching our full potential? How can we combat the negative forces inside ourselves that lead us to procrastination, self-doubt, and self-sabotage?

This book for entrepreneurs identifies the most powerful enemy to our dreams that we all face: ourselves.

Simply, Pressfield believes our biggest enemy is ‘resistance.’ Resistance is our natural tendency to procrastinate and self-sabotage.

And, he doesn’t just expose resistance so you can understand what’s really holding you back. Pressfield also outlines a battle plan to help you conquer this internal foe.

So, if you ever struggle with self-doubt , overthinking, or procrastination, this book will help you carve a path to success, through fulfillment and productivity.

Bottom-line?

This book is a succinct, captivating, and no-nonsense guide to achieving success in any creative field.

The Four Hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss

No list of books for entrepreneurs would be complete without The Four Hour Work Week .

Having sold over 1.3 million copies and been translated into 35 languages, this business book held a spot on The New York Times bestseller list for over seven years .

Often referred to as “The Bible of Lifestyle Design,” Ferriss shows you how to live more and work less.

This business book constantly challenges conventional thought.

The idea is to start thinking outside the box, to always test commonly held views, and push boundaries further than you ever knew was possible.

Ferris will show you why you should forget the outdated concept of a working life, followed by retirement. You’ll also learn how to use time and location to gain financial leverage.

At its heart, this book for entrepreneurs is about productivity and effectiveness — covering topics such as prioritizing, outsourcing, and automation.

Whatever you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur, this business book provides a set of invaluable tools to help you achieve your goals.

Purple Cow - Seth Godin

This bestselling book for entrepreneurs comes from multi-bestselling author and marketing guru Seth Godin.

In Purple Cow , Godin demonstrates how the traditional P’s of marketing (product, price, promotion, place, etc.) don’t work like they used to.

Because there’s a new ‘P’ that’s now more important: the ‘Purple Cow’.

A ‘purple cow’ is Godin’s metaphor for something phenomenal, counterintuitive and remarkable.

Simply, cows are boring after you’ve seen a few. But a Purple Cow? Now, that would grab everyone’s attention.

This book for entrepreneurs explains how, in today’s market, your business is either remarkable or invisible.

And in it, you’ll learn why safe is dangerous, and why very good is actually bad.

Godin also provides examples of companies that have succeeded by becoming Purple Cows and urges you to emulate them to drive explosive growth through word of mouth.

To thrive, every new entrepreneur needs to understand how to stand out from their competition.

This book will show you how.

The $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau

In 2013, Chris Guillebeau accomplished his goal of visiting all 193 countries in the world.

And, he’s never had a ‘real job,’ or earned a regular paycheck. Instead, he finds ways to turn ideas into income to support his life of adventure.

In The $100 Startup , Guillebeau hammers home the fact that you don’t need a lot of money to start a successful business.

This book for entrepreneurs features 50 case studies of people who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a small investment — often $100 or less.

And, most of these people had no special skills to begin with, but discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized.

Guillebeau then distills the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn their passions into profit.

The book dives deep too –y ou’ll find out exactly how much each entrepreneur had to get started, and what they did in the first weeks and months to gain traction.

It also covers the key mistakes they made, and offers insights into what made each business stick.

This book will help you find the intersection between your passions and skills, and what other people are willing to pay for.

Deep Work - Cal Newport

Author and professor Cal Newport defines ‘ Deep Work ’ as the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task for extended periods of time.

And it’s a skill that’s becoming rare, just as it’s becoming more valuable.

While most people are frittering away their valuable time in a frantic blur of shallow tasks — like email and social media — the most successful people are focusing their attention on the tasks that truly matter.

Simply, deep work is the skill that’s vital to your ability to master complicated tasks and produce better results in less time.

And, not only will this skill supercharge your effectiveness, Newport also argues that it’s the key to a true sense of fulfillment.

This book for entrepreneurs is divided into two parts.

The first argues how cultivating a deep work ethic will produce monumental results in almost any profession.

In the second, Newport presents four detailed ‘rules’ for transforming your mind and habits to develop the ability to ‘go deep.’

In summary, in an increasingly distracting world, the ability to go deep will put you miles ahead of the competition.

And, this business book will show you how.

Mastery - Robert Greene

New York Times-bestselling author Robert Greene believes that we all have the potential to become a Master.

And, in this book for entrepreneurs, Greene lays out the path to Mastery : Learn the secrets of your field, commit to a rigorous apprenticeship, and absorb the knowledge of those with years of experience.

Additionally, Greene presents the behaviors of great masters, such as Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, as well as nine contemporary masters interviewed especially for the book.

Then, he distills the common traits held by these masters to show that success isn’t about what you know, but about who you are. And, that a true master from any field can find a way to succeed in any other.

Also, this business book will show you which master traits you already possess, and how to develop the ones you don’t.

If mastery is the path to greatness, this book is your roadmap.

Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi

Ferrazzi originally came from humble beginnings, but his network of relationships now stretches from Hollywood’s A-list to Washington’s corridors of power.

In this essential book for entrepreneurs, Ferrazzi demonstrates the power of relationships in business. Additionally, he lays out the mindset, and the steps he uses to connect with thousands of people.

Basically, think of Never Eat Alone as a modern version of, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’

What’s so refreshing, is that Ferrazzi shuns the traditional glad-handing usually synonymous with ‘networking.’

Instead, he advocates basing relationships on generosity and connecting friends with other people.

This business book also outlines the timeless strategies used by some of the world’s most connected people, such as Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, and the Dalai Lama.

And, it presents a set of proven principles and actionable tactics that you can use to further your career and happiness.

Not to mention, in the time since Never Eat Alone was published in 2005, the rise of social media has only made Ferrazzi’s advice and strategies more valuable to every entrepreneur.

Thankfully, the new edition also includes in-depth advice for making connections in the digital world.

In summary, master networker Keith Ferrazzi shows you how to grow your success by consistently reaching out to other people, and creating relationship dynamics where everyone wins.

The Lean Startup - Eric Ries

Eric Ries is the creator of the Lean Startup revolution.

And in this timeless book, he shows entrepreneurs how to bootstrap a business , gain traction, and keep it lean for maximum results.

Constant digital innovation means that businesses need to continuously adapt and learn or, they’ll be outpaced and left in the dust.

Ries argues that “the only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”

This book for entrepreneurs is centered around taking action, constantly testing, and relentlessly adapting. And in it, Ries provides an innovative, hands-on process for becoming a more adaptable company.

The Lean Startup is also chock-full of case studies that demonstrate the principles Rie’s teaches within.

This business book is particularly good if you’re prone to overplanning and preparing while putting off the inevitable action needed to make progress.

So, whether you want to create a scrappy startup, a small business, or a corporate machine, read this book.

Because the lean startup methodology is the new blueprint for business success.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

If you build an airplane but ignore the laws of physics, it will never fly.

So it goes with the laws of marketing if you want to build a successful brand.

In this timeless classic, world-renowned marketing consultants Al Ries and Jack Trout expose The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing .

These include the Law of the Mind; “It’s better to be first in the mind, than to be first in the marketplace.” And, the Law of Leadership: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.”

What’s more, this succinct business book is full of useful case studies to illustrate each law.

These essential insights have stood the test of time, and present a clear path to lasting marketing success

As Ries and Trout write, “Violate them at your own risk!”

So, read this business book to make sure that your marketing efforts adhere to these immutable laws.

After all, prevention is better than cure.

Rework - Jason Fried and David Hansson

Most business books offer the same advice to entrepreneurs — study up, write a business plan, pitch investors…

But, this New York Time’s best-selling book shatters outdated notions — challenging mainstream business mindset and culture.

And then, it provides a whole new way of thinking.

Minimalist in delivery and ideology, Rework shows you that you need far less than you think to start a successful enterprise.

You don’t need an office. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need more staff or investors. You don’t even need meetings.

What you need is to prioritize more. To say ‘no’ more. To stop talking, researching, and planning and start doing.

You’ll also learn why plans are harmful, outside investors are unnecessary, and ignoring the competition is best.

Overall, this playbook is full of counterintuitive, revolutionary ideas.

Presented in powerful bite-sized chapters, Rework shows you a better, faster, and easier way to succeed in business today.

So, whatever your entrepreneurial dreams, get this information in your head to help make them a reality.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is endorsed by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Peter Thiel.

So, you should probably read it .

As one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, Ben Horowitz offers essential advice on building and running a business.

Many people highlight the excitement of life as an entrepreneur.

But in this business book, Horowitz also shines a light on the difficulties and struggles entrepreneurs face.

What’s particularly interesting is that Horowitz starts by arguing that there’s no formula for success. But, that you can learn invaluable lessons from others’ failures and hardships.

It’s full of Horowitz’s trademark humor — including stories of what it’s like to poach competitors and fire friends.

This business book was born out of Horowitz’s long-time personal blog.

And, it includes most of his original posts, compiled and adapted into an incredible guide to navigating the inevitable problems that occur in business.

Overall, this book for entrepreneurs is a no-nonsense, uncensored view of what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur.

Crushing It! - Gary Vaynerchuk

Four-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk turns up the heat with his latest book, Crushing It!

Not to be confused with his 2009 business book, Crush It, in which Vaynerchuk argued that a vibrant personal brand is vital to business success.

This book for entrepreneurs showcases new lessons, advice, tactics, and strategies taken from his own experiences, and that of many other powerful influencers and entrepreneurs.

These successful entrepreneurs all shunned the traditional corporate life.

And instead, they built businesses on their own terms to become richer — financially, and personally.

In this lively and inspiring business book, Vaynerchuk dissects every major social media platform and shows you how to use it to increase your brand awareness and grow your business.

So, if you’re looking for actionable advice on how to build a powerful brand on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram , and Snapchat , this book is for you.

But, this isn’t just about professional and financial success.

This is about living life on your own terms .

e Guide to Starting Your First Ecommerce Business

Tomas Slimas is an ecommerce force of nature.

In The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your First Ecommerce Business , Slimas leads you step-by-step through the process of starting your first ecommerce business.

You’ll learn how to find great products, how to find suppliers, how to launch your ecommerce store, and how to market your products .

And, want to know the craziest part? This book is completely free.

Because Slimas is on a mission to help new entrepreneurs create the business of their dreams.

First, he founded Shopify — the platform to help you build a successful ecommerce store fast.

And now, with this book for entrepreneurs, he teaches you exactly how to make it happen .

More than any other book on this list, this book for entrepreneurs offers extremely specific advice on starting your business. 

That’s a lot of reading!

So, don’t try to do it all at once.

Pick one of these business books to start with. Which one seems the most useful to you right now?

Whichever book you pick, it’ll be worth the time.

Just listen to Warren Buffet…

When asked about the keys to success, he said, “ Read 500 pages every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

But, he’s not talking about you.

You’re going to ‘read to lead’ — so, pick a book and get to it.

Did I miss any awesome books for entrepreneurs? Let us know in the comments below — we read them all!

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HBR.ORG - Prod

Here are our top 40 bestselling books that are sure to spark your interest, strengthen your management skills, and help you get the results you need in business and beyond. These books offer the best ideas in business and have strongly resonated with our readers. Each offers valuable insights to help you succeed in your career.

The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster

In this updated and expanded version of the international bestseller The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins offers proven strategies for conquering the challenges of transitions--no matter where you are in your career. Whether you're starting a new job, being promoted from within, embarking on an overseas assignment, or being tapped as CEO, how you manage your transition will determine whether you succeed or fail. Use this book as your trusted guide.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness (Paperback + Ebook)

If you read nothing else on mental toughness, read these ten articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you build your emotional strength and resilience--and to achieve high performance.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself (Paperback + Ebook)

The path to your own professional success starts with a critical look in the mirror. What you see there--your greatest strengths and deepest values--are the foundations you must build on. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on managing yourself and selected the most important ones to help you stay engaged and productive throughout your working life.

Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

In this perennial bestseller, globally preeminent management thinkers W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne challenge everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves (spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries), the authors argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating"blue oceans"--untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

Leading Change

Millions worldwide have read and embraced John Kotter's ideas on change management and leadership. Needed more today than at any time in the past, this immensely relevant book serves as both a visionary guide and a practical toolkit on how to approach the difficult yet crucial work of leading change in any type of organization.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence (Paperback + Ebook)

In his defining work on emotional intelligence, bestselling author Daniel Goleman found that it is twice as important as other competencies in determining outstanding leadership. If you read nothing else on emotional intelligence, read these 10 articles by experts in the field.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (Paperback + Ebook)

How can you transform yourself from a good manager into an extraordinary leader? We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on leadership and selected the most important ones to help you maximize your own and your organization's performance.

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

A Wall Street Journal and Businessweek bestseller. Innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right--yet still lose market leadership. Christensen explains why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation. The Innovator's Dilemma gives you a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation.

Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World

As strengths guru and bestselling author Marcus Buckingham and Cisco Leadership and Team Intelligence head Ashley Goodall show in this provocative, inspiring book, there are some big lies--distortions, faulty assumptions, wrong thinking--that we encounter every time we show up for work. Nine lies, to be exact.

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Playing to Win, a noted Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller. This is A.G. Lafley's guidebook. Shouldn't it be yours as well? It outlines the strategic approach Lafley, in close partnership with strategic adviser Roger Martin, used to double P&G's sales, quadruple its profits, and increase its market value by more than $100 billion when Lafley was first CEO (he led the company from 2000 to 2009).

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy (Paperback + Ebook)

Is your company spending enormous time and energy on strategy development, with little to show for your efforts? We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on strategy and selected the most important ones to help galvanize your organization's strategy development and execution.

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

It's time to redefine the CEO success story. Meet eight iconoclastic leaders who helmed firms where returns on average outperformed the S&P 500 by over 20 times. Drawing on extensive research, author Will Thorndike tells many of these leaders' stories for the first time--and extracts lessons for those of you hoping to lead your company to exceptional returns today.

Dealing with Difficult People

At the heart of dealing with difficult people is handling their--and your own--emotions. How do you stay calm in a tough conversation? How do you know if you're difficult to work with? This book explains the research behind our emotional response to challenging colleagues and shows how to build the empathy and resilience to make those relationships more productive.

Managing Oneself

It's up to you to carve out your place in the world and know when to change course. And it's up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive during a career that may span some 50 years. In Managing Oneself, one of the world's leading thinkers on the practice and study of management, Peter Drucker, identifies the probing questions you need to ask to gain the insights essential for taking charge of your career.

The Mind of a Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results

Based on extensive research, including assessments of more than 35,000 leaders and interviews with 250 C-level executives, The Mind of the Leader concludes that organizations and leaders aren't meeting employees' basic human needs of finding meaning, purpose, connection, and genuine happiness in their work. To solve the leadership crisis, organizations need to put people at the center of their strategy.

Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence

Written by three eminent economists, Prediction Machines recasts the rise of AI as a drop in the cost of prediction and lifts the curtain on the AI-is-magic hype to show how different industries can benefit from it. The impact of AI will be profound, but as this book shows, the economic framework for understanding it is surprisingly simple.

Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean

Inc. magazine calls it one of"the best, clearest guides to the numbers" on the market. Readers agree, saying it's exactly"what I need to know" and calling it a"must-read" for decision makers without expertise in finance. Accessible, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories of real companies, Financial Intelligence gives nonfinancial managers the confidence to understand the nuance beyond the numbers--to help bring everyday work to a new level.

The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.

Human + Machine: Reimaging Work in the Age of AI

AI is changing all the rules of how companies operate. Based on the authors' experience, Accenture leaders Paul Daugherty and Jim Wilson, and research with 1,500 organizations, this book reveals how companies are using the new rules of AI to leap ahead on innovation and profitability, as well as what you can do to achieve similar results.

The Founders Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth

Why is profitable growth so hard to achieve and sustain? When Bain & Company's Chris Zook and James Allen, authors of the bestselling Profit from the Core, researched this question, they found that when companies fail to achieve their growth targets, 90 percent of the time the root causes are internal, not external. Through rich analysis and inspiring examples, this book shows how any leader--not only a founder--can instill and leverage a founder's mentality throughout their organization and find lasting, profitable growth.

HBR Guide to Better Business Writing

When you are fumbling for words and pressed for time, you might be tempted to dismiss good business writing as a luxury. But it is a skill you must cultivate to succeed. The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, by writing expert Bryan Garner, gives you the tools you need to express your ideas clearly and persuasively so clients, colleagues, stakeholders, and partners will get behind them.

HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Terrified of speaking in front of a group? Or simply looking to polish your skills? No matter where you are on the spectrum, this guide, written by presentation expert Nancy Duarte, will give you the confidence and the tools you need to get the results you desire.

Harvard Business Review Manager's Handbook: The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out

The one primer you need to develop your managerial and leadership skills. Whether you're a new manager or looking to have more influence in your current management role, the challenges you face come in all shapes and sizes--a direct report's anxious questions, your boss's last-minute assignment of an important presentation, or a blank business case staring you in the face.

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing People (Paperback + Ebook)

Managing people is fraught with challenges: What really motivates people? How do you deal with problem employees? How can you build an effective team? The answers to these questions can be elusive--even to a seasoned manager. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles on managing people to help you deal with these--and many other--management challenges.

StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work

From the recognized leader of the strengths movement, Marcus Buckingham, StandOut 2.0 is a revolutionary book and tool that enables you to identify your strengths, and those of your team, and act on them. It also includes the assessment and a robust report on your most dominant strengths. The report is easily exported so you can use it to present the very best of yourself to your team and your company.

Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations

A good visualization can communicate the nature and potential impact of ideas more powerfully than any other form of communication. In Good Charts, dataviz maven Scott Berinato provides an essential guide to how visualization works and how to use this new language to impress and persuade. This book will help you turn uninspiring charts that merely present information into smart, effective visualizations that powerfully convey ideas.

Mindfulness

The benefits of mindfulness include better performance, heightened creativity, deeper self-awareness, and increased charisma--not to mention greater peace of mind. This book gives you practical steps for building a sense of presence into your daily work routine.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is a hands-on, practical guide containing stories, tools, diagrams, cases, and worksheets to help you develop your skills as an adaptive leader, able to take people outside their comfort zones and assess and address the toughest challenges. The authors', Ron Heifetz, Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow, have decades of experience helping people and organizations create cultures of adaptive leadership.

Influence and Persuasion

Changing hearts is an important part of changing minds. Research shows that appealing to human emotion can help you make your case and build your authority as a leader. This book highlights that research and shows you how to act on it, presenting both comprehensive frameworks for developing influence and small, simple tactics you can use to convince others every day.

Talent Wins: The New Playbook for Putting People First

Most executives today recognize the competitive advantage of human capital, and yet the talent practices their organizations use are stuck in the twentieth century. Turning conventional views on their heads, talent and leadership experts Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey provide leaders with a new and different playbook for acquiring, managing, and deploying talent--for today's agile, digital, analytical, technologically driven strategic environment--and for creating the HR function that business needs.

How Finance Works: The HBR Guide to Thinking Smart about the Numbers

Through entertaining case studies, interactive exercises, full-color visuals, and a conversational style that belies the topic, Harvard Business School Professor Mihir Desai tackles a broad range of topics that will give you the knowledge and skills you need to finally understand how finance works.

Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence

This is the book that established"emotional intelligence" in the business lexicon--and made it a necessary skill for leaders. Managers and professionals across the globe have embraced Primal Leadership, affirming the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. The book and its ideas are now used routinely in universities, business and medical schools, professional training programs, and by a growing legion of professional coaches.

Competing in the Age of AI

AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Authors Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani show how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have restricted business growth for hundreds of years.

Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take

In this seminal book, former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and sustainable business guru Andrew Winston argue that to thrive today and tomorrow, companies must become “net positive” — giving more to the world than they take. With bold vision and compelling stories, Net Positive sets out the principles and practices that will deliver the scale of change and transformation the world so desperately needs.

Getting Along: How to Deal with Anyone (Even Difficult People)

Work relationships can be hard. The stress of dealing with difficult people dampens our creativity and productivity and can cause us to disengage. In Getting Along, workplace expert Amy Gallo identifies eight familiar types of difficult coworkers—the insecure boss, the passive-aggressive peer, the know-it-all, and others—and provides strategies for dealing constructively with each one.

Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life

In his new book, world-renowned researcher and New York Times bestselling author Marcus Buckingham helps us discover where we're at our best — both at work and in life. In understanding our unique strengths and loves, we can choose the right role on a team, mold our existing roles so it calls on our very best, and as leaders, make lasting change for our teams and organizations.

Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You

Bestselling authors Frances Frei and Anne Morriss argue that the most important thing you can do to be a great leader is to build others up. Showing how the boldest, most effective leaders use a special combination of trust, love, and inclusion to create a space in which other people can excel, Frei and Morriss provide practical tools — along with interviews and stories from their own personal experience — to make these ideas come alive.

Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Change

It's exciting to think of leadership as all inspiration, decisive action, and rich rewards, but leading requires taking risks that can jeopardize your career. In this classic, renowned leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky show how it's possible to make a difference in your organization without getting “taken out” or pushed aside. Through vivid stories from all walks of life, the authors present straightforward strategies for navigating the perilous straits of leadership.

HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers (Paperback + Ebook)

Develop the mindset and presence to successfully manage others for the first time. If you read nothing else on becoming a new manager, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you transition from being an outstanding individual contributor to becoming a great manager.

Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them

In a world of unprecedented challenges, we need organizations that are resilient and daring. In Humanocracy, Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini make a passionate, data-driven argument for excising bureaucracy and replacing it with something better.

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Best Books for Starting a Business 

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If you’ve recently started a business, or you’re thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, you may feel overwhelmed by your long checklist. You need an HR structure, a marketing plan, a plan for employee morale, and, of course, a strategy to win despite your competitors.

Whether you’re a serial entrepreneur or a fresh business owner, there is much to learn from subject matter experts. Consider reading these books for starting a business and invigorating it.

1. From GED To Harvard Then Inc. 500

From GED to Harvard Then Inc. 500

In this read, Jane Wolfe & Scott Wolfe detail their journey from earning their GEDs and building the fastest growing business in New Orleans. At the young age of 17 and 19, Jane and Scott began their business dreams and bought a run-down market.

Throughout the years, and the destruction from hurricane Katrina, the Wolf’s reemerged to support their community and build Melba’s PoBoys. The Wolfe’s have founded multiple companies in their careers, generating millions of dollars in revenue.

Why Read It: If you’re looking to learn about persevering through difficulty and creating unlikely opportunities in business, is From GED To Harvard Then Inc. 500 is for you.

2. The Authority Advantage

The Authority Advantage

In The Authority Advantage , you’ll discover how you can use your personal branding to gain authority-status and earn more followers. Adam Witty and Rusty Shelton have decades of experience working with entrepreneurs to grow their brand and business by sharing their business and media insights.

In this read, you’ll learn how to create a following, engage with your audience base, and grow your business and name recognition. With practical steps on leveraging owned, earned, and rented media, you will emerge empowered with next steps to help you and your business shine in a competitive marketplace.

Why Read It: The Authority Advantage will help business leaders expand their following and increase their brand recognition. Read Witty and Shelton’s book to attract influential clients, customers, and followers to your side.

3. The Power of Remote

The Power of Remote

Cynthia Watson, Executive Chair, and Shane Spraggs, CEO, share their experience in building and managing remote teams at Virtira. Create a successful remote work environment with their comprehensive roadmap.

The Power of Remote can help you lower costs and boost productivity in your business.

Why Read It: This book is ideal for you if you’re considering a “remote-first” business model, or if you’re looking for guidance on transitioning to remote.

4. Beyond the Superhero

Beyond the Superhero

Jason Randall reveals how to free yourself from unrealistic expectations and pressure as an executive leader. If you’re spearheading your business, you need a handbook to help you find an alternate path to success — where both you and your business can thrive.

In Beyond the Superhero, you’ll find both a memoir and a roadmap to support your business initiatives and become the leader you want to be.

Why Read It: Whether you have decades or experience, or it’s your first time in leadership, there’s always room to improve as a leader. If you’re looking to relieve the pressure of leadership while gain practical insights, Beyond the Superhero is worth a read.

5. How Teams Triumph

How Teams Triumph

A business is much more than offering a product or service for a profit. Your team, workflow, and employee communication all affect how successful your business will be — and whether you retain your employees. Team dynamics can become stumbling blocks for your company as silos grow and dysfunction creeps in.

Clinton M. Padgett offers a proven framework to ensure your team works together to achieve goals. Padgett creates positive work environments to motivate employees by improving team dynamics.

Why Read It: If you’re looking for advice on how to structure your teams and create a positive company culture that breeds success, you’ll benefit from How Teams Triumph .

6. Competing With Giants

Competing with Giants

As a small startup, you may wonder if you can ever compete with industry giants. Phuong Tran shares the story of her family-owned business that her parents built up to become the forefront beverage company in Vietnam. Phuong Tran shares how a family-owned business built itself into a coveted industry giant. After walking away from a $2.5 billion offer from Coca – Cola, Phuong Tran wrote Competing With Giants to help others follow suit.

Why Read It: Find the insight and encouragement you need in this underdog story of success. If you want a pick-me-up with practical application, give Competing With Giants a read.

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Lissie Kidd

Sr. marketing copywriter.

Lissie Kidd is a Sr. Copywriter with several hundred articles in her portfolio and even more edited and published under her supervision. Lissie holds a MA in Communications from Grand…

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The 33 Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs in 2024

Books can cheer us up when we’re feeling sad, motivate us to make improvements, and teach us new skills. If you’re looking to put together an entrepreneurial reading list, here are the best business books to include.

best business books in 2023 hero art with green books

Reading regularly in adulthood helps you develop analytical skills, makes you a better communicator, stimulates the creative center of your brain, and strengthens your ability to recall information. Books can cheer you up when you’re feeling sad, motivate you to make improvements, and teach you new skills.

Skills like these can benefit just about everyone, but for entrepreneurs , the ability to analyze a situation, apply lessons learned, and come up with innovative solutions⁠ is crucial.

If you’re looking to put together an essential reading list for yourself, here are the best business books to include: 

33 of the best business books

  • Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  • Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas
  • Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis
  • Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
  • Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
  • How to Be an Overnight Success: Making It in Business by Maria Hatzistefanis
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
  • Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
  • Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
  • Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
  • Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
  • Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
  • The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
  • The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin
  • The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
  • The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
  • The End of Procrastination: How to Stop Postponing and Live a Fulfilled Life by Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
  • The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton Christensen and Michael E. Raynor
  • The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
  • The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
  • The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan)
  • The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in America’s Top Business Schools by Steven A. Silbiger
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
  • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
  • Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt
  • Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
  • The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Goodreads rating: 4.4

In Atomic Habits , author, entrepreneur, and photographer James Clear offers his personal strategy for rapid self-improvement to anyone looking to change their habits . Clear’s expert analysis of habit formation lifts the veil on why bad habits persist, and offers a plan of action for stopping them. 

Atomic Habits business book cover and two reader reviews

He argues bad habits aren’t the result of an unwillingness to change but of a poor strategy for changing them. Atomic Habits offers a framework for understanding why our bad habits exist, and executing effective, practical strategies for changing them.

Clear’s guide covers inspiring stories along the way, from people who’ve used his strategies to build good habits, including Olympic gold medalists, business leaders, and stand-up comedians. Atomic Habits provides entrepreneurs with great inspiration, as well as practical guides to overcoming their bad habits.

Top quote: "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity."

2. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinkingby Malcolm Gladwell

Goodreads rating: 3.9

In Blink , journalist and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell draws on his knowledge in the fields of neuroscience and psychology to explore how we think without thinking . Decisions that are made in the blink of an eye aren’t as simple as they seem. 

Though decisions can be made quickly, they’re driven by complex cognitive processes. In Blink , Gladwell interviews a host of unique experts in decision-making⁠—from a tennis coach who’s able to predict a fault before a player’s racket hits the ball to antique experts able to spot a “fake” within a second.

Gladwell argues the best decision makers aren’t the people who give the most consideration to the decision, but those who have mastered the art of “thin-slicing”: a process where the few factors that matter are filtered out from an overwhelming number of variables instantly.

Top quote: "In life, most of us are highly skilled at suppressing action. All the improvisation teacher has to do is to reverse this skill and he creates very ‘gifted’ improvisers. Bad improvisers block action, often with a high degree of skill. Good improvisers develop action."

3. Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas

Goodreads rating: 4.3

Chillpreneur documents money mindset coach Denis Duffield-Thomas’s approach to business and finances. It guides you through identifying business models that work for your personality, how to get comfortable with marketing and self-promotion, and ideas for pricing and dealing with other uncomfortable money matters.

For entrepreneurs seeking a book to help them get on top of their cash flow while avoiding burnout, this is a great book to pick up. It’s full of practical and approachable advice with a friendly sense of humor.

Top quote: "Don’t reinvent the wheel! This is such a classic money block—the feeling that we have to work so hard that we have to reinvent the wheel every time."

4. Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Paul Jarvis is a successful solopreneur who shares his approach to business in Company of One . According to him, you don’t need to grow an empire and hire employees to have a thriving business. In fact, smaller businesses are often more fulfilling than big ones.

Jarvis talks about how one of the biggest advantages to being a business owner is you get to create a life of balance. And not only that, the lack of hierarchy and business politics makes you more efficient. Smart entrepreneurship isn’t necessarily big business—it’s better business.

Top quote: "There’s nothing wrong with finding the right size and then focusing on being better. Small can be a long-term plan, not just a stepping-stone."

5. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Goodreads rating: 4.1

Distraction is an issue so many people struggle with. In Deep Work , professor of computer science Cal Newport shares his insight on how to focus deeply on cognitively demanding tasks in a world filled with distractions.

Cover of best business book, Deep Work

Newport argues the ability to focus without distraction isn’t something people are born with⁠—it’s a skill that must be learned, practiced, and mastered. 

Deep Work offers readers Newport’s personal training regimen, which consists of four rules for practicing deep focus and building good habits. By reframing distraction as an opportunity rather than a burden, Newport offers critical advice to anyone looking for motivation.

Top quote: "To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction. Put another way, the type of work that optimizes your performance is deep work."

6. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins

In  Good to Great , business management consultant Jim Collins describes how good companies make the transition into great ones, using case studies (both good and bad) of businesses that have succeeded in and failed to make the transition. 

Collins’ book is perfect for entrepreneurs looking to understand what gives successful businesses an inside edge. The insight offered by  Good to Great  has been praised by a number of CEOs, with several members of  The Wall Street Journal ’s CEO Council citing it as  the best management book they’ve read .

Top quote: "Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life."

7. How to Be an Overnight Success: Making It in Business by Maria Hatzistefanis

Goodreads rating: 3.7

In How to Be an Overnight Success , Maria Hatzistefanis shares her journey founding skin care brand Rodial . She talks about starting the company in her bedroom, growing it all on her own. She focused on developing her personal brand to build buzz and awareness, and then turned her audience onto her skin care products—eventually embarking on influencer marketing and celebrity collaborations with big names like Kyle Jenner and Jade Jagger.

Best book, How to Be an Overnight Success book cover

This isn’t just a business book about Maria’s story. She shares important lessons along the way, proving that anybody can replicate similar success on their own.

Top quote: "Success is about the relentless pursuit of what you want and hard work is an essential ingredient."

8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Goodreads rating: 4.2

Dale Carnegie was a writer and educator who, over the course of his long career, developed training courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, public speaking tips , and other interpersonal skills. 

Written in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People is considered a classic of the self-help genre and, with over 30 million copies sold, is one of the bestselling books of all time . Carnegie’s book was compiled with knowledge he’d gained in the decades he spent teaching business education courses. 

In it, Carnegie explores practical tips for relating to people, both in professional and personal life. He gives advice on making people like you, provides tips on persuading people to your way of thinking, and discusses how to gain respect as a leader without arousing resentment.

Top quote: "It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it."

9. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

Robert B. Cialdini is a professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University. In Influence , he explores the psychology behind persuasion and offers a practical framework for influencing people in the world of business and marketing. 

The cover of best business book, Influence

Cialdini argues that in a world filled with distractions, people rely on generalizations and assumptions to make decisions, rather than relying purely on evidence. Cialdini uses empirical studies conducted in the fields of psychology, marketing, economics, anthropology, and social science to make his arguments. 

Influence identifies six principles that guide human decision making , and gives real-world examples of how these principles can guide your decision making when trying to persuade others . The practical tools provided in Cialdini’s book make it one of the most useful marketing books , especially for aspiring entrepreneurs without a lot of business experience.

Top quote: "The truly gifted negotiator, then, is one whose initial position is exaggerated enough to allow for a series of concessions that will yield a desirable final offer from the opponent, yet is not so outlandish as to be seen as illegitimate from the start."

10. Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg penned Lean In as a book to empower women entrepreneurs and leaders in business. In the book , she talks about how women often hold themselves back and don’t allow themselves to pursue business and leadership opportunities. Backed by research and sprinkled with relatable narratives and stories, Lean In also includes actionable tips for women who want to excel in business.

Cover of business book, Lean In by Sheryl Sanberg

The book isn’t just for women, though. Sheryl also provides insight and advice for men looking to support women in business and leadership. It’s a must-read no matter your gender.

Top quote: "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

11. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin

Goodreads rating: 3.8

Seth Godin is a former business executive and a bestselling author who has been cited by Business Insider as one of the most influential thinkers in business . 

In Linchpin , Godin explores the concept of “linchpin” employees : innovative thinkers who are willing to break the rules and re-invent ways of getting things done. Godin argues linchpins are indispensable, and vital to any company that hopes to grow and thrive. 

Whether you’re a creator looking to understand what makes you a valuable asset or a business owner trying to figure out how to find valuable new hires, Linchpin offers crucial insight into understanding this phenomenon.

Top quote: "An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally."

12. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

Carol S. Dweck’s Mindset is packed with research exploring the psychology behind success not only in business but across all areas of life. She concludes people behave in a way that reflects the way they view their abilities. She offers two points of view, a “fixed mindset”—believing your abilities are fixed, or set in stone—and a “growth mindset”—believing your abilities can be developed and improved.

The book also dives into the idea of a false growth mindset. In other words, you might think you demonstrate a growth mindset, but the reality is you’re not developing skills like you think. Those who have a true growth mindset can not only achieve personal success more easily, but can also lead and inspire others to do the same.

Top quote: "No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment."

13. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss

Chris Voss is a business professor, CEO of  Black Swan Group , and a former FBI hostage negotiator⁠—widely considered to be an expert in the psychology of persuasion .

Cover of best business book, Never Split the Difference

In Never Split the Difference , Voss reveals the strategies he’s used in his own career for approaching high-stakes negotiation. Voss explores how to build trust, overcome emotional obstacles, use empathy as a tool rather than a hindrance, and the language to use to communicate clearly. 

First-time entrepreneurs will need to enter into negotiations with their business partners , investors, employees, contractors, and all sorts of other stakeholders. Never Split the Difference offers tools and techniques for juggling all of the factors of negotiation.

Top quote: "If you approach a negotiation thinking the other guy thinks like you, you are wrong. That’s not empathy, that’s a projection."

14. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Rework comes from Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp, and David Heinemeier Hansson, the programmer who invented the Ruby on Rails web development framework. 

Cover of business book, Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier

Fried and Hanson are both entrepreneurs with tech backgrounds who offer great advice for any business owner who might be an expert in their field but a beginner to the world of entrepreneurship. Rework tosses aside conventional business jargon and instead offers advice that’s concrete and straightforward. 

In this New York Times bestseller, Fried and Hanson present their readers with a variety of low-cost ways to grow their business, with lessons on increasing productivity , not getting bogged down by too much planning , and ways of getting exposure for your business without spending too much startup cash .

Top quote: "When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious."

15. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

In Start with Why , author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek examines the lives of great leaders, from Martin Luther King to Steve Jobs, and attempts to develop a common thread in the reason for their success, despite having very different goals and aspirations. 

Cover of best business book, Start with Why

His conclusion: the greatest leaders ask why . Why do customers buy from certain brands? Why are people loyal to some leaders and not others? Why do companies fail? Great leaders want to understand why things happen and do everything in their power to find the answer. 

Sinek draws on a range of real-life experiences, weaving together a clear vision of what it takes to lead and inspire others. His book is a great read for anyone looking to understand what it means to lead with confidence.

Top quotes: "Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them."

16. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss is an acclaimed entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle guru. His book The 4-Hour Workweek (the first in a series of 4-Hour books) spent more than four years on the New York Times Best Seller list and is considered one of the best books ever written on productivity. 

Cover of best-selling business book, The 4-Hour Workweek

In The 4-Hour Workweek , Ferris argues that the idea that success comes from hours and hours of grueling hard work without rest is flawed. Instead, he instructs readers on how to redesign their lifestyle and focus on freeing up time through a number of strategies, like prioritizing important things, learning how to automate income streams, and dropping unproductive tasks. 

Top quotes: "What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do."

17. The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin

Goodreads rating: 4.5

Cover of best business book, The Art of Learning

In The Art of Learning , Waitzkin gives insight into how he’s cultivated an entrepreneurial mindset and shares his strategy for always learning and adapting. To Waitzkin, failure is an opportunity for more growth. In his book, he teaches readers how to accept failure, learn from it, and use it to grow and understand where your weaknesses are so you can improve.

Top quote: "Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities."

18. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Don Norman is a researcher, professor and business consultant, renowned as one of the foremost experts in the field of usability engineering . In The Design of Everyday Things , he offers advice on how to design a good product, based on what he’s learned in his long career. 

Norman starts by exploring some of the most timeless product designs⁠—such as doorknobs, light switches, and oven burners⁠—asking us to consider why the most timeless designs tend to be the simplest. 

The answer has to do with how human brains process information. So many designers make the mistake of ignoring human cognitive psychology in an effort to create a product that does everything, rather than a product that does one thing very well. 

Norman’s book is the perfect primer for anyone in the process of designing a new product.

Top quote: "Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible."

19. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Goodreads rating: 4

Michael E. Gerber is the founder of Michael E. Gerber Companies , a business skills training company based in California. In The E-Myth Revisited , Gerber explores why 80% of small businesses fail, and offers insight into how to make sure your business isn’t among them. 

Cover of business book, The E-Myth Revisited

Gerber’s thesis is that people mistakenly believe that technical knowledge will translate into business success, which isn’t usually the case. Gerber instructs readers on how to break out of this mindset and set-up a business that relies on “systems” rather than the skills of individuals. 

The E-Myth Revisited is a must-read for tech entrepreneurs, exploring how companies with an innovative product can self-sabotage by not considering how that innovation translates into business success.

Top quote: "Contrary to popular belief, my experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more."

20. The End of Procrastination: How to Stop Postponing and Live a Fulfilled Life by Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker

We live in a high-tech world with endless distractions: overflowing inboxes, endless app notifications, and never-ending social media feeds. It’s never been easier to fall into the trap of procrastination. 

In The End of Procrastination , co-founders of Procrastination.com Petr Ludwig and Adela Schicker put forth a practical strategy for overcoming unwanted procrastination and argue that procrastination is not just a waste of time, but detrimental to leading a happy and fulfilled life. 

Cover of business book, The End of Procrastination

Ludwig and Schicker explore how the brain responds to motivation and self-discipline, outlining eight easy-to-use tools for anyone looking to overcome their procrastination tendencies .

Top quote: "The amount of opportunities that today’s world offers is staggering. Imagine the extent of these opportunities as if it was the space in between an open pair of scissors. The more opportunities you have, the wider this imaginary pair of scissors— the scissors of potential —opens. Today, they are open wider than they have ever been in history."

21. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz is an entrepreneur, investor, author, and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things , he draws on his own experience starting a business to offer advice to anyone looking to become a successful entrepreneur. 

Horowitz doesn’t shy away from talking about challenges that few business writers want to talk about. He explores the hard things about running a business: dealing with failure, conflicts among employees, layoffs, persevering through tough times, and making big, tough decisions that impact the livelihoods of stakeholders in the business.

The essential advice and practical tips that Horowitz offers in his book provide entrepreneurs with crucial advice for taking action in the face of tough choices and leading a successful business into the modern world.

Top quote: "Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or a variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers. They all say, ‘I didn’t quit.’"

22. The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth by Clayton Christensen and Michael E. Raynor

Business consultant and academic Clayton Christensen is world-renowned for developing the theory of “ disruptive innovation ,” which is an innovation that creates an entirely new market, displacing established products. 

In The Innovator’s Solution , he and business consultant Michael E. Raynor expand on the idea of disruptive innovation, arguing that companies can and should become disruptive to their own industries, especially in the modern, hyper-accelerated digital world. 

Cover of business book, The Innovator’s Solution

Touching on real-world examples, Christensen and Raynor explore companies that have successfully (and unsuccessfully) disrupted their industries, and provide a framework for creating the right conditions and identifying the right time for disruption.

Top quote: "Research suggests that in over 90 percent of all successful new businesses, historically, the strategy that the founders had deliberately decided to pursue was not the strategy that ultimately led to the business’s success."

Learn more : How This Direct to Consumer Brand Disrupted the Cookware Industry

23. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham is an economist, professor, and investor⁠, widely known in the business world as the " father of value investing .” 

Written in 1949, The Intelligent Investor offers advice on investing in the stock market that’s still relevant today. Graham focuses on investments that minimize economic risks and instructs the reader on how to find longer-term, risk-averse investments based on research rather than speculation. 

The Intelligent Investor is a must-read for anyone looking for more guidance on personal finance and wanting to learn how to make sound, financial decisions.

Top quote: "The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists."

24. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

Goodreads rating:   4.1

Pages:  299

Eric Reiss is an entrepreneur known for his work in the field of information architecture, usability, and service design. In The Lean Startup , Ries explores why most startups fail and gives insight into how to avoid failure in the early days of your business. 

Ries touches on how the most successful startups leverage human creativity while keeping costs low , with a focus on rapid experimentation, effectively measuring success by eliminating superfluous vanity metrics, and adapting to customer needs.

Reis’s book offers a way for companies to test their vision continuously, and describes how to use innovative techniques to adapt to change. The Lean Startup is a must-read for anyone looking to avoid the pitfalls of startups that failed.

Top quote: "We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want."

25. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan)

In The ONE Thing , real estate entrepreneur and bestselling author Gary Keller discusses his strategy for success by narrowing his workload to focus on more important tasks without getting bogged down by less important ones. 

Keller argues that while we tend to apply importance to everything, not everything matters equally. Keller’s approach to achieving success involves narrowing your focus to the one thing that matters most. He says that multi-tasking tends to lead to a breakdown in the quality of work performed on each task, and labels the idea of multitasking a lie. 

Keller’s wisdom can be used by anyone, but it’s especially important for entrepreneurs looking for an effective way to evaluate their biggest priorities and effectively manage their time.

Top quote: "Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls—family, health, friends, integrity—are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered."

26. The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught In America’s Top Business Schools by Steven A. Silbiger

In The Ten-Day MBA , MBA and marketing director Steven A. Silbiger gives readers a crash course in everything he’s learned in his years teaching business, covering theoretical concepts along-side practical skills like accounting , finance, marketing strategy , quantitative analysis, operations, economics, organizational behavior, and ethics.

Silbiger’s internationally acclaimed comprehensive guide compiles lessons from business schools across the world, based on the notes of MBA students attending programs at Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia.

Top quote: "Marketing is a special blend of art and science. There is a great deal to be learned in marketing classes, but no amount of schooling can teach you the experience, the intuition, and the creativity to be a truly gifted marketer. That’s why those with the gift are so highly paid."

27. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Goodreads rating:  4.1

Pages:  233

Originally published in 1937 during the Great Depression, Think and Grow Rich is a classic of the self-help and personal development genre. In writing it, Napoleon Hill researched the lives of more than 40 millionaires to discover what common thread ran through them.

He concluded that the starting point of achievement is the desire for something better, and that failure, even when it’s frequent, is a necessary obstacle to achieving success. 

Hill offers practical knowledge about tackling goals by focusing on a single, defined one—arguing that the biggest successes often follow the biggest failures.

Top quote:  "The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."

Read more:   101 Entrepreneur Quotes from the Most Successful Business Owners

28. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman is a psychologist and Nobel Prize–winning economist renowned for his expertise in the psychology of judgment and decision making. In Thinking, Fast and Slow , he explores how two systems⁠— intuition and slow thinking ⁠—work together to shape our judgment and help us make decisions. 

An expert in the field of behavioral economics, Kahneman uses his insight to offer readers an explanation for how decision making can be affected by stress and explores how confirmation bias can make us jump to conclusions. 

Kahneman’s insight is great not only for merchants looking to improve their own decision-making skills, but also for marketers looking for insight into how consumers make decisions.

Top quote: "Intelligence is not only the ability to reason; it is also the ability to find relevant material in memory and to deploy attention when needed."

29. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss

On his acclaimed business podcast , The Tim Ferriss Show , Ferris interviews all kinds of guests, including famous actors, legendary athletes, accomplished scientists, artists, and business leaders. In Tools of Titans , he summarizes and distills the habits, tactics, and routines of the wide-range of guests he’s had on his program. 

Ferriss skips over vague platitudes about effort and attitude and instead focuses on real-world actionable techniques that he’s come across from guests on his show. In Tools of Titans , Ferriss paints a vivid picture of how the lifestyles habits of the most-successful people have contributed to their success. 

Tools of Titans is inspirational, but it also offers practical solutions to readers, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the most successful people have grown to operate.

Top quote: "Creativity is an infinite resource. The more you spend, the more you have."

Read more:  The 32 Best Entrepreneur Books of All Time

30. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Peter Theil is a billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund. Zero to One is based on a series of essays taken from notes of a lecture Theil gave on startups in 2012. 

Zero to One is a primer on innovation that explores how entrepreneurs develop new ideas by learning to think outside the box, making it a great book for business people looking to carve out a profitable niche . Atlantic writer Derek Thompson cited Zero to One as maybe the best business book he’s ever read .

Top quote: "The founding moment of a company, however, really does happen just once: only at the very start do you have the opportunity to set the rules that will align people toward the creation of value in the future."

31. Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt

Goodreads rating: 4.1 Pages: 320 Richard Rumelt is a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a renowned consultant on corporate strategy. With a background in engineering and management, Rumelt has been a leading voice in strategic thinking for several decades, known for his clear and insightful analysis of business and competitive strategy. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy  offers a critical look at the often misunderstood and misapplied concept of strategy in business. Rumelt emphasizes that good strategy is about making clear, coherent decisions and setting priorities, while bad strategy is characterized by fluff, failure to face challenges, and a lack of focus. Rumelt delves into the hallmarks of effective strategy and the common pitfalls that lead to poor strategic decisions. He uses real-world examples to illustrate how good strategy involves identifying the key issues and developing a coherent action plan to address them. The book is both a critique of the current state of strategic thinking and a guide for creating better strategies. Top quote: "The most basic idea of strategy is the application of strength against weakness."

32. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Goodreads rating:  3.95 Pages:  242

Daniel H. Pink is an acclaimed author and former speechwriter for The White House. With a background in law and business, Pink has written several bestselling books on the changing world of work, motivation, and behavior. His work often draws on social science research to challenge conventional wisdom and provide fresh insights. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us challenges traditional notions of motivation that rely on rewards and punishments, commonly referred to as the "carrot and stick" approach. Pink argues that these methods are outdated and that true motivation comes from intrinsic factors—autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Pink explores the science behind what drives us and presents a new framework for understanding motivation. He explains that people are more motivated by internal desires to direct their own lives, improve their skills, and contribute to a greater cause. Pink supports his arguments with a wealth of research from psychology, economics, and sociology, and provides practical advice for individuals and organizations to foster a more motivated and productive environment.

Top quote:  "Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."

33. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Goodreads rating : 4.13 Pages : 452

Robert Greene is an author and speaker known for his books on strategy, power, and seduction. With a degree in classical studies and a varied career that spans several industries, Greene has become a prominent figure in the self-help and business strategy genres. His works are often characterized by their in-depth historical analysis and practical insights. The 48 Laws of Power is a complete guide to understanding and wielding power. Drawing on historical examples from a wide range of fields, including politics, war, and business, Greene distills centuries of knowledge into 48 concise laws designed to help you navigate the complexities of power dynamics. This book explains the tactics and strategies used by powerful figures throughout history. Each law is accompanied by historical anecdotes and practical advice on how to apply the principles in various aspects of life. The 48 Laws of Power has been both praised and criticized for its candid and sometimes ruthless approach to achieving and maintaining power. Top quote: "When you show yourself to the world and display your talents, you naturally stir all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity... you cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others."

Remember, reading is fundamental

Perhaps because it’s also a leisure activity, it can be hard to think of reading the best business books as part of your entrepreneurial journey. In a fast-paced, digital world, a leisurely activity like reading can seem like a waste of time⁠—but this just isn’t true.

Reading is exercise for your mind. We’d never think of jogging or lifting weights as being a “waste of time” for an athlete, and reading shouldn’t be viewed as a waste of time for entrepreneurs.

Reading is learning : it helps us destress, while also nurturing skills in communication, problem solving, and creative thinking that are absolutely necessary in building and growing your own business.

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Best business books FAQ

What should i read for business.

  • Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins 
  • The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business  by Clayton M. Christensen
  • First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham

Do business books work?

Yes, business books work. If you choose the right book for your reading needs, you can find a business book to help you achieve your next goal. Books can help you develop market leadership skills, build high performance teams, and so much more. 

Which one book should every entrepreneur read?

Every entrepreneur should read Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.

Is it good to read business books?

Yes, it’s good to read business books. You can find inspiration and motivation, gain valuable insights, and learn new skills through reading business books.

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How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Julia Rittenberg

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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How To Start A Business In Louisiana (2024 Guide)

How To Start A Business In Louisiana (2024 Guide)

Jacqueline Nguyen, Esq.

Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

Top 11 Little Business Books With Big Impact

Use These Short Books to Master Topics that Will Improve Your Career

  • Management Careers
  • Job Search Resources
  • Hiring Best Practices
  • Employment Law
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  • Employee Management
  • Management & Leadership
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Susan Heathfield is an HR and management consultant with an MS degree. She has decades of experience writing about human resources.

One trend in business books is the short management book, often written as a story or fable. These business books are approachable, useful, and may help encourage more people to read. And, as an employer, that's what you'd like to see—right? You're in favor of ongoing career development.

These business books pack a solid punch in a small package. Read some of the favorites that managers and HR staff recommend. You'll quickly agree with their assessment and understand why they have such universal appeal.

High Five! The Magic of Working Together

by Kenneth V. Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles, others (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 0688170366 -

Fired from his job for failure to be a team player, Alan Foster helps a boy's hockey team learn both team secrets and hockey. Help from a retired girl's basketball coach, chants, cheers, focus, skill development, and knowing that, "None of us is as good as all of us," help Alan learn so he can teach. I love this book.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass) ISBN-13: 978-0787960759 -

Assigned to lead a dysfunctional Silicon Valley executive committee, Kathryn Petersen, a traditional manager, appointed CEO, watches and observes the effect of the group's interactions on its members and on the company's progress and results.

Following her instinctive knowledge about people and using her skill in building teams, she identifies the factors that are undermining the group's effectiveness. In story-style,

Lencioni tells how to overcome the human behaviors that corrupt this executive team's success: the lack of trust , fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of personal accountability, and inattention to results. A must-read for teams that strive for optimum success.

The 1% Solution for Work and Life

by: Tom Connellan (Peak Performance Press) ISBN-13: 978-0-9769506-2-2

Feeling a bit discouraged about your life and work? Not getting as excited as you once were? You can change this by doing one small thing just 1% differently than you are right now. Sound easy? It's not, but if you do one small thing differently for thirty days, it becomes part of your available toolkit.

And, 1% plus 1% plus 1% adds up. Follow Ken on his journey as he meets and learns from six One-Percenters, people who have transformed their lives using the ideas shared in this book. Even if you're after just a small improvement, each chapter gives you ideas that you can adapt now. For me, my new 1% shift? No email in the morning until I have published something. I am on the path.

Just Do Your Best

by Chuck Harwood (Group Fare Productions) ISBN - 13:978-0881971019

In just 108 pages, the essence of performing successfully on your job is distilled and shared. In an out-of-the-ordinary management setting: a visit to a cattle ranch, Mr. Harwood identifies the five critical factors in job success.

Knowing your job well, and continuously improving what you know, is the first. The second factor is making good decisions. Enjoy attending the management meeting with the ranch employees - the daily lunch table at the ranch. Visit 15 additional workplaces he uses as examples for the five factors. Insightful, fun book.

Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

by Harry Paul, Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen (Hyperion) ISBN: 0786866020

Based on the fun-loving fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Market, a supervisor learns how to create an environment in which employees are excited to serve customers and each other. Find out how she transformed a toxic work environment!

The One Minute Manager

by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 0688014291

Can several million people be wrong? Read the book that spawned the dynasty! Timeless tips for supervisors and others who want to increase their effectiveness with people. Learn how to catch people doing something right and the power of clear, understandable goals. Though deceptively simple, this is a great read!

Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment

by William C. Byham (Development Dimensions International) ISBN: 0962348317

This continuing favorite may be hard to find but it's worth the search. Join a supervisor who is transported to a state in which he can suddenly "see" the real impact his actions have on whether staff is enabled to think, contribute, and find meaning in work. Experiment and learn with him as he changes.

Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You: Do What Needs to Be Done

by Bob Nelson (Hyperion) ISBN: 0786867299

Written directly for employees, the book has great tips about how to express individual initiative and self-empowerment at work. "Doing what you're told," no longer brings success for the individual or the organization - if it ever did! Everyone has the capacity to fulfill this "ultimate expectation." Share this book to help people find out how!

Gung Ho! Turn on the People in Any Organization

by Kenneth Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles (Morrow/Avon) ISBN: 068815428X

The story, told as a fable, provides a three-part strategy for motivating employees. Make sure people know why their work is important, give them control over how they do their jobs, and provide encouragement are the success factors. The story is told by a plant manager who learned these truths from a Native American manager.

The Peon Book

by Dave Haynes, Chief Executive Peon (Berrett-Koehler) ISBN: 1576752852

Not just a regular management book, written by an executive or a consultant, The Peon Book recommends you get the information you need to lead and manage people from the people you are trying to lead and manage. If all else fails, ask! What a concept!

Who Moved My Cheese?

by Spencer Johnson (Penguin Putnam, Inc.) ISBN: 0399144463

Explores positively approaching change through a parable populated by mice and "littlepeople," mouse-sized people. If you're an expert in change management , give it a chance; the book will make you smile and remind you of key change issues.

Others will find change management tips, real encouragement, and the sense that change is "doable." It's a book for everyone. Enjoy!

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