15 Best Business Books Everyone Should Read

The thing about being an entrepreneur is this is all to you. Many people like to make excuses. They don’t have connections or money. If you find something you want or love to do, be great at it and see if you can turn it into a business. Everybody has an opportunity to go forth.

Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Jack Welch, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg are always optimistic about the future. They always tried to solve the problems of others. Where is the opportunity? The opportunity always lies in the zone where we complain. So if you want to grow your business or startup, you have some questions and problems. I will talk about the top 15 best business books that help you answer your questions and make you a problem solver.

15 Best Business Books Everyone Should Read

Starting a business without financial backing easily slips the wrong side. Most entrepreneurs do slip the wrong side and are poor. The important thing is then to pick yourself up and start again. If it doesn’t work at that time, keep going until success. But what are the strategy and guidelines for doing smart work?

Most people fail because they make common mistakes. So before starting or doing business, you need to know and learn what to do and what not to do.

Here are the best 15 books that everyone should read.

1. The Millionaire Next Door

The Millionaire Next Door has done the largest survey at the time among millionaire households in the USA. Based on their data, they aggregated it and found seven traits that most millionaires share. That’s what you need to do from a statistical perspective to become a millionaire.

The book is filled with gold nuggets and harsh truths from empirical data. The first of the seven is that millionaire live way below their means, and they go into how that impacts your life. The book recently resurfaced as a must-read, and the principles you will learn from this book are timeless.

This book analyzes who the wealthy in America are, what they drive, and what they are. It’s an exciting book that provides insight for those looking to become wealthy.

Author: Thomas J. Stanley
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Category: Wealth Management, Business

2. The Richest Man in Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon is attractive because you might learn different things from this book depending on your life stage. That’s why it’s such a significant investment. You can go through it once more a couple of years down the road and find new, valuable things you missed the first time.

The story is about a man who starts in the same place with luck and education as everyone else. But the man follows two simple fundamental rules, making him the wealthiest man in Babylon. You’re struggling financially and need to understand in the simplest form. You need to do this by this book strategy immediately to start your journey to financial success.

Each book chapter has many different sub-chapters that keep things moving and break the book into digestible, actionable information. You can apply it to your life. These aren’t some overnight secrets to success. This book has stood the test of time.

It illustrates how human nature and psychological principles apply to wealth and the aspiration to obtain wealth for thousands of years. This book is also excellent because it shows that people still aspired to succeed even thousands of years ago. Many common mistakes people have made and continue to make today. So if you want to learn from the ancient Babylonians, this is a best-seller business book to check out for a much more in-depth review.

Author: George Samuel Clason.
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Category: Success

3. The Art of War

The Art of War is a guide to winning. No matter what challenge lies ahead of you in this book, you’ll find the objective answers to how to overcome and conquer it. Incredibly, a book written over 2500 years ago is still very much in line with today’s world.

Business is modern-day warfare. This bestselling book is tailored to people with a business mindset. You’ll learn how to prepare for battles and know when and where to strike and become victorious. Although the book is designed as a military book, it’s easy to see how this translates to business. You can have an advantage in your company and workplace based on everything you’ll learn from this.

The author uses adages and a formal poetic nature to explain the essential points in war tactics. Also, it explains the role of the general, the anticipation of enemy tactics, and the provision of one’s army to lead to victory. What I liked about this book was the emphasis on the general’s role as the army’s focal point.

No matter the size, this emphasis can apply across many areas and serve as a tactic to lead. It is a short book, which means it’s accessible to all and can strategically teach us leadership qualities to focus on most fields.

Author: Sun Tzu
Publisher: Audible Studios
Category: History of Education, Management, Leadership

4. Start with Why

Start with Why flips how you think about life, business, and relationships entirely upside down in an almost revolutionary way. Today, every modern company is running like this.

The author shows how people in the past have built big businesses and brands based on their vision and why they’re doing it. Often that means making something with real value. The book will show you real examples of people who have built something with meaning because they’ve asked themselves why they’re doing it.

This best entrepreneurship book is perfect for anyone wanting to build a business or build a brand for themselves to create a sustained amount of value for a long time. Get it if you don’t start with why you stand a chance in the new environment.

Author: Simon Sinek
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Category: Business, Computers & Technology Industry

5. Losing My Virginity

Losing My Virginity is the first biography book I recommend on the list. Richard Branson’s story taught me more about life in business than all the courses we had all that semester. The truth is, to reach your true potential, you need to be inspired.

We’ve always said that hanging out with a billionaire is the easiest way to become a millionaire. In this book, you’ll go through a complete journey from childhood to building one of the world’s biggest and most excellent brands, owning over 200 companies in multiple industries, and pushing your mindset further than you already have.

By the end of this book, you’ll feel like Richard Branson is your mentor, and some might even say Spirit Animal. I recommend this to my clients who are entrepreneurs themselves. It’s got a good mix. So you have a good time reading it.

Author: Richard Branson
Publisher: Random House AudioBooks
Category: Business, Entrepreneur

6. Tools of Titans

Tools of Titans brings a new perspective to what business could look like today. You’ll learn the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers. After conducting interviews for his podcast with billionaires, generals, etc., he noted the common traits.

After reading it, these people share the tools and practices that help them get there. Tim said that the tribe of mentors takes everything that made Tools of Titans a bestseller and 10x them. The book is like a buffet with short, easy-to-follow and implements advice for the most exciting people in the world.

Tim Ferriss is a renowned author, investor, entrepreneur, and self-improvement master. It is not a self-help book but an introduction to the minds of individuals who can perform their best consistently. This book is a perfect read for anyone trying to implement new strategies to perform better weather routines, tactics, or habits to take them to the next level. I recommend picking up this best business book if you fit into this category.

Author: Tim Ferriss
Narrator: Tim Ferriss, Ray Porter, Kaleo Griffith, Therese Plummer
Category: Total Quality Management, Self-improvement, Startup

Read: 10 Best Lessons From Tools Of Titans

7. Life and Work

Not every day, you have the most prolific hedge fund manager globally who shares some of his secrets with the world. For those who don’t know Ray Dalio, he’s the founder of the largest hedge fund in the world. The man is a legend.

Life and Work shares a systematic approach to overcoming and making the best of any difficulties in business and life. It’s written in outline form, so you can conceivably hit the highest-level headings.

The strategy is focused on a method of analyzing situations to get yourself the best possible outcome. Repeat this over extended periods, and you’re off to the races.

Author: Ray Dalio
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Category: Business & Organizational Learning

8. The Internet of Money

For cryptocurrency investors, you must read The Internet of Money. Andreas says he’s been the most vocal technology advocate ever since it got traction in this book. You’ll not only go over the basics,

• What Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are? What a decentralized network is, or how peer to peer transactions work?

Cryptocurrency, somehow valuations have skyrocketed in the twenty seventeen. The Internet of Money book talks specifically about Bitcoin. But you will learn what cryptocurrency is a peer-to-peer network, decentralization, and the transmission of money at the speed of light from one part of the world to another.

You also get a glimpse into what the future holds. In our humble opinion, the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies is the biggest technological breakthrough since the Internet. Also, it has the potential to change the world. The best thing you can do is get yourself educated. Get the book, read it, watch some of his talks, get a wallet, and learn about the process.

Author: Andreas M. Antonopoulos
Publisher: Merkle Bloom LLC
Category: Cryptocurrency, Engineering

9. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a best-seller and one of the most influential business books of the 20th century. Steven breaks down how to be successful into seven core messages or habits that can dramatically change if implemented in their lives. Not only is the method straightforward, but the fact that it’s paired with real-life examples made it successful. While reading the book, you can relate it to your current reality so well that the gears in your mind start spinning.

Follow the seven habits, and you’re on the right path to success. The seven habits range from proactiveness to thinking when creating synergy flowing from one to another. However, the overarching theme of this book is the InsideOut approach. It explains how obvious perceived problems can usually be solved by changing our internal perceptions of the question. This internal approach is the most rational, uncontrollable way to deal with any problem.

There’s no doubt why this book has been so impactful over the past couple of decades. A well-written message at its foundation, alongside a simple layout, gives this book the potential to impact the life of anyone.

Author: Stephen Covey
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Category: Business Culture, Motivation & Self-Improvement

10. Crushing It

If you’ve never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, you’re about to have your mind blown. He’s one of the most influential entrepreneurs of today. Especially if you’re young, you’ll love Gary’s style.

In 2009, he wrote a book called Crushing It, showcasing how people could leverage their passions and create a business via social media. In the nine years since Gary’s built a 150 million dollar media empire by applying the principles in that book. If you’re passionate about the Internet, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, or social media, this is the book to get.

It’ll help you realize what you need to do to turn your posts into actual businesses and how to grow from there. This book is best for you if you are into social media marketing, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, influencers, or whatnot. Gary Vaynerchuk describes every chapter about a market on Facebook, how to market on Instagram, what to do, what not to do, and how it will work. Will it not work? The book is a bit outdated, and the information is not fully authenticated. So, keep that in mind.

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk
Publisher: HarperAudio
Category: Social Media Marketing, Motivation & Self-Improvement

11. Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers has a way of looking at the world around us completely different from what we have ever encountered. It was fascinating to realize that being born toward the end of the year gives you a slight advantage. The saying is that it takes 10000 hours to master anything.

Here’s the guy who discovered it based on his research. It gives a solid explanation of why Asians are better at math than the rest of the world. It’s not filled with business advice but a real-life observation based on statistical data. If you’re going on a holiday and want to pick up a book, go for one of Gladwell’s. It’ll blow your mind.

What makes people successful or have talent, and how is a talent not necessarily enough? You need to put in the 10000 hours that will make you competent in something. So it talks about talent. Also, It talks about people with high IQs. Then the different backgrounds they are from and how that impacts the level of success that they do or don’t have in their lives.

This book is essentially about success. It’s a fascinating read that covers some fascinating topics. But the way they’re presented is digestible, and you want to keep reading. You want to keep reading once you’ve passed the first few pages.

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Category: Statistics, Motivation

Read: 10 Main Points From Outliers Book

12. Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the most beloved entrepreneur and visionary in the world. Not only is he a modern-day Henry Ford, but he’s actively pushing humanity forward. In this book, you’ll learn his story. You’ll follow along his journey and understand how this man looks at the world and how he thinks. What were his bets, and how did he get to where he is today?

If you followed Ireland’s progress in the last few months, colonizing Mars is now a very attainable goal. He’s such a fascinating guy that the book should be updated every six months.

Many books about Elon Musk, but Ashley Vance’s biography of the Tesla CEO, are excellent. The book starts with his childhood, obsession with books, and journey from South Africa to USC. He began his startup Zippel with his brother and made his fortune with people while working on-site. If you want to balance your personal and professional life at the same time successfully, you cannot afford to miss this book.

Author: Ashley Vance
Narrator: Fred Sanders
Category: Biography, Engineering Patents & Inventions

13. The Hard Thing About Hard Things

The Hard Thing About Hard Things puts you in the perspective of a CEO. Ben is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. He co-founded a two-point seven billion-dollar investment fund in the U.S. They’re making a lot of money. I recommend you get this book if you already have an established business that is not going well.

While for some time, most management books out there have told you how to screw up your company, we haven’t found a better book to guide you through what to do if your company is already screwed up. So you can understand the difficulties and obstacles they face and how they have to see the evolution of an organization. He tackles some tough questions in his book, such as what happens when you hire a good friend and you have to fire them?

What do you do when you have an executive who was a great fit a few months ago but now not anymore? What do you do when you sell your company? If your company is struggling, it is the book you should get.

Author: Ben Horowitz
Narrator: Kevin Kenerly
Category: Decision-Making & Problem Solving

14. How to Build a Billion Dollar App

How to Build a Billion Dollar App is a must-read to understand how apps work or build a successful app. It will give you much insight into what you need to launch your app. You might not have heard of George Perkowski before, but you’ve undoubtedly heard about Candy Crush. Everyone played that crazy addictive game a few years back in their prime.

Candy Crush was generating three point five million dollars per day. If you didn’t get it, let me repeat that three-point five million dollars daily. George founded King, the software company that developed the app and other incredibly successful ones. A few years ago, he sold King for 5.9 billion dollars to Activision Blizzard. Also, He breaks down the business model and strategy of all the apps worth at least one billion dollars in the world right now.

In a single book, something to consider before purchasing, though, the book was revised in twenty seventeen to include even newer apps. So make sure to get the latest edition. I recommend that you pick up this book and discover it yourself. Don’t take the hardcover because it has some negative quality issues, but the paperback is good enough for font size, color, and cover.

Author: George Borkowski
Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
Category: Marketing, Commerce

15. Solve For Happy

Solve For Happy is not a book about getting rich or increasing your sales, but we believe it’s at least as important if not more. The author is the chief business officer for Google X. This is their division for moonshot projects to create projects for the future. Self-driving cars, research balloons, Google Glass, and more are some of the projects from Google X. He’s brilliant. But the book is not about that. It’s about what it means to be happy.

After his twenty-one-year-old son, Ali, died unexpectedly during a routine appendectomy, the world came crashing down on him. He is an engineer, so he decided to find a way to solve happiness like any other problem he had encountered in life. Also, he goes about a very systematic and logical process of explaining some of the most complex concepts and problems, like your idea of time, death, and many more. You’ll be left speechless at the end of the book and appreciate life even more.

Author: Mo Gawdat
Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio
Category: Cognitive Psychology

What books do business owners read?

Business owners read a wide variety of books to gain insights and knowledge that can help them grow and manage their businesses effectively. Some popular books among business owners include:

1. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
2. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don’t by Jim Collins.
3. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters.
4. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber.
5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz.
6. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.
7. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen.
8. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman.
9. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss.
10. The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
11. The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter F. Drucker.
12. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.
13. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.

These business-minded books offer valuable advice on various business aspects, such as leadership, strategy, management, innovation, and business development. Reading these books can help business owners gain new perspectives, learn from other’s experiences, and implement business best practices. If you want to learn business, then you should read these books.

Is it good to read business books?

Reading business books can be very beneficial for several reasons:

Gain knowledge and insights: Business books contain valuable information and insights from successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, and experts. Reading these books can help you learn from their experiences and understand what works and what doesn’t in different business situations.

Develop new skills: Many business books focus on specific skills, such as leadership, communication, decision-making, time management, and negotiation. So you can develop and improve these essential skills, which can contribute to your personal and professional growth.

Stay updated with trends: The business world constantly evolves, and reading business books can help you stay informed about new trends, technologies, and methodologies.

Expand your perspective: Reading business books can expose you to diverse viewpoints and ideas from different industries, cultures, and backgrounds. This broader perspective can inspire new ideas and help more creatively about solving problems and overcome challenges.

Improve critical thinking: Business books present complex concepts and case studies that require analysis and evaluation, which is essential for making informed decisions and solving problems in your business.

Networking opportunities: Business books provide networking opportunities. So you can discuss the books and their content with other professionals, attend book clubs, or participate in online forums.

So, reading business books has many benefits, and it’s also important to remember that only some books will be equally relevant or useful for some readers. It’s essential to select books that align with your interests, goals, and current knowledge level to maximize their impact on your personal and professional growth.

Conclusion

These books give you more certainty and the ability to operate faster. Every entrepreneur or business needs and starts getting the data and power tools. Part of getting it is recognizing what a great source of information is for making decisions and capturing it along the way.

By reading these books, you can confidently operate and remove friction for your start-up. It makes you able to do it faster and think better. I want you to keep your eyes open and be aware that new opportunities will be. So read the books, collect knowledge, and become a success.

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