For most small business owners, time is a luxury and budgets are tight. Even so, carving out time dedicated to growing your business is a must, and it doesn’t have to take tons of time or money to have a big impact.
I found books are one of the most affordable ways to learn, and setting aside a little time each day to read can have a big impact. Over the years, certain books have provided the insight I needed to help me lead Infusionsoft at different stages of our business growth. Whether you’re just getting a business launched or trying to manage its rapid growth, here are some of my favorite and what I consider the best books for building a business.
Best Books For Building A Business
The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber
For those truly starting from square one, this book serves as a roadmap to building and growing a business in a predictable and productive way. The E-Myth takes readers through the stages of small business growth, from roadmap creation to gaining accountability and commitment from your team to generating customer experiences that build brand evangelists. After reading it, you’ll have the information you need to get started.
The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Starting a business can be an endlessly frustrating pursuit, and that’s where The Power of Positive Thinking can be a big help. If you’re struggling to launch or experiencing a slump in business, it’s worth your time to read this international best seller. You’ll learn how to overcome self-doubt and free yourself from worry, stress and resentment. Particularly if you tend to be a skeptical thinker, read this book. You’ll find out quickly that positivity absolutely improves performance.
Conquer the Chaos by Clate Mask and Scott Martineau
I know I’m plugging myself here, but I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t deeply believe it can help small business owners. Conquer the Chaos helps make sense of things while leading you through the six strategies you can incorporate in your business today. By implementing mindset strategies and systems that scale, you can grow a successful small business and still have a life. I’m living proof.
Improving Your Sales and Marketing
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Arthur Pell
Want to learn how to make more money? Who doesn’t? This book will help you change your mindset and teach you the techniques to actually do it. The key is looking inward first. Think and Grow Rich helps you break through the psychological barriers that keep you from wealth. Key principles discussed in this book include desire, imagination, planning, persistence and several others.
Magnetic Marketing by Dan Kennedy
Formerly called The Small Business Emergency Survival Kit, Magnetic Marketing” is a formalized system that includes documents and DVDs that take you through attracting the right customers to your business. It will transform the way you attract prospects and customers to create a more valuable client list.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini
Inside every small-business owner is a salesman — whether they realize it or not. To that end, persuading people to buy your products and services is essential to growth. Influence: The Psychology of Pursuasion explains the six principles of influence, and it will teach how to become a skilled persuader to grow your business.
Putting the Focus on Long-term Growth
Beyond Entrepreneurship by James Collins and William C. Lazier
Beyond Entrepreneurship is the proverbial “take your business to the next level” manual, and it all starts with leadership. This book will help you make your company great when you assess and take steps to improve your leadership, vision, strategy, innovation and tactical excellence. If your business and employees are already achieving high levels of performance, this book will help you rise even higher.
3 Laws of Performance by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan
3 Laws of Performance outlines the effect of thoughts and beliefs, both spoken and unspoken, on organization performance. Masters of improving performance understand the impact of uncovering and facilitating the right conversations in order to create a desirable new future. The three laws include:
- How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
- How a situation occurs arises in language
- Future-based language transforms how situations occur to people
5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Through the story of Decision Tech’s CEO Kathryn Petersen, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team will teach you to recognize the dysfunctions of a team, how to overcome them and how to unite and build a cohesive team. With persistence and patience, you can create a high-trust environment for your team that yields improved performance. You’ll surely find having a healthy team dynamic enables high performance and is well worth the effort.
Regardless of what stage of growth your small business is in, you already know success doesn’t happen by chance. It requires that you learn the keys to achieving the next stage of success. I’ve shared what I feel are 9 of the best books for building a business and helping you do exactly that. If you haven’t taken the time to invest in yourself, these books are a great way to start. They’re just a few dollars and a few minutes away.
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This article, "9 Books Every Small Business Owner Should Read" was first published on Small Business Trends
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