Best Entrepreneurship Books
- The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco
- The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated by Tim Ferriss
- E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do about It by Michael Gerber
- Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
- Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
- Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson
- Ready, Fire, Aim by Will Schroter
- Go It Alone! by Bruce Judson
THE best entrepreneurship book I’ve read. Once I was done reading it, I felt like I was done reading & preparing myself. That now was the time to act. The first half is more personal finance related and explaining things along the lines of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And the last half is packed with useful entrepreneurship advice, such as using the NECST test (need, entry, control, scale, time) to evaluate your start up ideas. Also available in a kindle edition.
How to set up a modern, one-man business, leveraging your time with outsourcing and automation. I think he got many of his ideas from Go it Alone. But it’s still definitely worth reading. You’ll frequently hear, “have you read The Four Hour Work Week”, from fellow aspiring entrepreneurs. So you might as well. It is a good read. But I promise you, even Tim works more than four hours a week. Still, it’s good to explore ways to leverage your time to *accomplish more* in the time you do put in.
How to systemize your business to run without you, converting it from a time-sucking job into a money-making business. A CLASSIC. Gerber illustrates who you have to become to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Another classic entrepreneurship book. Kawasaki is funny as hell. And he gets to the point. Screw the ‘dolphin-saving’ mission statement. Get to the point. And start making money.
Effective copy sells your product. Entrepreneurs HAVE TO BE successful salesmen/saleswomen everyday. Caples is the best copywriter around. He was a direct marketer so he received instant feedback about what copy actually works in the real world. Skip the textbooks, read this!
85% of entrepreneurship is successful marketing. And on a zero budget, creativity is in order. Fortunately, guerilla marketing is also FAR more effective than boring traditional advertisements. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out our post SEO Guerilla Marketing to see the secrets behind one man’s brilliant real-life example of online guerilla marketing.
Which critical activities to focus on when starting your own business to best ensure success.
The ORIGINAL book about leveraging your time with technology and outsourcing to create a one-man success story. I tend to think Tim Ferriss got many of his ideas for The 4-Hour Workweek from this book.
Books no longer recommended:
LLC vs. Inc books.
Why? I’ll save you the time of LLC vs Inc. Start as an LLC. It’s become the defacto standard for US start up entities for flexibility and ease of set up. You can also choose to be taxed as a sole propietorship with pass-through taxation, as an s-corp, or even as a c-corp, just by filing a taxation basis election form. The only exception to choosing an LLC, is if you are VC-backed, they’ll probably want you to form a Delaware Inc in preparation for going public some day. But that’s a long way down the road. And if you ever get to that point, you’ll have people to help you restructure then. Hopefully, I just saved you some reading time. ;)
- LLC or Corporation? How to Choose the Right Form for Your Business by NOLO
- Forming an LLC in any State by Michael Spadaccini
Covers the different types of LLC’s and corporations and how to convert between these different entities. NOLO is one of the most respected sources of legal advice for businesses. When you know which business entity conversions are practical and which are not, it helps know exactly how you want to form your business and what type of entity you can grow into.
Entrepreneur Magazine’s guide. One of the most thorough books on the in’s and out’s of forming an LLC. The LLC is the most popular and flexible form of business entity today. This book will show you why. Many useful nuts-and-bolts type of tips such as practical ways to protect your privacy as an owner when forming a company.
