Entrepreneurship is not just another career choice like engineering or management. It is a journey. An endless journey filled with challenges that are just as rewarding as they may appear to be hard and troublesome. While it may seem to be a fancy lifestyle choice with great financial rewards, entrepreneurship can sometimes be isolating.
On some days you may find yourself at the crossroads of different risks that you can take and the impact your decisions will have. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. On most days, some great books will be there to keep you company and be a source of the light-guiding you through your journey. Here we have a list of inspiring and insightful books that will prepare you better for this journey if entrepreneurship is the calling of your heart.
- Lean Start-up by Eric Ries
Uncertainty is an important element of any business venture. Whether you are planning to go for a start-up or join a family business, this book talks about how to deal with that uncertainty. It talks about a popular concept being applied in the start-up industry where the only way to test your product is to put it in the market for real customers and get paid for it. As per the author, the faster you put the product out in the market, the faster you learn. The faster you learn, the faster you can make a variation in the product in order to build a successful product as per market requirements. This one is a must-read for every budding entrepreneur.
- Traction by Gino Wickman
The integral part of any business is the customer and that’s exactly what the book focuses on. It focuses on the idea that businesses are separate from the people who are running it and should be able to sustain itself even without the same set of people. It also teaches you how to develop a strategy to gain customers through time-tested methods that have been successful in the past. The central idea of the book revolves around overcoming some common business challenges and gaining successful traction. You should definitely get your hands on this one if you want to be an entrepreneur.
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Every start-up or business is about bringing an idea to life, an idea that was in the dark oblivion before. Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, an investor in Facebook, and a billionaire talks about that journey from oblivion to existence and also gives out some tips for building a successful business. He also shares some of the biggest learnings from his journey and also what he learned by selling PayPal. This book is for everyone, including someone who has an idea or has been running an idea for years now. Don’t miss out on it.
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Many entrepreneurs, in their journey towards becoming one, end up giving undue importance to planning. This book will break basic myths around how planning is harmful, why getting investors to invest in your business might actually be a bad idea and how should you treat your competition. Rework your way to a successful business through the ideas presented in the book.
- The ONE Thing by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller
It is important to remember that being an entrepreneur does not mean doing everything on your own. This book focuses on a basic premise for successful entrepreneurs. If you need more from life, focus on less; lesser distractions, fewer things for you to do. This mantra, as per the book, will guide you to optimum productivity as an entrepreneur. It may be a good idea to give this book a read once you have a basic idea in mind and are planning to design an implementation plan.
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
You can read this book when you feel demotivated on your journey or feel like some things are not going in the right direction. This book will help you restructure your brain and remind you of certain life essentials that you can also implement in your business. These habits may sound like common sense on the face of it, but everyone needs a reminder every now and then.
Conclusion
In addition to the above-mentioned books, you can also read ‘Principles’ by Ray Dalio and ‘Business Model Generation’ by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur to enhance your knowledge and value system. Running an entire business set-up takes a lot of dedication, but you can definitely begin with dedicatedly reading these guides that will help you make some great decisions for your business.
