As an entrepreneur, you know that success doesn’t come easy. You have to work hard and learn as much as you can in order to be successful. That’s why reading is so important.
And what could be better than to have a chance to learn from those who have come before you?
Whether you’re starting out or a seasoned entrepreneur there are a lot of great books on entrepreneurship out there that can teach you the ropes and help you to be a successful entrepreneur.
That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive list of the best books on entrepreneurship by the top authors (entrepreneurs) in the world.
You can read them cover-to-cover, or you can skim through them to find what resonates with your own experience and business.
This post is in the continuation of the best-handpicked books series, my previous posts on the Best Books for Financial Independence and Best Self Help Books for Life-changing Transformation were well-received, feel free to check out.
13 Best Books for Entrepreneurs: Learn How To Be An Entrepreneur In The 21st Century!
Being a successful entrepreneur isn’t easy. You need to be able to handle a variety of different tasks and responsibilities. In order to be successful, you need to be able to manage your time, work effectively with others, and understand your business better than anyone else.
And to learn and master those skills there is no better place to start than with a book. There are a lot of great books that can help you get started as a business owner.
Below is a list of the best books on entrepreneurship that we have compiled for you. These are the books that have changed the world and helped entrepreneurs become successful.
1. How to F*ck Up Your Startup By Kim Hvidkjaer
How to F*ck Up Your Startup: The Science Behind Why 90% of Companies Fail–and How You Can Avoid It By Kim Hvidkjaer
Kim Hvidkjaer is his bestselling book and is perfect for beginner entrepreneurs. How to F*ck Up Your Startup will tell you what not to do with your startup. Kim made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
Learn from the master of failure! Kim Hvidkjær, the founder of two successful companies, spent a few years getting rich before he got unlucky and lost it all.
After studying failed startups for over two years, he has learned to prevent the next “disaster” from occurring. He became a millionaire when he was only 29.
What to do when your business goes wrong? Kim Hvidkjaer’s book will tell you just that.
The book is published in 2022 and is getting amazing reviews and ratings. If you are a budding entrepreneur, then this is a must-read for you!
2. Let’s Build A Company By Harpreet Grover and VibhoreGoyal
Let’s Build A Company: A Start-up Story Minus the Bullshit By Harpreet Grover and VibhoreGoyal
Harpreet and Vibhore were inspirations for many, including me, to take the path of entrepreneurship. This book, I hope, inspires many more!
~ Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder, and Chairman, Ola
You need to believe it when successful entrepreneurs say it. Harpreet and Vibhore’s Let’s Build A Company is sure one of the best books for entrepreneurs.
If you are a young entrepreneur and are looking for advice from people who have tasted success and failure, then this book has some astute advice for you to follow.
That’s what Vibhore Goyal and Harpreet Grover said. They befriended each other as roommates at IIT Bombay and decided to start a company together.
What started out as a side hustle and a hobby for three twenty-something-year-olds has since blossomed into a successful business with revenues of multi-crores.
If you’re looking for straight talk about entrepreneurship, then this book is one that you should read. It is one of the best entrepreneurship books.
3. We Are the Nerds By Christine Lagorio-Chafkin
We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory
Look at something people are trying to do, and figure out how to do it in a way that doesn’t suck.
~ Christine Lagorio-Chafkin
Steve Huffman, and Alexis Ohanian, founders of Reddit, were suburban kids who decided to change the world by creating the website Reddit.
We Are The Nerds is a compelling start~up narrative about these two suburban brothers who grew up together in New York City, and through hard work became multimillionaires.
If this isn’t one of the best books for entrepreneurs, I don’t know which one is.
4. Start With Why By Simon Sinek
Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action By Simon Sinek
People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.
~ Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek in his book points out this very simple point that emotion always wins over reason. When we make a decision based on a strong emotional reason we own it and feel a lot better about ourselves and the situation.
When someone buys from you want them to feel proud of their purchase and to feel comfortable that they’ve made a good decision.
He also notes that great leaders and companies naturally get this right. The “Idea of Why” is just the premise of the book, read it to discover other exciting lessons to make your business a successful one.
5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.
~ Greg McKeown
Essentialism is about focusing on what is essential. When do you need to make a decision, ask yourself, ‘What is essential? ’ Get rid of everything else, because this is what will help you make the best decision.
Greg McKeown covers the thoughts of both an essentialist and non-essentialist in his book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”. The author does not try to force you into making an extreme decision but lets you decide for yourselves.
Greg’s book on Essentialism is not just one of the best books for entrepreneurs but one of the best self-help books for life. Loaded with umpteen lessons and advice, this book is a gem.
6. The Lean Startup By Eric Ries
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Improvement to Create Radically Successful Business By Eric Ries
We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want.
~ Eric Ries
Wouldn’t it be helpful to know the secrets of the success behind the leading startups? Eric Ries gives you all that in his book and even more.
The Lean Startup offers a framework for startups to test, learn, and adapt their strategies. The goal is to create a cycle of continuous improvement based on learning from mistakes.
7. Crushing It! By Gary Vaynerchuk
Crushing It! How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too By Gary Vaynerchuk
Being unafraid of making mistakes makes everything easy for me. Not worrying about what people think frees you to do things, and doing things allows you to win or learn from your loss—which means you win either way. Hear me now: you are better off being wrong ten times and being right three than you are if you try only three times and always get it right.
~ Gary Vaynerchuk
In Crushing It, Gary insists that building a personal brand is critical to entrepreneurial success. With so many platforms available, it can be easy to become lost in the details and miss out on the larger picture.
A book contains a wealth of ideas and strategies for building a new mindset of thinking in your business and life. Once you start reading it, you will understand why it is one of the bestselling entrepreneur books of all time.
Gary Vaynerchuk has built his brand through word of mouth and has used social media to communicate with fans in a way that made people want to listen to him.
He also shares stories from other entrepreneurs who have grown wealthy and not just financially but also in the sense of success that is so hard to find in today’s business world.
8. The $100 Startup By Chris Guillebeau
The $100 Startup: Fire Your Boss and Do What You Love and Work Better to Live More By Chris Guillebeau
The new reality is that working at a job may be the far riskier choice. ~ Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Startup: Fire Your Boss and Do What You Love and Work Better to Live More
In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau discusses the many challenges that come along with launching and growing a small business and offers a guide to help overcome these challenges.
The book aims to give aspiring entrepreneurs tips and tricks to help them succeed and escape the daily grind so they can live life on their own terms.
Chris Guillebeau’s book isn’t just about the ideas of one man but the result of hundreds of interviews with and surveys from real startups. As such, the majority of the book’s points are illustrated through examples.
9. Zero to One By Peter Thiel
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future By Peter Thiel
ZERO TO ONE EVERY MOMENT IN BUSINESS happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them.
~ Peter Thiel
Zero to One is about how to create businesses that add value. Peter Thiel’s book is a treasure for all new entrepreneurs to learn valuable businesses around such opportunities – to build a better future for everyone.
His book is a fantastic example of how to build a business and create wealth. Entrepreneurs, founders, or investors should find his book ‘Zero to One’ to be a good read.
10. The Intelligent Investor By Benjamin Graham
The Intelligent Investor By Benjamin Graham
The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.
~ Benjamin Graham
The Intelligent Investor focuses on investing principles and investors’ attitudes.
Investors who follow the principles presented in this book will be less likely to become victims of market crashes and bear markets. Benjamin Graham focuses on building our own A-game rather than beating others at the game.
It discusses the various traits that a smart investor should have, such as being patient, observant, and confident. Graham states that being a good investor requires more than just a high IQ.
11. World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs By Wonder House Books
World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs: Biographies of Inspirational Personalities By Wonder House Books
As the name suggests, the book features the achievements of the most famous and accomplished entrepreneurs.
This book will give you access to the stories of talented entrepreneurs to learn from and get the inspiration you need to make the cut.
12. The Psychology of Selling By Brian Tracy
The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought By Brian Tracy
Stop for a few seconds and create a clear mental picture of yourself as completely relaxed, calm, positive, smiling, and in complete control of the interview. Then inhale deeply, filling up your lungs and putting pressure on your diaphragm. Hold this breath for a count of seven and exhale for a count of seven. While you are breathing deeply, continue to hold a picture of yourself as the very best salesperson you could possibly be.
~ Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy, in The Psychology of Selling, works to help you build and maintain a great self-image and your ability to relate to people, while also helping you create and sell a product or service that they need.
Brian teaches new entrepreneurs to make the best use of the subconscious mind to become more successful and use the power of questions to understand customers’ needs and make more sales.
13. Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen By Donald Miller
Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen By Donald Miller
Once we understand our customers’ problems, we’ll have a better idea how to talk to them in such a way that they engage.
~ Donald Miller
The key idea of Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller is about making your customer the hero of your brand story. Focus on the hero, not the brand. Your brand is as good as it is in the eyes of your customer.
Understand the needs and perceptions of the hero to build the brand. The book is about identifying the pain points of the customer and showing them the transformation they are yearning for. Donald teaches you to build a brand that its customers would care for.
In the End
I also wrote about Eat That Frog in my previous article. Eat That Frog is again, one of the bestseller books for entrepreneurs. Check it out along with some great self-help book recommendations.
If you want to learn how to build a profitable business, these entrepreneurship books are for you!
The books are some of the bestseller books for entrepreneurs. They are short, easy to read, and give you all the tools you need to succeed.
Use these entrepreneurship books to learn the power of mindset, how to build your own network of supporters, and how to build wealth and create abundance in your life.
What other books have you read that have helped you be a better entrepreneur?