10 Amazing Books to Kick-start your Business Journey

You have finally accepted reality.

You understand that the only way to get really, really rich is by building a massive, scalable business.

You recognize that the world of business has changed and you need to embrace a new way of building businesses.

As with everything in life, before you embark on such a great journey, you need to educate yourself. It is time to learn.

But where do you start?

Well, look no further, because in this post, I will be sharing with you a list with some amazing books that will help you get started with your business endeavor.

These books are geared towards newbie, aspiring entrepreneurs that are on their first steps in the business world.

I have read all of them and they have helped me stand on my feet and grow from there.

Let’s get started right away!

Note: I am using the descriptions from Goodreads for the books.

1) The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.

Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.

There are many others like Chris – those who’ve found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful. Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn’t depend on shelving what you currently do. You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you’re sure it’s successful.

2) Startup nation by Jeff Sloan

Want to take control of your life? Want to trade in that listless job and create the company you’ve always dreamed of? Millions of new businesses are started each year, from online diamond dealers to part-time “pet projects” to the latest franchises. StartupNation is all about putting you in the driver’s seat to start your own business.

Jeff and Rich Sloan are lifelong entrepreneurs who have created dozens of successful businesses and have guided and advised thousands of others through their nationally syndicated radio talk show, on their Web site, and in their weekly online newsletter. In StartupNation, the Sloan Brothers examines every aspect of smart entrepreneurship and help you create the business you’ve always dreamed of.

3) The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.

Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs – in companies of all sizes – a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

4) Shark Tank Jump Start Your Business by Michael Parrish DuDell

From the ABC hit show “Shark Tank,” this book-filled with practical advice and introductions from the Sharks themselves-will be the ultimate resource for anyone thinking about starting a business or growing the one they have. Full of tips for navigating the confusing world of entrepreneurship, the book will intersperse words of wisdom with inspirational stories from the show.

Throughout the book, readers will learn how to:

• Determine whether they’re compatible with the life of a small business owner
• Shape a marketable idea and craft a business model around it
• Plan for a launch
• Run a business without breaking the bank (or burning themselves out)
• Create a growth plan that will help them handle and harness success
• Pitch an idea or business plan like a pro

5) The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything—where there’s a will, here’s the way. It begins with a dream that just won’t quit, the once-in-a-lifetime thunderbolt of pure inspiration, the obsession, the world-beater, the killer app, the next big thing. Everyone who wants to make the world a better place becomes possessed by a grand idea.

But what does it take to turn your idea into action? Whether you are an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, or not-for-profit crusader, there’s no shortage of advice available on issues such as writing a business plan, recruiting, raising capital, and branding.

In The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki brings two decades of experience as one of business’s most original and irreverent strategists to offer the essential guide for anyone starting anything, from a multinational corporation to a church group.

6) The 4-hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world.

Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:

– How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want?

– How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs?

– How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist?

– How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent “mini-retirements”?

– What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income?

– How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair?

– What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks?

– How to cultivate selective ignorance-and create time-with a low-information diet?

– What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are?

– How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off?

– How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office

7) F.U. Money by Dan Lok

Are you TIRED of the RAT RACE? Do you wish you had MORE TIME and MORE MONEY? Would you like to NEVER WORK AGAIN?

If you answered “YES!”, then you need to look no further than Dan “The Man” Lok’s new book – F.U. MONEY.

All the money stress in your life suddenly vanishes? You get to fire your boss and tell him where to shove it? Take holidays whenever you want and for as long as you want? You are living in the house of your dreams, driving the car of your dreams and also have a boat and a cabin and even a plane if you want?

You can afford to give your children the perfect, healthy, fun and fulfilling childhood that you always wanted to give them? In this no-nonsense, no-holds-barred guide, international entrepreneur, best-selling author, and self-made multi-millionaire Dan Lok shows you how to live the lifestyle you really want without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.

8) How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban shares his wealth of experience and business savvy in his first published book, How to Win at the Sport of Business, available now only as an e-book. Using the greatest material from his popular Blog Maverick, he has collected and updated his postings on business and life to provide a catalog of insider knowledge on what it takes to become a thriving entrepreneur.

Cuban tells his own rags-to-riches story of how he went from selling powdered milk and sleeping on friends’ couches to owning his own company and becoming a multi-billion dollar success story. His unconventional yet highly effective ideas on how to build a successful business offer entrepreneurs at any stage of their careers a huge edge over their competitors.

9) Rework by Jason Fried

Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you’re looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.

Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you’ll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don’t need outside investors, and why you’re better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need to staff up. You don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. Those are all just excuses.

10) The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco

Is the financial plan of mediocrity-a dream-stealing, soul-sucking dogma known as The Slowlane-your plan for creating wealth? You know how it goes-go to school, get a good job, save 10 percent of your paycheck, buy a used car, cancel the movie channels, quit drinking expensive Starbucks mocha lattes, save and penny-pinch your life away, trust your life-savings to the stock market, and one day you can retire rich. The mainstream financial gurus have sold you blindly down the river.

For those who don’t want a lifetime subscription to “settle for less,” and a slight chance of elderly riches, there is an expressway to extraordinary wealth that can burn a trail to financial independence faster than any road out there. Demand the Fastlane, an alternative road to wealth that actually ignites dreams and creates millionaires young, not old. Hit the Fastlane, crack the code to wealth, and find out how to live rich for a lifetime.

MJ’s book is mandatory reading, don’t miss it!

There you go! Ten incredible books to get you started.

Of course there are several more amazing business books that you are going to need as you and your business grow. So stay tuned for a subsequent round-up!