36 best business books for entrepreneurs to read in 2022

36 best business books for entrepreneurs to read in 2022

Are you an entrepreneur looking for the best business books to help boost your business to that next level? Reading is the key to success no doubt!

The best business books can help entrepreneurs grow their businesses by introducing them to new and creative ideas. This is why many successful businessmen such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have made reading their daily habits.

According to research, Gates takes much interest in reading and never leaves a book halfway even if he doesn’t agree with the things written in the book.

Even Mark Zuckerberg finishes one book every fourteen days! Thus, all successful entrepreneurs are noted to have reading habits that are partly responsible for their success in the business world!

Table of Contents

Why reading best business books is important?

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a businessman, there is still a lot for you to learn. You can learn about new things through different sources such as the best business books available.

You can even find out about different things on your own by learning from your mistakes. Although there is much scope in learning with this method sometimes it can have lethal results on your business.

You can even take lessons from different entrepreneurs by asking them to coach you. This kind of learning has its own special place for any businessman but these individuals are not continually going to be accessible when you need them to make important business decisions. This is why learning about business from the best business books is important!

Reading is the most ideal source of learning. Learning from reading about experienced businessmen who have achieved what you want to achieve is always a good idea.

Reading also permits you to view the business world from the perspective of successful entrepreneurs and gain experience from the individuals who have prevailed against all the odds to be successful in the business world. You can now learn about their experiences by getting yourself the best business books.

Best business books for entrepreneurs

I have compiled a list of the 36 best business books for the year 2022 for you to boost your business knowledge and profits. Let’s take a look at them below.

1. Company of One by Paul Jarvis

Company of one

Company Of One is no doubt one of the best business books for you to read in the year 2022. It highlights the importance of a lasting business. Therefore entrepreneurs should try to make their business long-lasting instead of trying to achieve everything quickly.

This book truly came to me at a crucial moment in my career in which I questioned the traditional methods of doing business that requires more resources to scale and grow.

In the book, the author argues that scalable companies that stimulate growth using modern processes, technology, and procedures, have strategic advantages over large old-fashion companies. Not only can they be profitable, but they will also be able to thrive and grow faster with fewer resources.

According to the book, the key strategy to resist the need for growth is to create systems and automation processes with advanced technology such as RPA, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to get more done with fewer resources and in less time.

Throughout the chapters, countless examples of real businesses are mentioned and used to explain how building trust with customers through incredible customer service can produce slow but steady, and sustainable growth over time.

The author’s argument is that businesses that are purposely kept small in many cases manage to provide their owners with a sustainable income, a high degree of independence, and a healthy work-life balance.

Many of these companies share and “give away” their experience and know-how freely, becoming trusted advisers to their clients with a more personal approach.

2. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

Tools of titans

Tools of Titans is a book containing all types of tactics and tips brought to you by many successful entrepreneurs that Tim Ferris had interviewed in the last two years. New entrepreneurs can also learn about their lifestyle and daily routine from this book. 

In the book, Tim Ferriss conducts in-depth interviews with more than two hundred prominent figures. The book collects the routines, tricks, tips, exercises, and tactics that these achievers follow to get success in what they do.

But not all the protagonists of the book are famous, there are also scientists, soldiers, adventurers, businessmen, creative thinkers, and researchers, among other professions, who in these pages teach us to be richer, wiser, and healthier.

Among many other things, you will discover:

  • How to optimize your morning following Tony Robbins’s routine
  • How Hollywood magician Robert Rodríguez manages to turn his weaknesses into strengths
  • How Arnold Schwarzenegger uses psychological warfare
  • How and when to go on the offensive as per the millionaire investor Chris Sacca
  • How to ask questions like the best seller Malcolm Gladwell
  • How to unleash your creative potential like the writer Paulo Coelho

If you want to learn the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, make sure to get this book.

3. Deep Work by Cal Newport

Deep work

This book provides you with the potential to concentrate without interruption on a task that requires much attention. It’s an ability that permits you to ace difficult tasks in less time to give a better output.

Cal Newport introduces the concept of deep work, with examples from leading entrepreneurs or business owners such as Carl Jung, Mark Twain, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, Neal Stephenson, or J.K. Rowling, and contrasts it with superficial work. The book defines those two terms as follow:

Deep work: Activities performed in a distraction-free state of concentration that put your cognitive abilities to the limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skills, and are difficult to replicate. For example, writing a book.

Superficial work: Cognitively undemanding tasks, which can be done distractedly. These efforts tend not to create new value and are easy to replicate. For example, writing an email.

With those two concepts in mind, Newport formulates the following hypothesis: The ability to do deep work is becoming increasingly rare and valuable in our economy. The consequence is that the few who cultivate this skill and make it the heart of their working lives will prosper.

I don’t know about you, but that hypothesis struck a chord with me because I see a parallel with the current state of independent publishing, in which it is very easy to occupy your day with tasks that seem important, but are only superficial work, and not dedicate yourself to more productive tasks (deep work).

To understand more in-depth the concept of deep work in our societies today, I recommend you to get the book here.

4. The Power of Broke by Daymond John

The power of broke

The Power of Broke is ideal for both new and old businessmen. One of the best business books, it will enable you to dream and push your way to the top even if you have no resources.

As strange as it may sound, according to the book, being bankrupt is almost always a competitive advantage.

Daymon basically describes with fascinating stories and experiences how empty pockets, a tight budget, and a thirst for success can become your greatest competitive advantage.

When you have money to burn, you kind of don’t work as hard or think as creatively as when you struggle to build a profitable business.

Being broke forces you to apply every last ounce of your skills, creativity, and passion to harness all your resources and find a way to use all your wits and determination to succeed.

The founder, president, CEO of FUBU, and star of the popular TV show Shark Tank teaches in this book how to use this power, the power of bankruptcy, to achieve success as an entrepreneur.

Before their success, some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs experienced epic failure. If you want to learn how to flip your failure to success, I recommend you get this book.

5. Start with why by Simon Sinek

Start with why by Simon Sinek

The idea of Start With Why is derived from the concept of TED talk. This book revolves around the question that why some businesses are more successful than others making it one of the most popular TED talks ever.

In Start With WHY, Simon Sinek explains how today’s market has the ability to present us with offers of very similar products and services, in very close price ranges, with similar quality levels – at least from the consumer’s eyes.

But even so, when companies are asked why their customers buy from them, the answer is always based on these superficial variables. This implies that most companies do not really know their clients or their employees.

When organizations are not clear about what makes them totally unique, then they can only resort to market manipulation; prices, promotions, novelty, famous influencers, or even fear. However, in Sinek’s words, “manipulation generates transactions but not loyalty.”

Genuine loyalty runs deeper because it consists of a very personal relationship of the consumer, or employee, with the organization.

The origin of this relationship is to aim for success based on the conscious decision and not to make use of these superficial manipulations to create a genuine connection, which is usually based on inspiring and motivating people through a language that Simon Sinek calls ‘the Golden Circle. Golden’.

This Golden Circle demonstrates how inspiring brands and people communicate and act in front of others. Therefore, Sinek presents it as a tool to change the way we lead and communicate to inspire and create loyalty.

  • WHAT: All organizations know what they are doing; your products and services.
  • HOW: Some organizations are clear about how they do what they do. This is usually the explanation they provide to say what makes them different and unique in the market; be it in its processes, its quality, or its value proposition.
  • WHAT FOR: Very few organizations or people can clearly explain why they do what they do; the purpose of their existence.

Most organizations and leaders articulate their communication from what they do (WHAT) and how they do it (HOW), but Simon teaches us that there are few examples like Apple, in which everything the organization does and says is based first and foremost on WHAT FOR.

The book will go through how you can challenge the status quo and “think different” to create a business based on strong loyalty and purpose.

With the above-mentioned example, Apple, for instance, was not the first company to produce a smartphone, an mp3 player, or a tablet, yet the technology giant is capable of maintaining the loyalty of millions of consumers around the world who keep it at the top of its industry.

If you are interested in learning how to build a business based on strong loyalty from your consumers and the purpose to keep your business growing, I recommend you to get this book.

6. Grinding it out by Ray Kroc

Gringing it out by Ray Kroc

Whether you agree or not, Ray Kroc has made a great breakthrough in the business world! His famous book Grinding It Out provides all sources of inspiration and motivation to businessmen and entrepreneurs of this era.

Before the McDonald’s fast-food model revolutionized the market, the common, in most drive-ins, was summed up to a menu with many options, waitresses on skates delivering delayed orders, and on top of all that, wrong deliveries.

Visiting the McDonald’s brothers’ business for the first time, Ray Kroc was surprised. The restaurant had nothing to do with what he had seen so far, after that, he had a great idea: to turn that business into a franchise model.

Even though the McDonald’s brothers did not have the same business acumen as Kroc. Ray looked ahead, and in addition to believing in the potential of that company, he perceived that there was a market opportunity there and made the decision to invest in it.

In order to create a billion-dollar empire, Kroc had some questionable attitudes, to say the least, the book focuses on how he managed to turn McDonald’s into one of the world’s largest fast-food restaurant networks.

I can already tell you that it was not the best hamburger, the best milk-shake, or the best fries in the world that made McDonald’s a worldwide success as they managed to open more than 35,000 points of sale in 119 countries.

In “Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s”, you will learn how McDonald’s has become one of the largest franchise networks in the world and you will see that the strategies are still very valid for our time.

There are three things Ray Kroc did very well: sell hamburgers, make money, and tell stories. Kroc will fascinate and inspire you, whetting your appetite to open your own successful business.

If you want to change your life through entrepreneurship, this book is for you.

7. The power of habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

This bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning book on business focus on the importance of building good habits. We can only achieve success by forming good habits as they can change our lives in a great way!

You dream of it, don’t you? Imagine: The shape of your 20 years. Success at work, 0 stress. Does it ring a bell ?

Health, success, and inner peace is what this book is all about. How your habit will shape your success both in business as an entrepreneur as well as in your personal life.

The book supports a healthy lifestyle encouraging how to introduce simple habits to promote your health. How you can stop including fast food in your diet as well as removing any bad habits such as cigarettes and alcohol and instead, aiming for a much healthier lifestyle successfully combined with your growth as an entrepreneur.

It’s so simple on paper, so why is it so hard in real life?
According to the book, we’re all walk around dragging a one-ton ball called: Laziness.

The book is a sort of wake-up call that through lifestyle examples walks you through some typical examples that differ from successful entrepreneurs.

An example is how good we are at making our resolutions. And how bad we are at keeping them. How easy our old demons take over and overthrow the path we have built. – Back to square one.

Without the right method, building a good habit is like swimming against the tide.

The Power of Habits will show you the right approach to creating sustainable habits that change your pathway and habits for the better.

According to Duhigg, what you are lacking today is a strategy. An effective way to set sustainable habits and throw bad ones away. You can then transform yourself and propel yourself to the top of your ideal.

If you are ready to change both your entrepreneurial and personal habits for the better? This book is just the book for you.

8. The personal MBA by Josh Kaufman

The personal MBA by Josh Kaufman

Everything you need to know to achieve business success in an accessible and fast way without having to take an MBA.

It is well-known by now that many business schools simply offer an outdated education as if they were assembly lines. It is only after about two years, recent graduates begin to discover how business really works through real-life experience.

Josh Kaufman created his own business, which is based on condensing the basic principles of business management and making them accessible to all types of professionals, regardless of their level of role, responsibility, or the sector in which they work.

In the book, the personal MBA, Josh Kaufman shares the essential concepts of all areas of business management in an easy and dynamic way so that anyone interested in creating or improving a business can do so.

The author has provided all the details for entrepreneurs and businessmen to start a new venture in this book. Whether you are looking to study for an MBA or start a new business, this book is the right choice for you!

9. Shoe dog by Phil Knight

Shoe Dog

This book tells the fascinating life story of the co-creator of Nike and all the hardships he had to endure. Thus, it will give all the motivation and knowledge to businessmen striving to succeed.

The untold story behind Nike, the world’s most iconic sports brand, as told by its creator.

It’s also worth mentioning that Shoe dog is one of Bill Gates’s top favorite books.

Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, reveals for the first time the true story behind the company he founded in 1962, which today has a turnover of more than 30,000 million dollars a year, and whose logo has become a global symbol, the most ubiquitous and recognized icon in the world.

It all started with $50 and a simple idea: import high-quality, inexpensive athletic shoes from Japan. By selling those sneakers in the trunk of his car, he made $ 8,000 in the first year.

Gradually, this small business became a groundbreaking start-up that revolutionized the sports market, created a universal and innovative brand, and evolved into the current giant.

In these sincere and visceral memoirs, Phil Knight recounts the numerous risks taken, the setbacks suffered, and the incipient successes, but above all, the relationship with his first collaborators and employees, a group of hardworking co-workers who ended up feeling like brothers.

Together, encouraged by the strength of a common goal and a deep faith they manage to build one of the world’s strongest brands.

This book is no-doubt a must-read for any entrepreneur och businessmen interested in creating innovative business-ideas and scales them to worldwide known enterprises.

10. Psycho-cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Psycho Cybernetics

Psycho-cybernetics gives a different perspective on success in this business book. According to the author of the book, if you do not take risks in life, you cannot be successful. It also teaches you to use your mind to gain better self-esteem to be more productive.

Do you have an image of yourself that does not satisfy you? Are you not confident enough to take your business to success?

If so, Psycho-cybernetics exposes impressive ideas about the functioning of the human brain and bodily activity inspired by cybernetics.

Maxwell develops a theory that states that it is possible to acquire specific and clear mental abilities to promote a positive self-image and develop human capacities to inconceivable levels.

The book will walk into new ways of thinking about yourself and the environment that allows you to successfully face challenges.

  • You will achieve a new perspective on yourself and the world around you.
  • You will strengthen your self-esteem and your personality, and you will change the way others perceive you.
  • You will experience improvements at all levels: physical, mental, and spiritual.
  • You will know a series of actions with which you will achieve an image of success.

Maxwell Maltz was an American plastic surgeon who wrote several books intended for human beings to be empowered and live happier.

When he was practicing medicine he discovered that some people totally changed after he modified their appearance through plastic surgery, while others did not have the same effect.

Maltz concluded on principles that link cybernetics and psychology with the image that each person has of himself.

Improving your self-esteem is never a bad idea especially when the path of success relies on it. This book will help you become a successful entrepreneur with a strong physical, mental, and spiritual self.

11. Capital and ideology by Thomas Piketty

Capital and Ideology

Capital and ideology is a very unique book as well as one of the best business books that stimulate worldwide discussion about imbalance and inequality in the world. In this nerve-wracking book, the author provokes us to transform our thinking on politics, philosophy, and history.

Thanks to the success of Capital in the 21st Century (2013), Thomas Piketty has been able to access fiscal and historical sources that different governments have refused to offer until now.

From the study of these unpublished data, the author proposes an economic, social, intellectual, and political history of inequality, from the estates and slave societies to the modern postcolonial and hyper-capitalist societies, passing through the colonialist, communist, and social democratic societies.

An important conclusion emerges from the author’s analysis: inequality is not an economical or technological issue, but instead, it is an ideological and political problem. In other words, ideas and ideologies count in history.

For Piketty, the common thread in the history of human societies (which is also the history of the search for justice) is not the class struggle, as argued by Marx and Engels, but the struggle of ideologies.

Social position is not enough to forge a theory of a just society, of just property, of just taxation, or of democracy. No one will ever have the absolute truth on these issues.

Thomas Piketty is convinced that it is possible to overcome capitalism and build a just society based on participatory socialism and social-federalism, and he presents his proposal in this ambitious work.

The book has really provided me with an amazing insight on how to understand the different problems found in our business environments and build an understanding of how to work to create a work-environment where inequality is a term only found in history books.

This book is truly a must-read for any entrepreneur or business owner managing an international group of people.

12. Joy at work by Marie Kondo

oy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life

This book discusses the importance of a good workplace. The work environment is a magnet for mess and wreck. The workers might feel more depleted than the usual by inefficient meetings and endless work. These things can take away all the fun of working and your workplace might feel boring.

The Japanese guru of order, Marie Kondo, released her masterpiece ‘Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life’, where she reveals her secret to professional success: order. Given Marie Kondo’s successful career as an entrepreneur, she should be listened to.

Marie Kondo is not only concerned with putting the order in our closets, she now also wants to organize our professional lives.

One of the most famous Japanese woman in the world, with over 3 million followers on Instagram only, launched her new book: Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life – which she has written in tandem with Scott Sonenshein, a teacher in Organizational Psychology from Rice University (USA). And, like Kondo, a bestselling writer.

Furthermore, Joy at Work applies the famous KonMari method to the work environment. The goal is to eliminate clutter in all areas of our professional career and, as if it were clothes that we no longer wear or books that we no longer read, eliminate everything unnecessary, from useless documents to meetings that do not contribute anything. That way, we can focus only on important tasks and enhance our business growth as entrepreneurs.

Additionally, Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein advocate making good vibes the norm at work and learning to thank our co-workers all of that providing a better work environment and a boost in productivity. “In the end, the real goal is to discover what brings you joy in your work so that you can do your best”.

The book is a great read where mindfulness according to the book plays a big role in our productivity and career as entrepreneurs.

13. Tiny habits by BJ Fogg

Tiny Habits The Small Changes That Change Everything

Little habits can have a huge impact on our lives. Considered among the best business books for entrepreneurs to read this year, the book is a handy manual to bring little changes to your lives that can prompt huge outcomes.

Simply follow the author’s simple tricks and tips in the book and make your life simpler, fitter, and fulfilling. It will make you successful in both your business and personal life.

Every year thousands of entrepreneurs set their (good) resolutions for the year. On many occasions we share the same goals, stop smoking, exercise more, eat healthier, spend time with our family and loved ones, learn (once and for all) a new skill or language, etc. But we all also know that almost every year, the majority of our good intentions, unfortunately, remain in just that … in resolutions.

Why is it so difficult to maintain them? Is it our fault? Are we doing something wrong? Well, according to the book, we don’t keep them because on many occasions they are doomed to failure from the very moment we consider them.

Professor BJ. Fogg, director of the Behavioral Design Laboratory at Stanford University, where he is a professor of psychology, points out some causes and, more importantly, offers solutions that are very easy to implement and that he collects in his book Tiny Habits.

If your yearly resolutions are never completed, this book will make sure to guide you in a very simple way to success with all your resolutions goals for next year.

14. Designing your work life by Bill Burnett and David Evans

Designing Your Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work

Bill Burnett and David Evans illustrate how to utilize our minds to lead a satisfying life. It also explains to the readers the importance of creating a job they want. The gist revolves around the idea that only you can create your happiness and success.

The book invites you to start thinking like a designer when shaping your ideal life. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, pioneers of Silicon Valley and design professors at Stanford University, have helped thousands of people change their way of life with their highly successful course, Designing your Life.

Burnett and Evans believe that in order to change, people need to go through a design and planning process to help them figure out what they want and how to create it.

In this long-awaited book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans explain, step by step, how to think like a designer and how to design and build a life in which we can thrive at any age.

Designers don’t think about the way forward, designers build the way forward. According to Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, instead of imagining endless pleasant fantasies unrelated to the real world, you should thrive to build your future brick by brick and address the challenges while on the road.

This book provides us with the knowledge of Design Thinking needed for us to apply it in designing our own life.

15. The passion economy by Adam Davidson

The Passion Economy

The book discusses all the current state of the economy we live in. Whether you need tips on how to make money in today’s economy or investment ideas, this book has it all!

The passion economy is a book full of optimism that describes a new way of approaching a professional career.

Written by a journalist from The New Yorker magazine, the book raises the idea that in the modern economic climate, those professionals and entrepreneurs who dedicate themselves to doing what they are most passionate about and who at the same time have a strategic vision tend to achieve better success.

In addition to theorizing about the economy of passion, Adam Davidson provides various examples of small businesses that, inspired by his rules, have built a successful career in the complex global market of the 21st century.

According to the book, it is not about selling more, but about selling better. Adam Davidson synthesizes his vision of the economy of passion in the following rules:

  • Dedicate yourself to what you are good at and enjoy doing.
  • Choose your customers and your competition.
  • Define your unique and original value.
  • Value yourself through price.
  • Build a story around your brand.
  • Use technology only as support.

So, whether you need books to start your business or tips and strategies to boost up the existing venture, this book will help you with all of that!

16. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In Women Work and the Will to Lead

I recommend that you pick up this book immediately if you are looking for a guide on how to properly settle into your new workplace.

The book covers topics such as finding a suitable mentor, negotiating terms and conditions for better professional growth, raising your opinion, make yourself heard within the organization, and even coming off as an effective leader.

Furthermore, it also includes informative insight on equality in the workplace as well as maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The author of Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, who grew up in Miami and lives in California, says she is very familiar with the importance of the Hispanic community, whose influence is growing.

“You really can’t do something in the United States without understanding that the Hispanic population is one of the great keys,” she says. “That’s why at Lean In, we did what we could to involve as many communities as possible.”

The book is presented as part of a global outreach effort and an attempt to reach more communities nationwide.

“If you want to reach everyone, you have to reach everyone.”
Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg
Facebook’s chief operating officer

In my opinion, this book is a light read because it includes some bits of humor alongside Sandberg sharing her experience working in big leading enterprises such as Facebook and Google.

17. Good to great by Jim Collins

Good to Great

This book is great for understanding the difference between an average company and a largely successful one.

Some companies have always been great, like Coca-Cola, Nike, or Microsoft. This book is not about this type of business.

In fact, the book is all about those companies that were good for a long time and somehow experienced an amazing growth and success.

To find these companies, 1,435 companies were examined over a 40-year period. From this research, 11 large companies were found.

And the question this book tries to answer is how did these companies get this sudden type of success? Are those lessons repeatable? with the aim of defining some principles.

The answer is surprisingly simple, pragmatic, and straightforward.

Jim Collins enlightens you on facts such as how certain companies influence their entry industry and the reason why a majority of startups never reach their full potential in the market.

If you are planning on embarking upon a journey of successful entrepreneurship, this book by Jim Collins will be incredibly helpful.

18. Radical candor by Kim Scott

Radical candor by Kim Scott

There is a reason why this book quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Since it focuses not only on how to become a better leader but also on how to be a great workplace associate, it is an informative read for each individual aiming for career success.

We have different opinions on what makes the best leader. Some of us see the calm, sensitive guy as our ideal boss, but others have a deep respect for the staff sergeant.

However, here it is being argued for the extremely sincere manager, the boss who can be compassionate and direct combining sensitivity and directness.

We can all discover why radical directness is something we need in our work environment, how to practice it on a daily basis, and how it will help us deal with the inevitable difficulties of good management.

In this book, you will find an insightful management approach, which creates a work environment in which great ideas emerge and individuals and groups can reach their potential.

Radical Condor will provide you with some interesting stories from the author’s own experience at big corporations such as Apple and Google, alongside practical advice regarding the do’s and don’ts of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

In case you are facing exhaustion due to the changing work environments occurring all over the world, Radical Candor can provide you with a new outlook upon good management and leadership that can help you become successful. 

19. The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz

The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz

Unlike the typical entrepreneurship book, this book by Ben Horowitz will give you a well-needed reality wake up call when it comes to running your own business.

If a CEO, entrepreneur, or business owner wants his business to function in optimal conditions, it is impossible that he/she is not surrounded by a myriad of responsibilities and pressures.

For that, the fight is constant, since drastic or important decisions are a matter of almost every day and, in the end, they are solely responsible for the consequences.

The founding of a business is the realization of a dream that preceded it. Usually, these are difficult dreams: the new business must be revolutionary and impact the world, but at the same time it must generate profits.

The books goes through all the above as well as questions such as:

  • What are the three most important keys to leading an organization?
  • What are the different types of CEOs?
  • What to learn to become a great CEO?
  • How to take care of the people in your company by training them and building a good human resources structure?
  • How to hire people correctly, including executives?
  • How to fire people even when they’re executives
  • Why being honest about problems and bad news in your business help you find solutions quickly?
  • What advice can a CEO follow to navigate a business crisis?
  • How to sell your company?

Additionally, the book will provide you with an interesting and unique insight regarding the difficult decisions you need to make, the battles with your own mental health you need to endure, and even some practical advice upon handling stressful encounters at the workplace.

Learning from the author’s own experience, the book is narrated in a way that effectively motivates people who are just starting their businesses or are planning to. 

20. How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

Since we all know that the key to establishing a successful business is to build meaningful relationships, this book, also known as one of the most motivational books in history, focuses on the people aspect of the workplace.

The content of the book is based on basic, fundamental principles that undoubtedly improve human relationships in general.

Seen as one of the best books of all time, Dale Carnegie, guides us on how to win friends and influence people. Definitely a book that should not be missing in your library.

According to the book, human beings are much more concerned and suffering a slight toothache than a humanitarian catastrophe that occurred on the other side of the globe.

And just as you prioritize your own interests, other people also give priority to what they consider essential for them. Think about it then: If you want to win the sympathy of others, persuade them to carry out certain actions or not, according to Dale Carnegie, the first thing to do is to put yourself in their shoes and try to find out what they want.

The book provides a helpful guide on the communication skills required to become a successful entrepreneur, including active listening skills and being a good communicator by starting conversations on topics that you may not be comfortable with.

The book is directed towards people who want to generate more sales and is generally ranked as a self-help entrepreneurship book. 

21. Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

Besides being one of the best business books I’ve read so far, this book is perfect for new startups. It highlights the most important reason for business failure – the lack of customer loyalty.

Gabriel Weinberg is the creator of the search tool DuckDuckGo (My favorite search engine) that was born as an alternative to Google, it is an option to carry out searches with privacy protection and no tracking.

And in his book Traction Gabriel, he explains to us which are the strategies that he has used to reach 100 million users, as well as many other successful startups.

The book is a light read for all entrepreneurs due to its simple language and great advice regarding managing your own startup.

The key to understanding this book is to know that you should develop your own strategy and use certain tips and tricks during the development stage of your business.

3 of the main ideas of Traction by Justin Mares are:

  • Start thinking about marketing from scratch.
  • Participate in industry events to meet potential collaborators.
  • Use the ‘’ Diana ’’ system to understand which of the traction channels works best for you.

Since marketing has become the most important aspect of gaining and retaining customers in the business world, this book also highlights the newfound digital marketing channels and a guide on how to use them effectively for your business.

22. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Essentialism The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

The book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, was written by Greg McKeown and published in 2014.

Divided into 4 parts, the work presents practical solutions that help eliminate everything that stands in the way of being productive and efficient.

The book reached The New York Times bestseller level and was recommended by other successful authors and entrepreneurs, including Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin.

Everybody wants to make the dealings in their life simple – and this book is directed at just that. The author is a well-known public speaker, so the language of the entire book is interesting and simple enough to keep you engaged until the very end.

As the title suggests, the book focuses on essentialism, or the act of prioritizing what is vital for business success and eliminating all other factors that may be distracting you from your true purpose/goal. 

The teachings in the book Essentialism are not easy to apply. It is important to note that you will not become an essentialist overnight.

However, by following the suggested practices, it is possible to change.

  • Start out slow. Identify and gradually eliminate things that are not essential in your life.
  • Put as much effort as possible into what you consider essential.
  • Focus on one thing at a time.

23. The answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith

The answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith

As you struggle to make ends meet, you are likely to have any questions regarding the success of your employment.

This atypical book allows you to understand how your own thoughts could be detrimental to your success and provide some interesting theories that are related to the issue.

As far as we know, the human brain is one of the most powerful instruments in the universe. It is enough that we instill our desires in the form of instructions and these will become a habit of thought; A belief. And once we achieve this, nothing can prevent our wishes from coming true.

If you have chosen to dedicate yourself to being successful in business, don’t settle for something “good”.

Make your business a true expression of your values. Make it your dream business and then make your dreams come true. Dedicate yourself to perfection.

This is the first book to learn how to apply the law of attraction and the latest advances in the area of neurology in business.

To ensure that one gains complete control over their own thoughts, the book goes further to explain strategies and solutions to train your mind into a thriving mindset.

Regardless of what your goals are as an entrepreneur in the business world, this book will help you gain self-insight and a deeper understanding of your own potential and setbacks.

24. So good they can’t ignore you by Cal Newport

So good they cant ignore you by Cal Newport

Why do some people have successful and pleasant careers while others don’t? According to a very popular stereotype, the key to success is “dedicating yourself to what you are passionate about”; that is, if you do what you really enjoy doing, you will be doing it well, and the money will originate in a mysterious way.

The only problem with this idea is that we are usually paid to do things that we do not like or that at least do not interest us. Our interests are often irrelevant in the business world.

Therefore, it is sometimes a good idea to try to save some “capital” (long-term investments can be a good option) and then start a business that you enjoy or work on becoming an expert on what you prefer having as a profession.

This book can serve as an eye-opener for many entrepreneurs. Since everybody wants to differentiate themselves from the crowd and build a career that satisfies their own sense of self, this book provides the unpopular advice that your passion may not always be your job title.

Instead, you should choose a profitable profession and give it enough time, and interest to watch it become your passion eventually. By following this approach, one can reach true excellence in whatever career that they pursue. 

25. Breakthrough advertising by Eugene Schwartz 

Breakthrough advertising by Eugene Schwartz

Advertisement and promotion are important aspects of business success – and that’s why this particular book is one of the best business books to help you understand the difference between average ads and the most successful ones.

Serving as a how-to guide on marketing, the author helps you understand the art behind thinking of a creative idea for an ad and executing it to perfection.

The book will help you gain a new outlook on marketing and how you can influence your customers immensely through your advertisement campaigns.

This is a book that I really recommend to any marketer or entrepreneur that wants to succeed with his/her business marketing. This is the type of book, copywriters who read it, reference quite often. Schwartz wonderfully illustrates how copywriting is both art and science.

A quick note on the ads used in the book: As the book was written in the 1960s, the ads provided are somehow outdated in terms of content (cigarettes are fine, a woman’s main wish in life is to get married…).

Schwartz says he’s just looking at the copy in these examples and doesn’t necessarily agree with them one way or another, but it’s ads to look at the long-ago ads to see how times have changed.

Breakthrough advertising is a classic writing book written by Eugene Schwartz with some astonishing key findings:

  1. There is no specific formula to follow. Each individual ad has its own queries and must be answered in a unique way. There are guidelines to follow, but there is no set rule to follow at all times.
  2. The purpose of the first sentence is to get the reader to the second sentence. The purpose of the second sentence is to get the reader to the third sentence. The purpose of the third sentence …
  3. Salespeople cannot create desire where there is none. It won’t work.
  4. Marketers tap into the energies of psychology, emotions, and desire, but they don’t fully understand (and will never understand) these parts of the user experience.

The best part is that all the strategies highlighted in this book can be applied to both traditional and digital media – making it one of my top reads for 2022. 

26. Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely

Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely

Speaking of marketing, it is important to understand human emotions and social norms when you want to achieve business success. Behavior can be attributed to many external forces, and this book makes sure that you understand how predictable actions can really be.

Life is complex and there are multiple forces that exert simultaneous influences on our way of thinking and our behavior. And even though you may consider yourself very rational … humans, in general, are terribly irrational.

In fact, snd not just irrational but predictably irrational. Our response to the myriad forces that shape our personality always seems to be the same: each side has an irreconcilable point of view, the most expensive product satisfies us more even if it is equal to the cheapest, etc.

When we act as consumers, businessmen, or politicians, understanding this irrationality provides us with a starting point to improve the way we make decisions and implement the changes that take place.

Instead of focusing on statistics, this book makes use of interesting scenarios to help you understand the forces that determine actions.

The key takeaway from this book is to be unique in your own way without being influenced by the environment as this is the only pathway to more effective decision making.

27. 10x Marketing Formula by Garrett Moon

10x Marketing Formula by Garrett Moon

Content creation is of the most important aspects of developing a good reputation and customer engagement for your business as an entrepreneur.

Since almost all ventures now have a digital identity, it is necessary for you to create engaging content that is unique and helps your marketing strategies reach the heights of success.

Content is king, that is no doubt about it. Every entrepreneur creates content in the hope to see it attracting a satisfying amount of potential leads and create a successful funnel for bringing business online.

But sometimes you hopes and dreams may not be well answered. In other words, your content may not drive the business or potential leads that you thought of. the question the book answers is what do you do then?

The book is a great guide that through the tenfold marketing, which means how to expect ten times over what you invested, is achieved.

Garett Moon’s formula is used by any entrepreneur thriving to grow their startup online. The book will help you understand the importance of managing your time, how to produce the right content, and more importantly, how to grow your audience in a very efficient and target way.

In this book, you will learn the art of attracting customers to your brand and ruling out all the competitors in your industry. The author draws on his own experience when he talks about marketing – so none of his advice is sugar-coated in any way. 

28. The magic of thinking big by Dr. Schwartz

The magic of thinking big by Dr. Schwartz

If you want to understand the trick to being a successful entrepreneur, I recommend that you read this book ASAP. The author shares some astonishing ways to become successful not only in your business but in every aspect of your life.

The entire process begins with identifying the reasons why you fail and slowly but surely concludes with motivational strategies and techniques to fight your limitations and achieve the right amount of success.

The Magic of Thinking Big will teach you to think abundantly and how to be a great person. It is a book full of examples and tips to improve yourself as a person and as an entrepreneur day by day and be a great leader.

The Magic of Thinking Big is a book that explains the importance of thinking big and believe in big dreams, the path you need to walk, and how to take the necessary actions to achieve that dream.

It is crucial to think that you are going to achieve your goal, to believe in your dreams. But it is of equal importance to take risks, have discipline, and to take actions that will lead you to your final goal.

29. Never split the difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

Never split the difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

The title does sound extreme and may scare the hell out of many of you. But this book is truly one of those books you never forget reading and helps you understand practical guides, effective principles, counterintuitive tactics and strategies, and high-stakes negotiations.

Have schools ever taught the subject “Negotiation”? I’m sure there are some schools that are treating the subject of negotiation, but it’s very rare.

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator. He has also been working 24 years in the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit. He has been the FBI’s top international hostage as well as a kidnapping negotiator from 2003 to 2007. How about that as a curriculum?

Never split the difference is a book that teaches negotiations from A to Z, backed by the decades of experience of Chris Voss.

What does it mean to negotiate as if your life depended on it? What are the “tricks” negotiators use that effectively work in difficult times? that and much more is covered by this terrifying book.

Finally, business dealings mean negotiation – and this book will help you alter the terms of negotiation to your own benefit. Voss draws on personal experience to explain each strategy that has proved to be successful during his career. 

30. Decisive by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Decisive How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

If you struggle with the decision-making responsibilities that come with entrepreneurship and leadership, this book is the book for you indeed.

By including thorough research and informative insight, this book helps you understand the trick to train your mind into better decision making by eradicating all personal biases from your strategy. 

Making decisions is part of everything you do as an entrepreneur, and the better your choices, the better your outcome and results. Whether you decide between cappuccino or latte macchiato, or between two potential romantic partners.

In Decisive, brothers Chip and Dan Heath explain how, in many situations, our decision making is not ideal: we think very narrowly; we are predisposed by past choices, personal values, and short-term emotions; and we are too sure of our decisions.

An excellent example is that of Kodak, The company knew that digital photography would likely overtake analog photography as early as 1981. However, they were hesitant about taking action. Finally, in 2002, once digital camera sales surpassed those of analog cameras, Kodak was left behind.

The book answers the following questions:

  • What alternative options do you have and how can you find them?
  • How can you avoid making a decision simply based on what you like?
  • How can you keep your temporary emotions from getting in the way of a wise decision?
  • How can you be prepared for the good and bad results of your choices?

The book also illustrates how making poor decisions, or not making decisions at all, can have dramatic effects, as can be seen in the example of Kodak, the leading manufacturer of photographic film.

31. Win bigly by Scott Adams

Win bigly by Scott Adams

Since you and I both know that successful marketing strategies are all dependent upon persuasion, this book helps you understand the real strategy behind it.

The author of this book, Scott Adams, probably had more failures than anyone you’ve ever met.

So how did he manage to get out of that cycle of negative experiences and become the creator of Dilbert, one of the most famous comics in the world?

In this book, Scott shares his story and explains how his past experiences of failure helped him achieve success.

Common wisdom says that we need to have goals and objectives to be successful. But that’s not true. Many times you will fail even after following all the procedures. So how do you take the hit and truly achieve success?

Since Adams has been a part of the political sphere in the past, he draws on his own experience of persuasion and provides helpful insight on how to attract people towards your cause – both in personal and business-related situations and endeavors. 

32. No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy

No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy

Kennedy is a very successful entrepreneur who has multiple running business ventures – and with this book, he provides an insight into his own mind.

Kennedy does not hesitate to share all of the secrets that have led him to his unmatched success with strategies such as sales campaigns and mail-orders.

This is a small entrepreneurship book that can be read within a few days if you really want to understand the truth behind marketing campaigns.

The best part is that Kennedy also helps you apply his strategies to every business venture, regardless of the industry that you work or have experience in. 

Kennedy is a marketing master that provides excellent strategies for any type of business. In his book No B.S. Direct Marketing, he addresses a shortlist of radically different, little-known, profit-proven direct mail strategies for your business.

Kennedy provides great strategies that are illustrated in many examples throughout the book

all from phenomenally successful direct marketing strategies of the world of mail-order, TV infomercials, etc., to ‘ordinary’ businesses including retail stores, restaurants, and sales.

33. The 10X rule by Grant Cardone

The 10X rule by Grant Cardone

I would say that this is a motivational book that will help you start the business venture that you have been dreaming of for the longest time.

Cardone provides insight on how to achieve success, including the unpopular opinion that you will have to work ridiculously hard and never settle for average results when chasing success.

As the title suggests, Cardone focuses on the 10X rule – which means that you need to multiply all of your efforts by 10 in order to actually have a successful business venture. 

The Golden Rule or 10X rule refers to the fact that you can achieve success in the areas of your financial, physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and family life if you multiply by 10 the level of effort of your actions.

To be more precise about where to start and implement the rule; Start by setting goals 10 times higher than what you would normally set and work 10 times more than you normally would to meet them.

Cardone says that massive thoughts must be followed by massive actions, since acting and thinking are correlated. The right mindset is essential, the so-called dominant mind, as it will be inclined to take action where people normally would not.

The basic mistakes people make when setting or pursuing goals are:

  • Not choosing the correct goals, since the objectives are very scarce and do not allow enough motivation.
  • Actions, resources, money, and energy to meet the goal are underestimated.
  • Too much time is spent competing and not enough time dominating the industry.
  • The adversity that will need to be overcome to reach the goal set is underestimated.

Finally, success is defined when things go as planned, and the final goal or purpose is achieved. So it is the accumulation of events that turn out well or the successful set of desired results. and this book is here to do just that – help you succeed as an entrepreneur.

34. Dotcom secrets by Russell Brunson

DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online

Online presence is important for all businesses – and that is exactly what this engaging book focuses on. All of the arguments in this book are based on sale funnels and how to transform them into your own advantage and success.

The Internet is full of incredible tools to help the expansion and growth of various types of businesses. But to be successful you need to know what these tools are.

More than that: knowing how to use them is crucial. After all, who is the owner of a business?

The book promises to share the secrets behind digital marketing and how to use it to expand your reach online.

If you want to learn everything about the world of digital marketing, then this book will provide relevant business advice alongside practical examples to easily explain the author’s insight.

While you may be worried that you have too many online competitors, Brunson helps you build a unique identity and approach for your brand on the internet. 

The book is very straightforward and to the point. I recommend it for anyone growing their business online through digital marketing or direct internet marketing.

35. The impact equation by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

The impact equation by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

This is another book that focuses on the digital aspect of running a successful business. The authors highlight that the key to an effective online presence is to have engaging content that has a long-lasting impact on the consumer.

The Internet is changing business patterns and models. The influence that traditional marketing channels had is disappearing as more people are connected online.

A relevant presence on the web can now be your best weapon to capture the attention of a potential client.

In this book, marketing gurus Chris Brogan and Julien Smith show how visibility on the web means sizing a message as much as possible.

The authors reveal a formula for success: a set of strategies that can be applied to any business to quantify the effectiveness of its actions.

In this way, you will find out why an action in a national newspaper, which reaches millions of people, can be less impressive and successful than creating a blog entry addressed to a target group of only a thousand people, but are instead a group of potential customers passionate about the product you offer them… 

36. Virtual freedom by Chris Ducker

Virtual freedom by Chris Ducker

I understand that it can be exhausting to run a business all by yourself – and that is why I recommend this book to all entrepreneurs.

The author focuses on how to smartly outsource certain tasks through the digital medium since you need to invest your own time into more productive things for your business to grow.

Ducker provides some expert advice and experience on finding and managing an efficient virtual team – be it copywriting, marketing, or even just a virtual assistant. 

Entrepreneurs often seek to make their operations more virtual and outsource more work over the internet to save money, increase efficiency, and free up time to strategize and develop their businesses.

Moving your business to the virtual world may include hiring virtual assistants – capable and hard-working freelancers who often live in other countries.

Finding, selecting, training, and managing overseas and long-distance employees can be challenging. Chris Ducker, known as the “Virtual CEO,” explains how to recruit and work with virtual assistants.

The book is a knowledgeable manual provides helpful guidelines, handy checklists, and an extensive resource section. The book offers Ducker’s insights, pragmatic advice, and easy-to-apply methods for freelancers, small business owners, startups, entrepreneurs, and anyone considering hiring a virtual assistant from abroad.

Dani Thifa
Dani Thifa
kliwo.com/

My name is Dani Thifa and I am a husband to a clumsy wife, dad to two cute spider babies, uncle to triplets, blogger, and digital lead at #CGI.

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