The Top 14 Best Books For Starting a Business

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Written By Ryan Patton

Adventurer, Tech Geek and Lover of Productivity Hacks. 

Be sure to check out our latest list of the Best Books For Starting a Business in order to gain more knowledge about business, entrepreneurship and the things you want to avoid when starting out.

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Finding a mentor or getting the right type of advice when it comes to starting a business can often be quite complicated, and therefore the best way to learn more about building a business is by reading books that were written by people who have built successful businesses.

If you are an entrepreneur looking into starting a business, you should be researching more about where you should be investing the majority of your time, effort, and money.

Entrepreneurs are always in search of outside help, and some people might attend seminars, business classes, or even sit down for a one-on-one chat with someone who has been influential to them.

However, a great way to identify where you stand and to figure out what to do next is by picking a book to start a business and reading it.

Not just one book, the main idea here is to obtain numerous points of views provided by different authors that not only explain the key concept of guiding a business, but they also use their personal experience to highlight the errors that they made and how they were able to overcome them while starting their business.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or already someone with experience, any of these top business books can help you greatly. 

Table of Contents

  1. Best Books For Starting a Business
  2. Best Guide to Branding: Crushing It!
  3. This Is Not a T-Shirt
  4. The $100 Startup
  5. Company of One
  6. The Lean Startup 
  7. Women Who Launch
  8. The Art of the Start 2.0
  9. Profit First
  10. The Founder’s Dilemmas
  11. Will It Fly?
  12. Best for Startups: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
  13. The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster
  14. The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong
  15. The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Best Books For Starting a Business


Best Guide to Branding: Crushing It!

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk  

Gary Vaynerchuk understands how making a difference is the main key to success. Having a business that stands out from the rest is necessary in order for your business to launch properly and to work out. The author’s main point throughout his book is being able to demonstrate the importance of having strong branding, focusing on your client, and connecting with your target audience. His insight is definitely interesting and something worth reading. 


This Is Not a T-Shirt

Author: Bobby Hundreds. 

One of the best books for starting a business is definitely this one. Fashion entrepreneur Bobby Hundreds uses his own business experience to demonstrate readers how the industry works and how the entire business world can be crowded and competitive. Nevertheless this book is very engaging as it is motivational and it gives the readers a dose of reality, it doesn’t sugar coat the business world, but it talks candidly with his readers for them to know what to expect when launching a business.


The $100 Startup

Author: Chris Guillebeau

Not all businesses were built with a large amount of money, some successful entrepreneurs have started only with a great idea and a couple of bucks in their accounts. This book talks about starting a business with little to no money and learning how to launch your business with it. The book examines a couple of case studies of successful businesses that started up with little to no money, and from here you can learn some great tips and advice if you find yourself with little money to start your business.


Company of One

Author: Paul Jarvis

Jarvis talks about the creation of small businesses and how these types of businesses have everything that it is needed to be successful. Company of one talks about entrepreneurship from a small business point of view, which is great for start-ups that are just developing. This is by far, one of the best business books out there.


The Lean Startup

Author: Eric Ries

Learning how to approach the business world is extremely important. Businessman Eric Ries demonstrates to his reader how his continuous use of innovation has helped him to create a successful business. This book is great for inexperienced business entrepreneurs, as it guides them through a very transparent process of a start-up.


Women Who Launch

Author: Wagman-Geller  

The business world is very different between men and women and therefore having a business book for women is extraordinary. This book focuses on launching a business, finding the right motivation as a business owner, and facing challenges with determination is the key to success. The book talks about greats tips and tricks for launching a business as well as real-life examples of successful women who have launched their own prosperous businesses.


The Art of the Start 2.0

Author: Guy Kawasaki

Capitalist Guy Kawasaki, adds some valuable lessons in his book for readers to comprehend deeper what an entrepreneur has to go through in order to achieve success. In his book, Kawasaki uses his advice and even tips that he received from other mentors as well. He talks about his experiences as an entrepreneur and how he had to transform his life to become one, given that being an entrepreneur became much more than a job title. This book will serve you as the start-up process to become a great businessman. 


Profit First

Author: Mike Michalowicz  

Mike Michalowicz touches on a very important point on launching a new business, and this is figuring out the financial and economical side of the business itself. This can be where the toughest challenges arise for new business owners, and for that same reason, the author teaches his readers how to make good choices of their money when they start making a profit. 


The Founder’s Dilemmas

Author: Noam Wasserman

There is a lot of responsibility that comes from being the founder of a new business. For that reason knowing what to do and what necessary steps to take is important for any startup business owner, in order to make the right choices throughout the way. This book has become very popular because it has served entrepreneurs as a guide to know what to expect when they are facing launching a business.


Will It Fly?

Author: Patt Flynn 

The title of the book is quite self-explanatory, often when new business owners are looking into launching a new business they might find themselves asking the question “will it work”. How do you differentiate a viable project from one that isn’t worth your time? In this book, you will learn how time is of the essence, and learning how to differentiate which things you should invest your time in, and which ones you should move on from, is extremely important in order to be successful.


Best for Startups: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Author: Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is also known as the co-founder of Paypal talks about what it is to launch a small business and have people work alongside you. Starting a business isn’t just for solo-entrepreneurs, in this world, there are a lot of partnerships required to launch a business, and this book discusses a lot of interesting ideas to pull it off. One of the main points that this book touches on is creative innovation and learning how to cope with the business environment.  


The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster

Author: Darren Hardy   

One top business book that you won’t regret buying. Darren Hardy is a great author, and he uses his own insight into the business world to tell his readers how businesses can fail if they have business owners that are not mentally ready for the industry itself. Learn about the roller coasters that occur in the business world, knowing how to identify the ups and the downs is a must in order to become a successful founder. 


The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong

Authors: Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

This book is amazing for start-up founders to understand the necessary steps they need to begin the process of launching a new business. They need to know where things could go wrong in order to avoid them. The book answers tons of questions that business owners or founders might ask themselves throughout the process of initiating a new business.


The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Authors: Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

The massive imperium that Walt Disney created is something worthy of being admired. This book explains the importance of building a warm culture and an enjoyable environment in your business in order to carry it along the way. The authors explain everything that took for the industry of Disney to launch, and these steps are great tips for new entrepreneurs to follow.


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The Ultimate List of the 14 Best Books For Starting a Business

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