5 Must-Read Books For Aspiring Entrepreneurs
A Short list of books to help you launch your business
Reading is fundamental and knowledge begets skill. So If your plan is to launch the next Facebook or Snapchat, then you should start reading these 5 books immediately.
At Walletally, we have spent quite a bit of time comparing books read by some of the world’s most successful businessmen. These 5 books seem to show up on most of their reading lists. We thought we would share them with you.
1. Startup: The Complete Handbook for Launching a Company for Less
by Elizabeth Edwards
For the technology startup raising venture capital, the freelancer, social entrepreneur, and coffee shop owner, Edwards has written a modern textbook for entrepreneurship, covering all aspects of starting a business, including finance, branding, advertising, PR, accounting, and business law. Part manual, part manifesto, the nearly 400-page text presents proven strategies for launching a startup on a shoestring budget.
In "Startup: The Complete Handbook for Launching a Company for Less," Edwards draws upon her own experiences as a venture capital investor and bootstrap entrepreneur to outline over $100,000 in savings with do-it-yourself guides and personal finance strategies. More info
2. It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership
by Colin Powell
Colin Powell, one of America’s most admired public figures, reveals the principles that have shaped his life and career in this inspiring and engrossing memoir.
A beautiful companion to his previous memoir, the #1 New York Times bestseller My American Journey, Powell’s It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership is a trove of wisdom for anyone hoping to achieve their goals and turn their dreams into reality.
A message of strength and endurance from a man who has dedicated his life to public service, It Worked for Me is a book with the power to show readers everywhere how to achieve a more fulfilling life and career. More info
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits.
In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.
4. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
by Bryan Burrough
“One of the finest, most compelling accounts of what happened to corporate America and Wall Street in the 1980’s.”
—New York Times Book Review
A #1 New York Times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date twenty years after the famed deal. The Los Angeles Times calls Barbarians at the Gate, “Superlative.” The Chicago Tribune raves, “It’s hard to imagine a better story...and it’s hard to imagine a better account.” More info
5. Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, Website
by Matt Blumberg
A definitive book for any CEO—first time or otherwise—of a high-growth company
While big company CEOs are usually groomed for the job foryears, startup CEOs aren't—and they're often young and relatively inexperienced in business in general. Author Matt Blumberg, a technology and marketing entrepreneur, knows this all too well. Back in 1999, he started a company called Return Path,which later became the driving force behind the creation of his blog, Only Once—because "you're only a first time CEO once."
Now, more than a decade later, he's written Startup CEO.As the fifth book in the Start Up Revolution series, this reliable resource is based on Blumberg's experience as a startup CEO and covers a number of issues he's faced over the dozen years he's been a CEO. More info