There are many great resources and books available on the market for entrepreneurs whether they are just starting out or have been self-employed for many years. New tactics and strategies are necessary as markets and technologies change. To help you stay at the top of your game, we recommend these great books.
1) The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
This widely praised – and criticized – guide contains tools and up-to-date information to help you automate your income generation leaving you free to pursue your passions. Reviews practically guarantee that this book will get you “fired-up and action-ready”. Stressing the importance of free time, this book asks the reader to rethink their concept of work and realize that up to 90% of the work we do is not only unnecessary but potentially detrimental to our cause.
Snippet: “Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive. Capacity, interest, and mental endurance all wax and wane. Plan accordingly.”
2) Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki
“Read this book to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”
– Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about how to make people want your products or services, this is the book for you. Learn how to influence people’s buying decisions while maintaining high ethical standards. Enchantment is a key element in maintaining customer satisfaction and this book will guide you through how to launch products while maintaining market endurance and overcoming resistance. It even features special chapters on how to enchant your employees or coworkers as well as how to recognize and resist enchantment yourself.
Snippet: “There are two kinds of people and organizations in the world: eaters and bakers. Eaters want a bigger slice of an existing pie; bakers want to make a bigger pie.”
3) The Artist Way by Julia Cameron
A comprehensive 12 week program intended to foster creativity, this book takes the stance that creative expression is the natural direction of life and offers insight on how to embrace and harness your creative powers. Linking creativity to spirituality, Cameron teaches how to conquer blocks and self-destructive tendencies such as:
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Limiting blocks;
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Negative emotions including fear, guilt, and jealousy; and
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Addictions or self-sabotage.
Review: “… I was so impressed how big a difference it made on mind and my thoughts. You read each chapter for one week and by the time I got to week 7, my life had changed.” – Forbes Riley
4) Rework by Jason Fried
Full of counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you, this book describes a better, faster way to succeed in business and insists you need less than you think. The key is to stop talking about it and start working. A straightforward entrepreneurial handbook, this pick will show you how to be more productive and get more exposure without overspending and promises to help victims of downsizing, artists who are tired of starving, entrepreneurs and people stuck in day jobs they hate.
Review: “Rework is a Webby manifesto for post-recession success. Forget about strategic planning, they advise. And ignore your competition—unless you feel like picking a public fight. Don’t waste time on meetings. Stay as small as you possibly can.” – Newsweek
5) Youtility by Jay Baer
Focused on marketing and relevant for virtually any size of business, this book is about creating marketing that is so useful people will pay for it. Boasting a new marketing model for the “age of information overload”, it is not hard to see why this book has garnered so many great reviews and made its way onto the New York Times Bestseller List. The best way to stand out from the crowd is by being useful: find a problem that needs a solution and create something so useful that people will want to give you their money. With this kind of success, your customers will do marketing for you without being asked and you will develop a confident and loyal customer base.
Quote from the Book: “Youtility is marketing upside down. Instead of marketing that’s needed by companies, Youtility is marketing that’s wanted by customers. It’s massively useful FREE information, that creates long-term trust and kinship between a company and its customers.”
