I never considered myself an avid reader until I started reading business/startup/self help books. They are addicting. Reading stories from the trenches and principles guiding towards success will help alleviate some of the anxiety and “unknowns” that keep you up at night.
Here are my top 3 books to get you started:
The Art of the Start – Guy Kawasaki
This was the First entrepreneurial book I ever read. It was given to me by a friend/mentor when I started being interested in starting my own business. At first I was skeptical, thinking I couldn’t learn much from a “business book” but I was blown away. Guy gets right to the point on startup principles and covers a wide variety of topics every business owner needs to know: pitching to investors, customers, and partners; writing your business plan; and Rainmaking.
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur – Mike Michalowicz
As easy (and highly entertaining) read combining extreme humor, bootstrap resources, real life stories, and countless tips to get your adrenaline rushing to go out and start your new business today. This particular book from Mike is focused on bootstrapping your business. I’ve read this book over and over again – and have many sticky page markers sticking out of the edges.
Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur – Pamela Slim
Taking the leap from a stable corporate job to entrepreneurship is difficult. Even more so when you have many dependents relying on you. This book gives real life anecdotes to many challenges facing new entrepreneurs (and those thinking of taking the leap). This book helps push you to take the adventurous plunge strategically and helps evaluate the considerations and planning needed to confidently.
There are many more books I will recommend, but these three are an extremely useful starting point for gaining knowledge and understanding of what lies ahead as you create your plan to own your own business.