(Updated on July 2021)
[Entrepreneus have certain characteristics that are enhanced with the help of the right books. These books revolve around startups and the social skills required to initiate and run those startups. Along with these skills, having a great CRM platform reduces the struggles an Entrepreneur might face. SugarCRM is one of the leading CRMs. You can read more about its latest version, Sugar 10, here.]
Entrepreneurial life can be extremely challenging. More than 90% of startups fail within the first five years of their inception. Every founder will encounter situations where he wouldn’t know if he is headed in the right direction. It is during such times when one needs to not only introspect for character building but also seek inspiration to stay optimistic.
There are hundreds of great books out there that offer advice and insights about the business world. However, there is only so much time that one can spare from his busy work life and we want you to make the most of it by recommending eight books that will refine your personality and make you a better thinker and leader.
So let’s get started!
1. How to Win Friends & Influence People
One of the first best-selling self-help books that were ever published, this book can be read by anyone but is a must for entrepreneurs. After reading this book, you will be able to make friends quickly, get your employees to start thinking the way you do, avoid conflicts at the workplace and become a better visionary.
2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Successful people always have some qualities that set them apart from the rest of the crowd. To develop those qualities, you need to tread a carefully crafted path. Stephen Covey outlines this path for you in his book.
This book presents a holistic, principle-centered approach to solving personal and professional problems and was listed as one of “The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books” by Times in 2011.
3. The Lean Startup
Today, entrepreneurs have innovative ideas but often lack the tools necessary to build an enduring business. This book offers advice from someone who himself saw his startup fail, learnt from his mistakes and then went on to build a multi-million dollar enterprise.
This book will enlighten your mind about the 5 principles that are critical to the success of a startup and what makes a startup a ‘lean’ one.
4. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Everyone would like to become an entrepreneur after reading this book. It is about a person who has two fathers; one rich and the other poor. Both fathers teach their kid on how to achieve success but differ vastly in their approach.
The theme revolves around two things; a can-do attitude and fearless entrepreneurship. The lesson is simple; if you desire to be an entrepreneur, you must take charge of your life by overcoming fear, laziness, cynicism and arrogance.
5. 80/20 Sales & Marketing
The business landscape has changed considerably over the last decade. Instead of reaching out to everyone, refining your target customers is the way forward. To bolster sales and run targeted marketing campaigns effectively, you need to focus only on those customers who are genuinely interested in your product.
The secret lies in saving 80 percent of your time by focusing on the 20 percent of your customers who have the highest probability of buying from you.
6. The $100 Startup
Without direction, purpose and strategy, any startup stands very little chance of succeeding. From the initial stages of starting a business to managing the growing operations, this book will assist you at every stage.
The book was written after conducting interviews and surveys of the founders of real startups and hence is a must read for entrepreneurs who are thinking of starting their own business.
7. Start with Why
Great leaders inspire others by putting the Why (the purpose) before the How (the process) or the What (the product). In the book, the author uses real-world examples of great leaders to show you how they communicate and how you can adopt their mindset to inspire others.
Once you are finished reading this book, you will be equipped with the tools which will help you to lead and inspire.
8. The 4-Hour Workweek
I can’t recommend this book enough. After reading this book, your life will never be the same again. People often complain about struggling to balance their work life and not finding enough time for leisure.
So if you are an entrepreneur and feel like you have been trapped in the vicious circle of life, this book will serve as a useful guide for a new and revolutionary world. It is bound to shake things up and make you do things differently.
Over to You
We hope that you find the list interesting and useful. Books are the best source to seek inspiration and gain new perspectives about life. No matter how busy your work-life is, always take out some time to read a book. It’s an investment that will always pay off.
Moreover, to hit the ground running with your new business, you can get the best CRM for Startups to streamline your business operations, improve communication across all channels and optimize your schedule. If you are thinking about the need of Startup CRM in your business, get in touch with our team of CRM consutants to help you make the decision wisely. So, what are you waiting for? Get started already!
If you liked our list of books every entrepreneur should read, then do also read our list of books that aspiring marketers should read.
If you’ve got any CRM troubles that your book of choice couldn’t solve, head on over to us and schedule a FREE CRM Consultation Session. Rolustech is a SugarCRM Certified Developer & Partner Firm. We have helped more than 700 firms with various SugarCRM Customization, Migrations and Integrations.
