Entrepreneurship can be an exhilarating endeavor, but it can also be extremely stressful. For that reason, reading about the experiences of others who have taken similar risks and ventures can help you learn from their successes and failures. Here are some of the top eBooks that every entrepreneur and startup founder should read at least once. It doesn’t matter if you already have an established business or are just thinking about starting one—these books will provide value for everyone, no matter where they are in their journey towards entrepreneurship.
This is an essential ebook for anyone starting a business online. This guide will help you set up your online storefront on Shopify, market your products, connect with suppliers (if necessary), run Facebook ads, and more. It’s practical, insightful, and well-written. You can check it out here.
All entrepreneurs should write a business plan, no matter how simple their idea is. A well-written business plan forces you to lay out your vision, think through every aspect of your company, explain your strategy, show investors that you’ve put some thought into it (no matter how naïve) and much more. When writing a business plan, start with what could go wrong and work back from there.
Learning how to negotiate can significantly increase your earning potential. Even if you’re terrible at negotiating, it’s possible to improve your skills—in fact, it might be one of the most important things you can do to become a better negotiator. If you’re starting out in business, or feel like your skills are lacking, consider taking a negotiation class, joining a local chamber of commerce or reading through some books on negotiation strategy.
Starting a business with co-founders is a lot like getting married, except there are no prenuptial agreements. In order to maintain harmony in your startup, it’s vital that everyone has effective communication skills. The ability to communicate well not only helps you work with your team better but also ensures that everyone is on board with how things are progressing. Check out these useful books for gaining better communication skills
You’re about to launch a startup, but you need people—specifically, great talent. The good news is there are tons of people who want to be employed by your company; often it’s just a matter of finding them. Startups have a reputation for being cool places to work at; many startups advertise their positions on campus or sponsor student organizations for just that reason. Be creative in your hiring process and you can snag top-notch talent before even launching your business.
Your business will be nothing without people. This is your top priority when starting a business. You need to have people skills for dealing with customers, employees, vendors and lenders. A large part of people skills is empathy – you have to really understand your customer so that you can provide a good service or product for them.
7) Personal Development and growth
1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This personal development book has been a classic for generations of entrepreneurs because it’s easy to read, full of great information, and isn’t too long or overwhelming. It also promotes a philosophy of abundance rather than scarcity—which makes it relevant to everyone from business owners to artists. If you’re an entrepreneur who enjoys reading on your commute or while eating lunch, then Think and Grow Rich is a must-read book for you.
Finding a market for your idea, building a prototype, and getting product financing are just some of issues you’ll tackle in product development. Focusing on all aspects of new product development will be necessary for your startup to succeed. Let’s look at some resources that can help you tackle these issues
9) Customer Service and relations
Customer service is an essential part of running a successful business. Don’t cut corners on your customer support; providing effective, efficient customer service shows your customers that you care about them, their needs, and it builds goodwill with them. To effectively support customers, make sure you have a support team that can answer questions quickly (and correctly), as well as enough resources to fulfill orders in a timely manner. The more responsive you are to your customers, the more likely they are to be happy with your product or service.
Running a project successfully requires strong organization skills, expert planning, and a cool head. If you’re launching a new business—or planning to restructure an existing one—you will undoubtedly run into some sticky situations that need resolving. Take, for example, production delays or financial issues: Both can throw your business plans out of whack if you don’t have your project management act together.
