If you’re a small business owner, you will likely benefit a great deal from hearing the life stories shared by successful entrepreneurs. Their personal experiences can make you see things from a whole new perspective. They may also inspire you to believe in your own abilities.
Below, we’ve listed a few of our favorite books to help you to create your own business success.
“Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” by Peter Thiel (2014)
The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.
Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Information technology has improved rapidly, but there is no reason why progress should be limited to computers or Silicon Valley. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to think for yourself.
“In the Company of Women” by Grace Bonney (2016)
Over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global movement of entrepreneurship. Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians and architects—taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.
“The Power of Broke” by Daymond John (2016)
Daymond John has been practicing the power of broke ever since he started selling his home-sewn t-shirts on the streets of Queens. With a $40 budget, Daymond had to strategize out-of-the-box ways to promote his products. Luckily, desperation breeds innovation, and so he hatched an idea for a creative campaign that eventually launched the FUBU brand into a $6 billion global phenomenon. But it might not have happened if he hadn’t started out broke – with anything but hope and a ferocious drive to succeed by any means possible.
“Beating the Odds” by Eddie Brown (2011)
Beating the Odds is the improbable, inspiring autobiography of financial guru Eddie C. Brown, one of the nation’s top stock pickers and money managers. It details how Brown skillfully kept Brown Capital Management afloat through the dot-com bust, 9/11, and the Great Recession. Born to a 13-year-old unwed mother in the rural South, this African-American investment whiz created a Baltimore-based financial firm that amassed more than $6 billion under management.
“Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss (2016)
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles―counterintuitive tactics and strategies―you can also use to become more persuasive in your professional and personal life.
“Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (2010)
From the founders of the trailblazing software company 37signals, here is a different kind of business book – one that explores a new reality. Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible. Technology that costs thousands is now just a few pounds or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is now simple.
That means anyone can start a business. And you can do it without working miserable 80-hour weeks or depleting your life savings. You can start on the side while your day job provides all the cash you need. Forget about business plans, meetings, and office space – you don’t need them. The key is stripping everything back to the bare minimum and basics and then rebuilding, keeping everything simple and under control. You’ll learn how to begin, why you need less than you think, when to launch, how to promote, and whom (and when) to hire.
“Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek (2009)
Start With Why asks (and answers) the questions: why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people wouldn’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it.
Want to Grow Your Business? Get a Small Business Loan
Working with online lenders is becoming more and more the norm for smaller businesses. You want to be certain, though, that the company you choose to work with is reputable, has a solid track record, and is transparent in its policies and processes.
First Union Lending is here to help! We partner with small companies across the country by offering fast and flexible loan programs. Our clients get the cash they need in as little as two days—yes, we do work that quickly. With short-term loans, lines of credit, and merchant cash advances, among other forms of funding, we have the resources you need. Call today!