There’s enough books about business to fill a telephone book!  But quality does vary hugely.  Some books you’ll find are far too academic in nature with very little actually applicable information.  Whereas others may continue to stay in print, but with very out of date information.  Not good.

So what you’re actually looking for is books that actually benefit your business.  Ones that give you information, preferably actionable information that can directly help the bottom line of your business.  Because as a business owner, you have very limited free time, so have to prioritise your use of that time when it comes to reading.  Plus, filling your head with incorrect ideas from misguided authors is not helpful for your work!

So here’s a few book suggestions to help answer those nagging entrepreneurial questions you may have:

The Startup Playbook by David Kidder

Now, this book shares the experiences of many different business founders.  Their trials, tribulations, but in particular how they solved their most pressing business problems.  Importantly, this book is focused on startups rather than established business, detailing how to profitably and successfully grow a fledgling business.

Subjects (among many others) include how to lead people, how you can spot gaps in the market, and how to maximise return on marketing spend.

One benefit of this book is that getting multiple viewpoints can be very helpful to give you broad and diverse viewpoints, but potentially at the expense of doing a subject full justice.

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

This book has become a phenomenon, and an entire industry has sprouted up based around the concepts and ideas in this book.  Well, as the name of the book implies, you can work less and earn more!  Nice idea, and many people swear this book has changed their lives.  Could it do the same for you?

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco

Another hugely popular book.  Well, as the name says, this book tells you not to take the standard life route of university, a job, and incremental pay increases, but instead how you can rapidly go from where you are now, to a million or more.  Sounds fun!

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini

This book should probably come with a warning!  Well, a warning to others around you anyway, since some of the techniques and ideas in this book are so powerful, they can actually transform how you interact with others.

Perhaps that’s overstating things somewhat, but this book is focused on ways to get people to say yes by using proven techniques of influence and persuasion.  Scary stuff.

Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

The author of this book rapidly grew his family business from four million dollars a year in revenue, to sixty million.  And this book details the exact tactics he used, and that you can apply to rapidly grow your own business.

So when you’re not arguing with family over Christmas, these books will keep you busy.  They’re great for insight, for knowledge, and in particular they excel at creating inspiration for taking your business to the next level.