As Harry Truman, President of the USA, whose decisions led to the end of WWII, said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
If there is one thing, I have learned over my 41 years of life, it’s that your brain is muscle. Just like going to the gym builds muscle on your body, reading or listening to books strengthens your brain.
I give big credit to the books I’ve read. They’ve helped me build a commercial cleaning services company to roughly $4M in yearly revenue, and a team of roughly 140 people. I also believe this is just the beginning for our business, and for us to get to the next level, I am heavily relying on learning how to do this from the books I read.
With modern recording technology and the ever-increasing availability of audiobooks, we have no excuses for not reading books. If you are too busy or fall asleep when reading books, you can easily start listening to audio books instead. In the last few years, I have turned to audio books when I drive, when I’m doing housework, etc.… Whenever I have a moment that would otherwise be filled with silence, I fill it with the sweet sound of education, through audio books.
As business leader Patrick Bet David says, “Reading an hour a day is only 4% of your day. But that 4% will put you at the top of your field within 10 years. Find the time.”
If you are serious about becoming a successful business owner, you’ll want to invest in reading books that will fast track and streamline your efforts. Even if you think you are not retaining everything (which you probably aren’t), you will be surprised by how much is absorbed, and how much it affects your day-to-day business life.
I’m constantly searching for my next good book; therefore, I thought I would share my top 5 business books for entrepreneurs to help those who are also searching to build their business development skills.
Here are my top 5 recommended business books for entrepreneurs:
Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet David
Patrick Bet David is one of my favourite self-made business leaders of our time. He has a brilliant way of sharing his experiences and wisdom. As an Iranian refugee to America at 10 years old, and now the owner of one of the fastest growing companies in the financial market, as well as, the #1 YouTube Channel for entrepreneurs, Bet David understands what hard and smart work looks like.
In his book “Your Five Next Moves,” Bet David helps the entrepreneur, strategically define who you are, where you want to be, and how to get there. Like a grandmaster chess player, Bet David helps you understand the importance of thinking and acting five steps ahead. Once you understand where you want to be, then you can begin to organize your actions around that plan.
There are so many golden nuggets in this book, and once I started reading it, I could not stop. Bet David says, “It’s tough to start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading and re-living the last one. Grab the pen of life and start writing the next one.”
This is an absolute must read for all entrepreneurs at any stage of their business!
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Michael Gerber is known as the “Small Business Guru,” and when you read this book, you will see why.
When we started our business in 2010, both my business partner and I read this book. It was perfect timing for us, as it really helped us wrap our minds around the idea of working “on the business” and not “in the business.”
As Gerber states, ““Work On It, Not Just In It” encapsulates the shift in thinking you need to make in order to create a business that really works—a business that really works for you. It’s a shift in perspective that has everything to do with recognizing that the purpose of your life is not to serve your business. The purpose of your business is to serve your life.”
Of course, when we first started our business, we had no choice but to work “in” the business; however, we developed philosophies and systems that allowed us to replace ourselves as we grew. Gerber shows us how and why so many businesses fail, as they are often started by people who have a great skill set. But to replace that skill set with someone else is incredibly hard. For example, Sarah makes great pies, and starts a pie shop. It is very difficult for Sarah to replace herself because she is the one that puts the love into the pies, and to train someone else to put that love and care into them is not easy. Sarah also does not know how to run a business. As much as her ability to make great pies, knowing how to run a business is just as important.
Gerber teaches us about the different hats we must wear as business owners, and when to wear them. He teaches us how to build the systems to scale and does so in a very engaging way.
I was fortunate enough to be able to have a private Zoom call with Michael Gerber a few years ago. He was full of great insights and advice. He explained that to the Entrepreneur, the business operates without them. To the Technician, the business operates because of them. To the Entrepreneur, the business is the product. To the Technician, the business is a place to go to work every day. Powerful stuff from the world’s greatest small business guru.
Another must book for any entrepreneur!
Relentless by Tim Grover
Tim Grover is arguably one of the most influential leaders in sports who wasn’t either a player, coach or team manager. He was the personal trainer for Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and many other great athletes.
In his book, “Relentless,” Tim Grover dissects the mindset of the some of the greatest athletes we have ever seen and helps us understand what it really takes to be the best at what we do. I think he would be offended to call it a self-help book; it’s so much more than that, a study of the mind frame we must be in to win, to be the best, to achieve greatness, in everything we do.
Although Michael Jordan has many athletic gifts, it was his frame of mind that allowed him to be the greatest basketball player of all time. His relentless pursuit of perfection, at any cost, is what got him 6 championship rings, 6 Finals MVP’s and 5 NBA’s Most Valuable Player awards. We don’t often hear about the daily sacrifice and work MJ put in to achieve this level of greatness. Tim Grover goes behind the scenes to teach us what it truly takes to reach these levels.
This frame of mind that Tim Grover describes, is very much transferable to business and being an entrepreneur. If we want to achieve high levels of greatness, we must learn from others who have achieved it. We must learn to be relentless too. As Grover describes, “Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more.” Grover guided MJ and Kobe to achieve this mind set, and now, in this awesome book, he shares his secrets with us too!
Grover later wrote a book called Winning, which I also highly recommend! Both are equally valuable.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Jim Collins and his research team studied many companies to identify what are the consistent traits of companies that outpaced the market and dominated their competitors. Written in 2001, this book became an instant classic. It was “cited by several members of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council as the best management book they’ve read” and was in Time (magazine) list of The 25 Most Influential Business Management Book.
I’ve had to read this book twice, as it is jam packed with golden nuggets, such as, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.” While Tim Grover, in his book Relentless, talks about the individual mindset one must have to achieve greatness, Collins’ book identifies the traits a business must have to achieve greatness.
His findings are based on facts and analysis and leaves little room for opinion. If you want to know what a great business looks like from the inside out, pick this book up asap!
Traction by Gino Wickman
If “E-Myth Revisited” is the book you should read when you start your business, “Traction” is the book you should read while building it.
In his book, Gino Wickman helps us as entrepreneurs to define our core values, who we are as an organization, our marketing strategies, who we should putting into what positions, how we should do it, how to define these positions, and so much more. One of the big takeaways from this book, critical to understand as a growing organization, is the importance of team meetings, how to schedule and structure them. Wickman really helps guide us as entrepreneurs through these processes.
BONUS LIST OF OTHER GREAT BOOKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
I couldn’t resist but add a few more of my favourite business book recommendations that have helped play a large role in my entrepreneurial journey. They are as follows:
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
The God Father by Mario Puzo (some might argue this isn’t a business book, but disregarding the violence, there are many valuable business lessons in this book.)
The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Shultz
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone
Screw Business As Usual by Richard Branson
Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk
In Conclusion
I referenced a quote by Harry Truman at the beginning, therefore I feel fitting I finish with a story about Harry Truman. Truman had a lifelong love of reading. Mama Truman taught Harry to read before he started school. She gave ten-year-old Harry a four-volume set of essays entitled, Great Men and Famous Women, which Harry read with great enthusiasm.
Although a lack of money kept Mr. Truman from going to college, he continued to read and educate himself. Margaret remembered her father always having a book in his hand when he sat down for a quiet moment. Even in Mr. Truman’s last years, he alternated between several books.
When asked by an editor of his memoirs if he liked to read himself to sleep at night, Mr. Truman answered, “No, young man, I like to read myself awake.”
If you have taken the time to read this, I would love to hear what your “top business books for entrepreneurs” are, as I’m always looking for the next one to read. Feel free to send me an email at jared@pictureperfectcleaning.ca .
