You’ve heard that Warren Buffet reads 5-6 hours per day.
Mark Cuban is reading up to three hours a day.
But what gets left out of that equation is they have time to read because they’ve built their business in a way that provides them that time.
Odds are, you’re reading this because you’re still on your path to their level.
In today’s competitive business world, it’s more crucial than ever to invest time daily to keep up with the latest research, strategies, tactics, and mindsets to be at your best.
Below are seven impactful business books that will help transform your business this year. Afraid you won’t have time to read them all? Here’s a great guide by James Clear about how to read more.
For the thousands of entrepreneurs around the world looking to get their business off the ground, making the time to pursue their idea can often prove to be a challenge.
If you’re currently working a 9-to-5 while also building your business, you need every tactic and strategy you can get to help make your dreams a reality.
Despite many business leaders suggesting you quit your job and go all-in on your business idea, in many instances that’s not practical or the best decision for your specific situation.
If you’re looking for a practical, no-nonsense guide to building a business while also working a 9-to-5 job, Overlap is a fantastic resource to help you get more done and gain more clarity on your goals and objectives.
In addition to being an incredibly popular book, Overlap has also been made into a documentary film which provides a handful of insights to help you make your next career leap.
If you’re working a day job but longing for something more, Overlap will help you manage your time and grow your business with as little risk as possible.
Why reading this business book will help your business
Overlap breaks down everything you need to know about how to build your business while also working your 9-to-5. For any business leader or an entrepreneur looking to get more done and be more clear on their goals, this book is for you.
Best yet, you can read the book for free online.
At our very core, we are creatures of habit. Understanding how to build positive habits (and break bad ones) can have a tremendous impact not only on your personal life but your business as well.
Unfortunately, many of us have no idea how to build better habits and spend years struggling to get to the gym, eat healthily, and effectively process our emotions.
Atomic Habits by James Clear has quickly become the go-to resource for those looking to improve their habits and breaks the habit formation process down in a way that’s easy to understand.
Expanding on the best selling hit The Power of Habit, James Clear provides dozens of real-world examples of how to build the right systems to transform your behavior, even if you haven’t had much success with your habits in the past.
No fluff or filler, Atomic Habits encourages you to take a long term approach to your habits and provides an easy to follow guide for building positive behaviors that stick.
Whether you’re looking to become more productive or want to break that unhealthy smoking habit, Atomic Habits gives you the tools and knowledge you need to change your habits for good.
Why reading this business book will help your business
As an entrepreneur having good habits (and avoiding bad ones) can quite literally make or break your business. If you’re looking for an edge in performance, you can’t miss this fantastic book.
Whether you’re a marketing manager at a tech startup or looking to develop an app used by the masses, your business is only as good as your sales.
If you struggle to bring revenue in, no matter how good of a business idea you may have on paper, it won’t be sustainable for the long run.
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes shares the 12 most effective strategies and tactics to improve your sales, management, and marketing. My personal favorite, the Dream 100, has radically changed my life and business.
In working with hundreds of clients across a wide variety of industries, Holmes discovered that many of the most impactful business breakthroughs occur from laser focus rather than spreading yourself too thin.
If you’re looking for actionable strategies to improve your business results quickly, this book has you covered. Covering the most essential areas of business, the Ultimate Sales Machine can help you take your business to the next level.
Why reading this business book will help your business
If you’re looking to understand the key principles of how to grow your business, the Ultimate Sales Machine covers the most crucial areas for you to focus. If your quarterly numbers aren’t where you want them to be, pick up this book today.
While being an entrepreneur and building your own business certainly has its perks, the reality is, building a company is incredibly hard.
Late nights. Long hours. A virtually endless stream of fires to put out daily.
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted.
Building a business can take an incredible toll on your health, finances, and relationships.
In the Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping your, Sh*t Together Sherry Walling examines some of the most challenging parts of being an entrepreneur and provides actionable strategies getting through some of the incredible challenges entrepreneurs face.
I’m not overstating things when I say that this book saved me from falling deeper into a rough cycle of depression, allowing me to improve my mental health in ways that I didn’t even know existed.
If you’re constantly stressed and feeling overwhelmed, this book can truly be a lifesaver. Packed with real-world stories and examples, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t together is a must-read for any entrepreneur.
Why reading this business book will help your business
The daily grind of entrepreneurship can be incredibly difficult and lonely; this book helps provide you with the strategies and tactics needed to push through and regain control of your life.
You may recognize Brene from her recent Netflix special or her world-famous TED talk.
While recent technological advances have made the world more connected than ever before, millions of people around the world find themselves unable to shake the feeling of loneliness and lost connection.
Braving the Wilderness was the book that I read immediately after Sherry Walling’s book above. It takes a deep and thorough look at what drives us as humans and presents an incredibly compelling argument of what we need to change so we can reconnect with our coworkers, family, and friends at a deep and meaningful level.
What must we do to feel that we belong? How can we get more out of our work and relationships?
I laughed, cried, and improved my business all in the same minute while reading. According to my Kindle, it’s my most-highlighted book (ever).
If you’ve ever felt disconnected from the world despite being constantly being surrounded, you’re almost certainly going to enjoy this book.
Why reading this business book will help your business
Understanding why we do what we do and what drives us is incredibly important for lasting fulfillment in our personal and professional lives.
Braving the Wilderness forces you to examine your current path and provides clarity on your purpose and sense of belonging. Be sure to also check out Dare to Lead.
As an entrepreneur, it can often feel like you are your business. Five days for vacation? Not possible if you want to keep your business alive.
In many cases being your own boss can lead to you working 24/7 with no time to decompress.
In Clockwork, Mike Michalowicz details how you can make your business more efficient and shares the best tools and tips to ensure that your business runs even when you aren’t around.
Clockwork covers everything from how to empower your employees to finding the few core areas of your business that have the greatest impact on your bottom line.
Whether you’re just starting out or have a large team, this book will help you grow your business without sacrificing your health and relationships.
This book was recommended to me by Nick Eubanks multiple times (sorry, Nick!) before I finally made the purchase.
Why reading this business book will help your business
If you struggle to disconnect from your business and feel you always have to be working, Clockwork provides you the resources necessary to build an efficient business that is sustainable for the long term.
If you have a knack for streetwear, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the legendary entrepreneur Bobby Kim, a.k.a Bobby Hundreds, and his iconic streetwear brand, The Hundreds.
This Is Not a T-Shirt is a memoir filled with countless stories of how he and his team were able to grow the business to where it is today, and he recounts in vivid detail the many challenges he faced along the way.
Bobby Hundreds was able to succeed largely because of the incredible community he was able to build, and this captures how he was able to go from relatively unknown to one of the world’s biggest fashion stars.
Bobby is also a fantastic read if you want to write better. His “secret” blog (not anymore!) is an expose on thoughtful writing about things that matter and I’d argue that he taught me everything I know about building a brand that matters.
A must-read for a business owner; you won’t be able to put this book down.
Why reading this business book will help your business
If you need extra inspiration and insight for how to grow your business, This Is Not a T-Shirt is an incredibly compelling read. Whether you’re building a fashion brand or hoping to scale your startup, the lessons in the book can be applied to your business regardless of what industry you’re in.
While most startups and up and coming businesses obsess about growth at all costs, entrepreneur Paul Jarvis shares his unique approach to business success in his fantastic book Company of One.
If you’re looking for an alternative way to build a company you love and enjoy, Company of One is an excellent case study in how growth doesn’t always need to be your companies north star.
Do you need to raise money to succeed? Do you always need to hire a large team?
Jarvis examines some of the biggest myths of entrepreneurship today and reveals how he was able to build a thriving company of one, despite not following any of the mainstream entrepreneurship advice you commonly read.
Relevant and actionable to any entrepreneur, this book is packed with actionable insight on how to grow your company your own way.
Why reading this business book will help your business
Challenging the notion that you have to always place the growth of your business as priority #1, Company of One presents a powerful framework for building a true lifestyle business.
While it’s never been ‘easier’ to start a business, it’s also never been more challenging to stand out from the crowd. This Won’t Scale written by the Drift Marketing team shares the latest strategies that work in today’s modern business environment to help you grow your business and differentiate yourself from your competition.
Struggling to see results from your content marketing strategy? Are your current sales processes leaving money on the table?
This Won’t Scale breaks down 41 easy-to-implement tactics on how to improve your marketing, customer service, and product offerings. If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, this book is an absolute must-read.
You can get a free copy of This Won’t Scale, just pay to ship.
Why reading this business book will help your business
If you’re putting in the work, but struggling to see results for your business, you might be investing your time in the wrong things. This Won’t Scale gives you a step by step blueprint on how to grow your organization.
This is your year!
Although we want things to happen fast in business, the truth is, it takes years to build the business of your dreams.
Reading these books will put you on the path to creating the type of business you’ve been working toward.
You can finally solve that business challenge that has been keeping you stuck for weeks. You’ll find inspiration – coming steps closer to your version of success.
Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Any books we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
Guest author: Brendan learned everything he knows about business by putting some skin in the game and starting his own. Brendan writes often at Photo MBA and his SEO consulting blog.