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Motivational Starter Books On Entrepreneurship

Start your self-made journey with one of these inspirational books by people who were in the same situation you’re in now!

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Entrepreneurship might seem like a thing reserved for other people. That’s a myth. These books’ message is that anyone can become an entrepreneur with the right attitude and motivation. And these books are the perfect tools to get you started.

While you do all the work, these authors do a tremendous job in motivating and guiding you on where to focus your energy. That’s all you need to get started!

#1 Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
It’s the biography of Phil Knight, and how he started Nike. This guy was the definition of grit. He graduated with an accounting degree from Stanford, and would have had no problem landing a high-paying job. But no.

This guy was so tenacious that he flew to Japan, bluffed some Japanese executives, and scored a deal to sell shoes in America. When he pivoted to Nike, he was so determined to make it work, that he worked a full time job, while getting Nike off the ground. As a side-hustler with a full time job, I can’t emphasize how admirable and inspiring that is.

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#2 The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
I recommend The Mom Test and the blurb on the cover says it the best; how to talk to customers and learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you.

I’ve used this book to learn what questions to ask, which to not ask, and how to mine useful information out of even the shortest conversations. No detail is too small!

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#3 Good to Great By Jim Collins

Good to Great By Jim Collins
I have read and re-read Good to Great by Jim Collins several times, and each time I get new insights that I can apply to my business. It helps you bring clarity to our mission, highlights the importance of having the right people and putting them in positions where they can be most effective. Most important, however, it reminds me what it takes to be the leader that I want to be and that my business needs me to be.

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#4 Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is the perfect book for beginner entrepreneurs and was actually the book that introduced me to the idea that I could do something with my life other than work a 9-5. Picking up this book at the age of 17 really opened my eyes to the multitude of options that I had available to myself when it came to starting a business.

While some may argue that Rich Dad Poor Dad is quite basic (and I would agree that it is) I believe that this is the true value of the book. Robert Kiyosaki uses this book not to teach specific business tactics, but to instead lay out a foundation of ideas for beginners to begin to build upon. In general I believe that too many beginner entrepreneurs are looking for some secret tactic when they could be doing much better to establish a sturdy foundation first.

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#5 Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Every business has customers and can do well by making those customers feel amazing. The founder of Zappos, the successful shoe company, shares the secrets he’s learned to really make his customers and employees happy over the long term.

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#6 How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Carnegie effectively teaches how to negotiate prices and how to get people to agree to the prices you want, and really, how to get people to agree to anything you want.

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#7 Essentialism by Greg Mckeown

Essentialism by Greg Mckeown
Entrepreneurs are too busy. They need Mckeown’s book. Mckeown teaches people how to prioriitize what’s important so they can say no to the rest. Mckeown assures people who follows his tips they’ll live happier, more productive lives.

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#8 Fisch Tales by Bob Fisch

Fisch Tales by Bob Fisch
For Bob, for business success and leadership: it’s not about the data but the people – and speaking the language – understanding the team and the consumer through multi-generational mutual mentoring and generation splicing. Bob’s methodologies create space for individuals to learn and grow as people with the help and wisdom of the generation older or younger than they are – rather than only finding differences in the workplace

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#9 Spelling It Out for Your Career by Julieanne O’Connor

Spelling It Out for Your Career by Julieanne O'Connor
This book inspires entrepreneurs to grab courage by the balls while embracing their fears. This easy read has a a way of inspiring imaginative approaches to taking action, and gives the reader a desire to be willful in their approach towards creatively living the life they desire. It is a 5-Star book with true life stories about the life of an entrepreneur and what possibilities exist for us all.

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#10 The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalwicz

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalwicz
This book will change your mindset as a first time entrepreneur. The author turns a lot of conventional ideas about starting a company on their head in ways that will be practically useful. For example, he dispels the notion that you need a business plan. He also gives advice about how to start a company with few financial resources and the mindset you need to have if that is your situation.

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#11 Worth Every Penny by Sarah Petty

Worth Every Penny by Sarah Petty
Worth Every Penny encourages entrepreneurs in service-based industries to lead with a superior customer experience that leaves customers ‘gushing’ about their experience. Sarah Petty also discusses how to market and price yourself in a way that doesn’t rely on discounting to attract your ideal client.

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#12 The Digital Handbook 2021 by Kevin Lockett

The Digital Handbook 2021 by Kevin Lockett
For aspiring entrepreneurs who has or looking to start an online business, The Digital Handbook 2021 features over 200+ online tools to help people build a digital dynasty. From web hosting to Instagram courses to links for aspiring cannabis tycoons, the Digital Handbook 2021 has something for everybody.

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#13 The Entreprenur Mind by Kevin Johnson

The Entreprenur Mind by Kevin Johnson
This book is written for new and veteran entrepreneurs and discusses 7 key categories that one must earn when wanting to start your own business. Some examples include the people, education, when you should abandon a business idea and more. Furthermore, the book gives you the tools to think like an entrepreneur. Overall, written by an entrepreneur itself, Kevin Johnson uses his life experiences, to help make this subject matter accessible to everyone.

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#14 I Am NOT A Millionaire by Andrew Alexander

I Am NOT A Millionaire by Andrew Alexander
I am Not a Millionaire: Making the Shift from Failure to Financial Freedom by Andrew Alexander shares the mindset shifts that have to go on in order to make the transition from employee to entrepreneur. If you’re looking to find a business idea, be more motivated, learn sales, and marketing; this book is a great introductory book for entrepreneurs who want to build their first business.

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#15 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Choose the people you allow to sit at your table carefully and always begin something with the end in mind are just a few nuggets from this amazing read!

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#16 Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This is a classic that was updated to the 21st century. Napoleon Hill was best know for his theory on compounding. Again this is a must read for anyone in the business world. He was a forward thinker who thought outside the box before that was even a thing! LOL.

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#17 How to Let your Parents Raise a Millionaire by Jack James

How to Let your Parents Raise a Millionaire by Jack James
The entrepreneur mindset is learned. Kids can learn it too. Jack’s book is written from one kid to another. In How to let your parents Raise a Millionaire Jack tells other kids the story of how he started his business; Jack’s Garbage Valet, He explains how easy and fun it can be and explains exactly why other kids should strive to become an entrepreneur.

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#18 The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
Entrepreneurship is aholistic discipline. It’s an entire lifestyle change. You have to build acompany while turning yourself into a leader that can attract the best talent. Itdoesn’t happen overnight. One book I always recommend to new entrepreneurs is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

It walks readersthrough a process, with tons of examples, that shows how you can performseemingly small tasks every day and they’ll add up to massive results overtime. Business isn’t a fly-by-night kind of thing. It takes time and The SlightEdge will ensure you make progress every single day.

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#19 Anti-sell by Steve Morgan

Anti-sell by Steve Morgan
I highly recommend the book for entrepeneurs as it offers a non invasive way into selling yourself and your business.

If you hate selling, you’d love this book. Does exactly what it says on the tin and more…. If you’re a solopreneur or looking for just looking for a little side hustle action, this book is for you. A non-intrusive, altruistic guide on how to sell yourself and your business. No posturing or grandstanding, just simple, effective tips from a super nice guy.

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#20 The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte

The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte
In a nutshell, if you are new to business or want to become an entrepreneur, this book is great! It explains the routes to starting from scratch without trying to patronise the reader.

Whether you want to be a property mogul or a sweet shop seller, this book starts with the basics gives you the impetus and a feasible road plan to help achieve your goals.

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#21 The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting and Running a Business by Steve Mariotti

The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business by Steve Mariotti
The name gives the game away and it truly delivers on its promise. The perfect reading material for any aspiring entrepreneur who doesn’t quite know where to start and what to do first.

An excellent book that is easy to follow. I loved the real-life examples. It starts from the beginning, each chapter building on the last one, a story, as well as a self-help book. It lays out each of the pieces of a strong foundation for any aspiring businessman

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#22 Traction by Gabriel Weinberg

Traction by Gabriel Weinberg
Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares is an excellent guide for any business seeking to scale. The book walks readers through nineteen traction channels ranging from Google Ads to publicity stunts, weighing the costs and benefits of each channel in a highly methodical fashion.

The authors encourage the reader to ignore previous biases about the efficacy of particular strategies, prompting honest consideration and a robust brainstorming process. Readers are encouraged to test, re-test, and eliminate strategies over time, eventually choosing a bullseye channel that consistently delivers provable results.

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#23 Developing the Conscious Leadership Mindset for the 21st Century by Jeffrey S. Deckman

Developing the Conscious Leadership Mindset for the 21st Century by Jeffrey S. Deckman
As a serial entrepreneur for more than 30 years I can say that the most important aspect of being a successful entrepreneur is the ability to lead, motivate and inspire people. Because of that I would strongly suggest recommend my Amazon bestselling “Developing the Conscious Leadership Mindset for the 21st Century”.

It is a ground breaking book designed for leaders of today’s multi-generational workforce. It’s innovative design of combining deep thinking with practical workbook exercises won it 2 National Stevie Awards (gold and bronze) and 2 international Stevies from the International Business Awards (silver and bronze) for best business book of 2019. The book provides the key that help leaders become 21st century leaders.

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#24 Purple Cow by Seth Godin

Purple Cow by Seth Godin
In a typical farmyard setting, nothing would get your attention quite like a purple cow. And this is precisely the secret to successful marketing strategies that Seth Godin is talking about: be different and exciting, generate interest and be remembered. Run-of-the-mill tactics are bland and leave your business faceless and characterless. If you want to be remarkable and get ahead of competitors, you have to make people do a double take.

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#25 The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
A lifelong evangelist of lifestyle design, 4-Hour Workweek is a must read for anyone with an entrepreneurial itch, or anyone who dreams of escaping the rat race to live their life the way they want. Ferriss details smart strategies like outsourcing, following the 80/20 rule and automating processes. Forget the concept of working decades for retirement: 4-Hour Workweek is a blueprint for how to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent, life-enriching “mini-retirements.”

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#26 The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
When I was first starting out my company as ‘2400 Expert’, and then, Prep Expert, I indulged the common beginner’s strategy of doing everything myself. No matter how much time it took me, I did almost everything myself.

We all know that that is unrealistic to do, of course, especially as your company hopefully grows. Reading The 80/20 Principle though really reaffirmed that what’s essential for me as as entrepreneur to do is focus my time on the tasks that best suit my position and maximize our profit potential. In my case, that focus is primarily strategy.

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#27 The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
Chris Guillebeau identified well over a thousand individuals who’d built legitimate, successful businesses while only making a modest upfront monetary investment. Then from that group, Guillebeau studied the 50 most interesting stories of ‘how’ those businesses came to be. And he discovered that in the overwhelming majority of the start-ups he studied, the founder (often initially possessing a fairly limited business background) was able to turn a personal passion into a money-making venture. But to do so, the founder had to discover the intersection of some aspect of his or her passion with what potential customers would truly find valuable.

Once that sort of discovery is made, a founder’s passion can become the basis of a successful business enterprise. And this book will help budding entrepreneurs take their first steps toward making money while doing something that they genuinely enjoy!

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#28 Starting a Business QuickStart Guide by Colwell PhD MBA, Ken

Starting a Business QuickStart Guide by Colwell PhD MBA, Ken
Ken Colwell has over 20 years experience working with entrepreneurs in making their business dreams come true.The author writes clearly and uses real-world examples of companies and what worked and didn’t work for them. Starting a Business Quickstart Guide serves as an invaluable blueprint from envisioning your business to successfully running it!

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#29 How To Launch a Startup by Milan Steskal

How To Launch a Startup by Milan Steskal
If you are just starting your business, there are a number of things to keep in mind. And even if your company is 10 years old, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to go back to your roots and examine marketing ideas, additional fundraising pitches and general structuring.

This is why How to Launch a Startup is so important. Whether you’re just getting started or looking for innovative ways to restructure, the nine steps in this book can prove to be very beneficial.

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#30 Leading Quality by Ronald Cummings-John

Leading Quality by Ronald Cummings-John
Leading Quality is a fantastic guide for entrepreneurs looking to begin their journey to becoming leaders of quality, mastering strategic decisions and enabling their team to accelerate growth. The book reveals the secret to how the world’s top-performing QA and Engineering leaders deliver high-quality software with speed, and future-proof their product for world-class customer experiences.

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#31 The High Achiever’s Guide by Maki Moussavi

The High Achiever's Guide by Maki Moussavi
Are you trapped in a gilded cage of your own making? Conventionally successful, but not necessarily fulfilled? If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Maki Moussavi knows firsthand how it feels to be stuck in the rut of conventional success.

A former corporate career professional, Moussavi’s early life was filled with messages of working hard, chasing the dream, getting degrees, and making money. After creating the success that she’d been taught to value, she found herself questioning how the hell she ended up feeling stuck, restless and unfulfilled.

But through a journey of self-examination, she learned how to raise the bar of self-expectation and thrive. And now, The High Achiever’s Guide shares her best tools and processes to determine what fulfillment means to you, so you can thrive with empowered confidence.

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#32 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Stephen R. Covey’s time-tested practices for living a more fulfilled life, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, are now available for the first time ever as an interactive card deck. Each habit is broken down in an easy-to-implement weekly format that will inspire both beginners and those familiar with the power of the 7 Habits.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Card Deck includes a box display that provides a beautifully designed visual weekly reminder with challenges and thought-provoking questions that invite change into your personal and professional life. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated readers for 30 years. It has transformed the lives of Presidents and CEOs, educators, parents, and students―in short, millions of people of all ages and occupations have benefited from Dr. Covey’s 7 Habits book. And now, it can transform your office, one inspiring card display at a time.

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Contributors to this article
Jeff Neall from The Critter Depot

Stephen Ketch from KnoBa

Dan Goldstein from Page 1 Solutions, LLC

Apple Crider from Apple Crider

Sydney Liu from Commaful

Janice Wald from Mostly Blogging

Tracy Minsky from Meryl Moss Media

Julieanne O’Connor from Spelling It Out

Emily Stork from Holland & Hart LLP

Jennine Coosaia from Sky 9 Studio

Kevin Lockett from Lockett Media

Stefanie Almond from Hope & Love Radio

Andrew Alexander from LimitlessAcademy

Katherine Adams from Creative Legacy Group

Ann Morgan James from How to raise a millionaire

Daniel Ndukwu from KyLeads

Brett Downes from HQ SEO & Ghost Marketing

Ramya Menon from Bayut

James Watkins from PHS

Vivek Kumar from Qlicket

Jeffrey Deckman from JeffreyDeckman

Jordan Bishop from Yore Oyster

Shaan Patel from Prep Expert

Timothy G. Wiedman from Doane College

Dane Kolbaba from Dallas Party Ride

Angela Ash from Flow SEO

Amelia Whyman from Global App Testing

Brenda Knight from Mango Publishing

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