Having the right books on how to run a small business is beneficial. These books will teach you valuable lessons and assist you in accomplishing great things. In this article, we’ll look at some books on how to run a small business and why you should read them. The books that will be discussed will be based on the most important aspects of running a small business.
Books On Managing Time And Resources Effectively
1. “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,” by David Allen
David Allen’s book, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” is a book about managing time and resources effectively.
Even though it was written over a decade ago, this book is still relevant today for small business owners. The main idea in the book is that if you want to be the most productive you can be, you need to be able to think clearly.
Allen also has a two-minute rule, which states that you should complete immediately any action that can be completed in two minutes or fewer.
Allen also stresses the importance of “systems thinking” in order to manage a project effectively. Overall, this is a helpful guide for anyone looking to improve their productivity.
It’s especially relevant for small business owners, who often have limited resources and need to balance work with other aspects of their lives.
2. “The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free” by Neil Fiore
The book “The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free” by Neil Fiore is a great resource for anyone looking to improve their productivity.
The book helps readers learn how to break the habit of procrastination and develop a lifelong habit of being present and taking action.
Dr. Fiore offers a comprehensive plan to help readers lower their stress and increase their time to enjoy guilt-free play.
His techniques will help any busy person start tasks sooner and accomplish them more quickly, without the anxiety brought on by the negative habits of procrastination and perfectionism.
This makes it good for those business owners who just plow ahead with no real strategy and hope to work harder and not necessarily smarter will solve all their problems.
If you’re looking for a way to overcome your stress and increase your productivity, This book is a resource you need to explore.
3. “The 4-Hour WorkWeek: Escape from 9 to 5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich” by Tim Ferriss
This book is a revolutionary guide on how to work less and achieve more.
Tim Ferriss challenges the traditional 9-5 work schedule and discusses how to live a life of freedom and independence by reconfiguring our assumptions and beliefs.
The book also explains how to eliminate all but the non-critical tasks to create time and space for growth, and how to automate those tasks to reduce stress and increase productivity.
He also emphasizes the importance of liberation, with strategies on how to free yourself mentally and physically. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their lives and escape the rat race.
If you’re a small business owner that sells primarily on the Internet or a sole proprietor who works there, you’ll find some solid ideas to make more of your time in this book.
Books On Building effective marketing strategies
Creating a sound marketing plan is essential when starting a small business starting a small business. Here are three books that will help you create an effective marketing plan.
1. “Building A Storybrand” by Donald Miller
Donald Miller’s book, “Building A StoryBrand,” is a must-read for any businessperson who wants to create a more effective marketing strategy.
The book explains the importance of clarifying your message, and identifying your customer’s internal problems by participating in their transformation and creating one-liners for your business.
The StoryBrand 7-Part Framework uses the universal elements of storytelling to improve brand messaging.
Is your business struggling to convert prospects into paying customers?
Are your marketing materials failing to communicate the unique value of your products or services?
Reading this book can transform your results by helping you clarify your message so customers will listen.
2. “Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses Are Turning Marketing Cost into Profit,” by Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose
This book is an essential guide for anyone looking to use marketing strategies to their advantage.
In this book, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose provided the insight, approaches, and examples you need to understand these forces in ways that turn your marketing from a cost center to a revenue generator.
The book builds the case for transforming the purpose of marketing within your organization.
The book begins by explaining how disruptive forces are changing the way consumers interact with brands and how this is having a profound effect on the marketing landscape.
It then presents a detailed analysis of how leading companies are using marketing content to drive their strategy.
The book provides a wealth of practical advice for transforming your marketing program so that it meets the needs of your customers and drives profitable growth.
3. “Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior,” by Nick Kolenda
Nick Kolenda’s Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to improve the way they communicate with others.
Nick’s 7-Step Persuasion Process is straightforward and easy to understand, and he provides extensive examples to illustrate his points.
This book is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to better understand the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of their target audience.
If you’re looking to boost sales or increase customer loyalty, Nick Kolenda’s Methods of Persuasion is an essential guide.
Books On Managing finances and accounting
If you’re looking for books that can help you manage your finances and account for your small business, you’ll want to check out these three options.
1. “Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business” by Steven Bragg and Edwin Burton
If you’re looking to learn about business management and accounting, look no further than “Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business.”
This book offers an in-depth look at how businesses are run and managed and can be a great tool for businesses in considering a fundraising opportunity.
This book is a detailed look at how business is run and managed, as it offers insights on budgeting, accounting, product management, fraud, cash flow, financial analysis, and financing.
Whether you have a real accountant on your side or are just getting started,
“Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business” can be a great resource. So get yourself a coffee and dive in.
2. “Bookkeeping and Accounting for Dummies” by Jane Kelly
This book, or six books in one, offers comprehensive information for both accounting and bookkeeping. Kelly provides you with the tools and information to run your business smoothly.
It has a lot of templates, forms, and spreadsheets for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a startup or an established company,
Bookkeeping and Accounting for Dummies will help you keep track of your finances and make sound business decisions.
3. “Accounting for the Numberphobic,” by Dawn Fotopulos
Do you avoid numbers and charts altogether? Fear not
Accounting for the Numberphobic is an easy-to-follow guide that demystifies your company’s financial dashboard: the Net Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet.
With its simple explanations and easy-to-follow steps,
Accounting for the Numberphobic will help you understand your business and make informed decisions.
Books On Handling Customer Relations
For customer service, it is helpful to have a few books on hand to help you out. These books can help you handle complaints, keep customers happy, and increase sales.
1. “Would You Do That to Your Mother” by Jeanne Bliss
Jeanne Bliss has written a book that will change the way you think about customer service.
“Would You Do That to Your Mother”? challenges you to ask yourself if your policies are designed for your business or for the customer.
The book provides many significant stories and case studies from small and large businesses.
The five-step guide to customer experience offers ways to outperform your competitors.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their customer service.
2. “Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It” by Jill Griffin
Customer loyalty is an essential part of any business. It can be the difference between success and failure, and it’s something that businesses should work hard to cultivate.
In “Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It,” Jill Griffin offers readers practical advice on reaping the benefits of loyalty from consumers.
She offers guidance on turning first-time buyers into repeat customers, preventing customer loss, and recovering from customer loss.
Griffin’s book is one of the best customer service books, and it adds to the body of knowledge with practical examples and guides for planning strategies to assure loyalty.
If you’re looking to improve your customer service, or keep your customers happy, give “Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It” a read.
3. “Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most” by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen
The book “Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most” is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to have productive conversations.
it contains practical advice on how to tackle difficult topics. The authors base their advice on their fifteen years of research at the Harvard Negotiation Project.
Based on their experience, the authors teach readers how to identify the root of the problem, how to stay calm, and how to build collaborative relationships.
Whether you’re trying to have a hard conversation with your boss, your spouse, or a customer, this book will help you get through it successfully.
Books On Developing a successful product strategy
There are several books that can help with developing a product strategy for small businesses.
1. “Leap: How to Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied” by Howard Yu
This book discusses how to succeed in the market today. Howard Yu argues that companies need to make leaps in knowledge if they want to compete in today’s market.
He uses riveting case studies of successful companies to illustrate his points.
Some principles that Yu covers in “Leap” include making leaps in knowledge, across different industries and countries, taking risks, and reimagining how a product or service is made or delivered.
These principles can help companies stay ahead of their competitors.
Yu’s book is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders who want to stay ahead of the curve in today’s market.
2. “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It” by April Dunford
April Dunford has written an impressive guidebook about product positioning. This book breaks down the process and provides steps that any startup can follow to find their “secret sauce.”
He wrote the book in an easy-to-understand and engaging style and will teach you how to build a product that customers want and can justify spending money on.
With Dunford’s help, you’ll be able to achieve success in your product positioning endeavors.
3. “The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback” by Dan Olsen
The Lean Product Playbook is a comprehensive guide to product innovation, written by Dan Olsen.
Olsen emphasizes the importance of finding product-market fit quickly and efficiently, in order to delight small business customers.
His Product-Market Fit Pyramid and six-step Lean Product Process provide actionable guidelines with which to approach building a product that will meet customer needs.
Olsen emphasizes the need for rapid feedback and iteration, in order to solve customer problems quickly and efficiently.
This book is an excellent guide to help you innovate your product and overcome some common roadblocks.
Books On Managing your workforce
1. “The Power of Stay Interviews for Engagement and Retention” by Richard P. Finnegan
In his book, Richard Finnegan proposes a proven and proactive approach to retention: the Stay Interview.
By understanding what is motivating your best employees, you can keep them with your organization for the long haul. He wrote this book with small business owners in mind.
It provides guidance on how to proactively address potential morale issues, such as how to create a productive and engaging workplace.
By implementing the strategies in this book, businesses can save money and keep their employees happy.
2. “Business-focused HR: 11 processes to drive results” by Scott P. Mondore, Shane S. Douthitt, Marisa A. Carson, Society for Human Resource Management (U.S.)
This comprehensive book on business-focused HR provides the latest in best practices for implementing various HR processes in organizations of all sizes.
Written by business analytics experts, the book discusses 11 core HR processes and offers practical tips for successful execution.
Intended for HR generalists and big and small business managers, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their organization’s HR processes.
3. “From Hello to Goodbye: Proactive Tips for Maintaining Positive Employee Relations” by Christine V. Walters
This book is packed with proactive tips for maintaining positive employee relations. Christine
Walters takes a unique approach by illustrating the employment relationship in reverse, starting with the departure of an employee.
She provides valuable references to real-life scenarios for managers to look at and try to apply to their own cases.
This book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to create a positive work environment and keep valued employees.
How to use what you’ve learned
To conclude, the goal of these books mentioned is twofold. First, even in Madness of Crowds, you should be able to pull out nuggets of wisdom to apply to your everyday business.
Second, gain a better understanding of how to run your business and fit into the larger marketplace.
You can read these in any order and some may be more references than cover-to-cover reads–but you should at least peek into and skim some of them.
You’re going to find something that you didn’t know and something that your competitors have overlooked.
These books will help you improve your understanding of how your business works and the competitive landscape so that you can compete effectively.
If you’ve got other suggestions, drop a line in the comments and let me know what you recommend.
