Reading business books, journals and other publications should not be seen as a leisure activity for small business owners with spare time on their hands; instead, reading is a valuable tool for small business owners as exposure to other business owners’ experiences and insights can be entertaining, enlightening, and inspirational.
Admittedly, given the sheer volume of business books, there are to choose from some will be of dubious quality and value.
But small business owners should not use this as an excuse not to read at all – critics’ reviews and friends’ and peers’ opinions can all be used as screening criteria to lower the risk of wasting time on a dud.
Below are some options for nascent and established small business owners alike to consider:
• Risk and reward: Start and run a successful small business in South Africa by Thabani Zulu
• Starting your own business in South Africa (12th edition) by B Terblanche, P Moeng, G Macleod
• And then they fired me by Jannie Mouton
• Screw it, let’s do it by Richard Branson
• Maximizing your potential by Myles Munroe
• Developing the leaders around you: How to help others reach their full potential by John C
Maxwell
• The magic of thinking big by David Schwartz
• Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill
• The richest man in Babylon by George Clason
• Capitalist nigger: The road to success by Chika Onyeani
• 21 success secrets of self-made millionaires by Brian Tracy
• The 4-hour work week by Timothy Ferriss
• The innovator’s dilemma by Clayton Christensen
• Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t by Jim Collins
• Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity by David Allen'
• Reality check: the irreverent guide to outsmarting, outmanaging and outmarketing your competition by Guy Kawasaki
• Rules of thumb:52 truths for winning at business without losing yourself by Alan Webber
• Data-driven marketing: The 15 metrics everyone in marketing should know by Mark Jeffrey
Have you read any of the books listed above? What did you think of them? What other books would you recommend to other small business owners?
Post By: by Fadzai Munyaradzi for SimplyBiz
2 comments
I can only agree with this recommendation: The richest man in Babylon by George Clason
I found most business owners do not read financial books, and that puts them on the back foot.
Another great book which you can get for free because it was written in 1912 is "The science of getting rich - Wallace Wattles"
Like that said reading is the kind of food that the brain eat .