Top 7 Best Business Books in 2024 for Startups

Leaders are avid readers. Starting a small business and making it a success isn’t easy. In fact, most small business owners don’t get rich and many fail. We have compiled a list of our favorite books every small business owner must read. These books are bibles for most successful entrepreneurs throughout the world.

It is observed, that business books have been one of the major sources of learning for almost every business owner across the globe. In order to start and grow any business, one needs to learn a wide range of subjects. It can be a startup guide, communication skills, business analysis, psychological aspects, and much more.

For example, even today a book like How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie is read by almost all serious entrepreneurs. it is in fact an all-time best seller for the last 40 years.

7 Best Business Books for Aspiring Business Owners

#1. The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth by Steven Little

If you’re a small business owner or an entrepreneur just starting out, Steven Little’s book, “The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth,”  is a must-have on your reading list. You will find answers to all your most important questions on topics such as technology, business plans, hiring, and much more. This book can work as a strategy book for most small business owners.

This book presents the straight truth on small business success. It doesn’t offer cure-alls for every small business. Instead, it outlines real, effective principles for continued small business growth and success. Written by business growth expert Steven Little, The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth skips empty small business positivism in exchange for real-world, practical solutions. This book empowers small business owners to think big.

#2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki

I love this book. The book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad includes Robert Kiyosaki’s personal story, upbringing, and his business and investment ventures throughout his early adult life and into the late 1990s.

You will learn the writer’s insight on the differentiation between assets and liabilities, what the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not,  the idea that your primary residence is not an asset, but a liability, the value of financial intelligence and financial literacy, the importance of investing and entrepreneurship, etc.

#3. The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries

Most successful startup entrepreneurs recommend reading The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries. Buffer co-founder Joel Gascoigne writes ” It’s “an incredible handbook for anyone who wants to get their startup off to the very best start possible. It helped me to take Buffer from idea to paying customers in seven weeks.”

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.

#4. Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson

When Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1983, Jay Levinson revolutionized marketing strategies for the small-business owner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Based on hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including

• Strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it)
• Tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing
• Programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business
• Management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees

Guerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible — and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.

#5. Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is a motivational personal development and self-help book written by Napoleon Hill and inspired by a suggestion from Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie.

While the title implies that this book deals only with how to get rich, the author explains that the philosophy taught in the book can be used to help people succeed in all lines of work and to do or be almost anything they want.

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

Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

#7. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, The 4-Hour Workweek works as a roadmap to success.

Check: Top Motivational Books of All Time

These are the finest small business and entrepreneurship books every small business owner must-read. Learn to build and grow your own business by reading these books.