5 Books for Entrepreneurs | Inspiration Through Reading

Author: Praveen Singh

An entrepreneur’s mind is nothing but a void until it is probed by inspiration. ‘Inspiration’ plays a pivotal role in igniting an entrepreneur’s imagination, thereby paving the way for innovation. It’s a long journey from ideation to execution and history is vocal of the fact that even the best-of-the-best entrepreneurs have fuelled their ventures by deriving from their environment.

To be well-read is a fundamental necessity for everyone. While some may find it to be a tedious task, the habit of reading enlighten all those who come in contact with a book – be it an entrepreneur or an artist. Reading is synonymous with learning – and the latter is a gradual process that spans an entire lifetime. Books are our portal to knowledge and with respect to budding entrepreneurs, books penned by noteworthy industry personalities and startup investors, are nothing but gold.

Let’s get you on-board as we head towards discovering expertise enhancing diverse ideas via best books that an entrepreneur must read in order to enhance his/her skill-set:

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Timothy Ferriss, a self-made entrepreneur, went from making 40,000 dollars a year to 40,000 dollars a month. His mantras to success included working only four hours a week. The success story of this self-made entrepreneur is recorded in his book: The 4-Hour Workweek, and the legend surrounding it, makes it all the more intriguing, thereby making it an essential read for entrepreneurs.

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday’s philosophical take on analysing notable historical figures, The Obstacle is the Way, explores the following highly popular but meagrely implemented notion: You don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. A great read for the opportunistic.

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Some companies succeed, while others fail – this truth bothered Jim Collins to such an extent that he deployed a 21-person research to reason out with the truth. Collected over the course of five years, thousands of articles and interviews, compiled their way into ‘Good to Great’ – a book that’s nothing short of being a fascinating study of entrepreneurs who head hyper-scaling companies.

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau’s ‘The $100 Startup’ is all about overcoming the premise of compromise, and fuelling small investments into booming enterprises, tending to creativity and self-fulfilment, alongside. In Guillebeau’s words, the secret recipe to a career that charts topping success can be discovered via the intersection of personal passions and unbridled expertise. If you’re looking forward to turning your passion into profit, then you definitely need to witness the entrepreneurial arena with Guillebeau’s perspective.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs always tend to steal the spotlight, when the talk begins to encircle success stories. Ben Horowitz, is yet another wonder, straight outta Silicon Valley, who has, with time, transformed into one of the most respected business leaders and venture capitalists. In Horowitz’s book, ‘The hard thing about Hard Things’, one not only gets to learn about the ups and downs of buying and selling companies but also becomes familiar with the aspect of managing mental health – a territory that needed to be explored, since time immemorial.

Determination and motivation are the core values that a budding entrepreneur should harbour, before stepping into the world that’s inflated with immense competition. In order to prepare yourself for the aforementioned, literary insight from industry experts, along with mentorship from a Startup Accelerator Program, should not go amiss. We hope that the above-mentioned books shall nourish the knowledge you possess, thereby contributing to your personal and professional growth. Let’s pay heed to the same and begin to read, from today itself!