Must-Read Books on Starting Your Own Business

If you’re thinking of starting your own business, chances are you won’t be able to do it alone. If you’ve never attempted to start a business before, or if you’ve done so and failed, it’s a good approach to read and learn as much as possible on the subject. There is so much involved with owning a running a business. It’s an in-depth process and a serious undertaking. The more you know, the better prepared and more likely you’ll be to succeed in your ventures. Before you begin, here are some must-read books on starting your own business.

Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up Book You’ll Ever Need

By Rieva Lesonsky and the Staff of Entrepreneur Magazine

This is one of the most comprehensive books on starting your own business. The title is fairly accurate – it is one of the only books you truly need to read. Entrepreneur Magazine is an incredible resource for small business owners, so it’s only natural that the book created by its staff is, too. This book will walk you through everything you need to know about starting a business from day one and onward. It covers all the details, including investors, equipment, employees, daily operations, long-term plans, and so much more, along with helpful worksheets. It makes all the complicated details easy to understand for anyone who is interested in becoming a business owner.

Small Business for Dummies

By Eric Tyson

This book makes starting a small business accessible for even the most inexperienced businessperson. It is another comprehensive guide that focuses on giving you the practical tools you need. It will help you translate your dreams and ideas into a concrete plan that can succeed. One great aspect of this book is that it gives a lot of great financial information, including how to figure out what your business will cost, how to navigate financing, and how to track your cash flow. Other aspects include management, marketing, and customer loyalty.

The Accidental Entrepreneur: The 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting a Business

By Susan Urquhart-Brown

Written by a successful entrepreneur, this book does exactly what it sets out to do – give you important insight into the business world. There are many things contained in this book that are often only learned through years of hard work and experience. The “secrets” laid out in the pages provide valuable insight into what it’s actually like to run a business, and what is truly most important to ensure it is successful.

Think and Grow Rich

By Napoleon Hill

This is a classic and best-selling book for a reason. It will truly help you to get in a successful mindset. If you have confidence in yourself and a positive attitude, you have the tools to make your business grow and thrive. This book will help you transform your thinking so you can accomplish what you desire. You’ll be rightly convinced that your business goals are achievable, and you’ll be motivated to work hard at them. It will give you a solid foundation to start with, worthy of a true business owner.

From the writing studios of Terry Ford, Terry is a freelancer with a passion for excellence.

How to Start a Business

It takes more than just dreams to start a business. You need to acquire the knowledge of the kind of business you would like to set up. You will need to have a realistic plan of action and most importantly; you will need to have the discipline and the drive to carry out your plan of action. Starting your own business would be fulfilling for your personal and career life, but it is not only for you. It can also open employment opportunities for others which would further contribute to the development and progress of a community and the country at large. It is a very ambitious dream and goal to pursue.

It is very important to have a clear vision in your mind about the kind of business that you want. Without this vision, you will not have a foundation. You will not be able to create a realistic plan that may persuade the bank or financial institution to give you a loan. In essence, you have no grounds to build anything and you are just an empty vessel. It is therefore important to think about what you would like to do and the kind of business you would create from it. In addition, you need to think about how you would affect others. Would people find your business useful or productive to their lives? You need to ask yourself if what you are about to create if it will make a difference.

Once you have a vision in mind; for example, maybe you would want to start a magazine company or a fashion store. Whatever it is you will need to do some research to find out what is already on the market and if it is similar to your vision how are you going to do something different and unique; what kind of spin will you put to it. The research will also give you further tips and ideas on how you can start. There are not really any hard and fast rules.

After the theoretical aspect of your idea of creating your own business, you will need to begin planning. The plan is the meat of the matter so to speak. The plan will take into consideration where you will get the money for the manifestation of the business; where will be the location of your business? What are the resources, products etcetera that you need and how much you need for a start? How will you market your business to get customers, clients or investors? What will you offer them? How will you market yourself that you make back the funds to pay your loan and to meet your needs and the needs of the business? The planning may be overwhelming but it will be the anchor for your idea and help you to bring forth your vision.

You will need to build a network of individuals who will assist and aid you in your mission. You need financial people, public relations people, analysts, communication personnel. These invaluable human resources will help you build your empire.

Finally, you need to create a schedule of what you will do every day to reach the objective of getting your business on the ground, up and running.

Tips and Warning

  • Starting your own business can be overwhelming but it will be satisfying at the end of the day. It would be a good idea to seek out a mentor who will keep you in tune with your goals of starting your own business.
  • Remember to always acknowledge those who help you.
  • In order for your business to strive you must offer something unique and affordable and it must be within an area that will support your business.

For more information on starting your own business, read Home Business Startup Ideas and Beyond the Startup.

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