Best books on how to run a small business

BookSummaryClub Blog Best books on how to run a small business

Running a small business may be a little tricky, considering the limited amount of resources available to the entrepreneur. Finding the best books on how to run a small business will help.

Often, a lot of entrepreneurs get caught in a snag and find it difficult to produce good results consistently. This can be very frustrating when comparing your progress with other larger firms. When you take a close look at the running of small businesses, it is quite clear that there is a lot of room for improvement.

Now, finding out the best books to run your small business can help you better steer the ship. These books will provide you with valuable insight and inspire you to heights of success. Perhaps you have begun your search to find your inspirational books, but you can’t seem to decide considering the variety of options available. How then do you decide the book to read? All books around the world and on the internet all claim to be helpful but only some live up to that promise.

In this article, we’ll be taking a close look at some of the books that can be used to gather the inspiration for your business.

Finding the best books on how to run a small business

Like almost anything, there is no one right answer, there are many aspects of running a small business.

Before we begin discussing the books one after the other, let’s take a look at some of the most challenging aspects of running any small business. The types of books discussed will be dependent on the aspect being dealt with. These aspects include;

Best books on how to run a small business

Best book on starting on a budget

Chris Guillebeau: The $100 Startup

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The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
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The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Chris Guillebeau (Author) – Chris Guillebeau, Thomas Vincent Kelly (Narrators)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 05/08/2012 (Publication Date) – Random House Audio (Publisher)

Do not be quick to rate this book with other books on financial management. This book is different because it helps its readers deal with the transition to becoming an entrepreneur and having to deal with stringent finances. It teaches the tenets of starting a business and also helps to show everyone the possibility of starting a business with a meagre sum of $100.

This book was written with profound insight as it teaches potential entrepreneurs by taking a look at examples of over 50 entrepreneurs. It is unlike most financial management books that regurgitate similar ideas and fail to make any striking suggestions. It educates you with some unbeatable advice and lets you maximize all the money you have. Isn’t that some good news?

For a start, this book teaches entrepreneurs to focus on their strengths at the initial stage of the business. This isn’t a time for blind upgrades and large-scale changes. The goal is to minimize the cost while improving the functionality and effect of every amount spent. The truth is, even if you don’t have all the required skills to create a correctly running business, you can grow the business with the skills already at your disposal. Even without all the required skills, you are probably good at something related, and it can be very useful. There are examples in the book that help to inspire readers and teach them how it is really done.

It is a book which educates entrepreneurs on the steps to setting up a business and running a small business with limited capital.

So, it also advises entrepreneurs on work ethic. The content of the book is known to support a unique concept; hustling. It encourages running around to cover up for the lack of funds. As a startup, a lack of funds will mean that you avoid some of the conventional work ethics. Remember that this book is all about financial management and it dwells on maximizing scarce resources. It touches the most important aspects of financial management and shows, with examples, practical methods to deal with stringent finances.

It is also a trainer on planning methods or techniques. It has identified the most suitable financial management planning that suits most small business and explains it in detail in the book. It is a guide that shows “how-to” and can be read even by experienced entrepreneurs. There’s really a lot to learn here. I have found it very helpful with some of its explicit details. To put it simply, after completing this book, you are sure to become more financially aware, and you will develop a more strategic approach to funds management.

Get your copy of this book on Amazon or just read our summary.

Best book on Team Management

Chris Hirst: No Bullshit Leadership

No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You
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No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why That Leader Is You
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Chris Hirst (Author) – Peter McGovern (Narrator)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 05/02/2019 (Publication Date) – Profile Audio (Publisher)

This book focuses on the leadership qualities required of any startup. It teaches leadership through the eyes of a goal-oriented, achieving leader. I understand that every owner of small business aims to achieve set objectives with their minimal resources. This should be the aim of creating and leading any team for your business.

Now, the number one goal for any leader is effective team management to achieve desired results. There are a lot of false assumptions about leadership. This book is different from others because it hopes to establish a custom-leadership structure. The book identifies that there is not one perspective to leadership. Buttressing the fact that there are no “born leaders,” it identifies team management as a character which must be grown into with usage and exercise. This book works towards continuous growth as opposed to the popular gimmicks that you are used to.

It identifies the importance of confidence and boldness in team management. Yes, your team is to be treated like a child, continually requiring guidance and direction. It teaches how to be a leader ready to make the tough call to steer the ship. It also focuses on how best to diversify your team for effective performance. According to research, diverse companies are more profitable than homogenous ones. This may be a tip to utilize at the early stages of your business. Learn to use the advantages that different perspectives provide from this book. It is a book that also helps to decode all the complicated information and perceptions. After going through it, I can say it changed my perspective of team management and offer some quite helpful tips to help my leadership experience.

If you want to learn more, you can get this book on Amazon or simply read our summary.

Best Book on Customer Services

Joey Coleman: Never Lose A Customer Again

Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days
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Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Joey Coleman (Author) – Joey Coleman (Narrator)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 04/03/2018 (Publication Date) – Penguin Audio (Publisher)

I love everything about this book. It really shows a lot. Every small business owner understands the importance of impressive customer services. I have gone through this book, and what it teaches is simply out of this world. This book will teach you how to be an expert in handling different types of customers. This book identifies the importance of new customers, has a lot of tips to help you attract customers and will help you build the loyalty of these customers. Not so many businesses pay attention to customer retention and satisfaction, and it could provide you with an edge. You don’t have to get new customers every time as it is even more important for businesses to convert new customers into loyal ones.

I am certain that as a small business, fostering customer loyalty provides some immense benefits. Without any doubt, this book teaches the fostering of customer loyalty. Never Lose a Customer Again offers insight on providing impressive service to customers and customer retention. After going through this book, the danger behind gaining new customers was revealed to me. According to this book, most new customers are lost after the sale has been completed. So much emphasis is often put on attracting new customers that these businesses sometimes fail to pay any attention to the customer after the sale. The book highlights some simple and useful tips that go a long way.

Also, this book helps to put the entrepreneur in the shoes of the customer. Learn about how customers make their decisions and equip yourself with the answers and techniques to deal with their demands. The benefits of happy customers are numerous. Improved sales, increased traffic and referrals. All of a sudden, paying attention to customer retention and improved customer service will transform these customers into marketers and advocates for your business. Their referrals will authenticate your status as a reputable brand. Read and learn innovative ways to handle customer retention.

You can get your copy of this book on Amazon or read our summary.

Best book on sales and estimation

Chet Holmes: The Ultimate Sales Machine

The Ultimate Sales Machine
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The Ultimate Sales Machine
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Chet Holmes (Author) – Amanda Holmes, George Newbern (Narrators)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 11/21/2008 (Publication Date) – Blackstone Audio, Inc. (Publisher)

There was really a lot of work put into this book. The Ultimate Sales Machine is a very good way to learn how to maximize your sales as a small business or how to create an improved sales technique. Here, you won’t be getting any terrible sales techniques that would only be effective in the long term. This book places more focus on actually creating long-term plans for long-term profits and benefits. It’s even harder to believe that this book goes further to offer 12 key business strategies that will help you earn more profit when you make use of them.

This book is basically concerned about creating a solid base that guarantees impressive sales and increased profits. Probably, you have even read a lot of other books on Sales and estimation that ignore the basic rules of sales and favor the use of advanced sales techniques. If that is the case, the amount of content in these advanced tactics may be overwhelming. This book offers simplified and effective sales techniques that actually work. Here, there are no sleazy talks.

You can find out the latest prices on Amazon or read our summary.

Best Book on Growth

Ryan Holiday: The Obstacle Is The Way

Obstacle is the Way (Malayalam Edition)
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Obstacle is the Way (Malayalam Edition)
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Holiday, Ryan (Author)
  • Malayalam (Publication Language)
  • 271 Pages – 01/31/2023 (Publication Date) – Manjul Publishing House (Publisher)

Growth is basically the most important thing for the owner of any small business. For small businesses, growing is even harder considering the different challenges facing the business. However, this book comes to teach you how to weather those storms. Running a small business is challenging, but it’s gonna take you through it. What is even more interesting is that this book also accounts for historical figures in dealing with modern-day business problems. You would be surprised to find out the usefulness of these past experiences to grow your business in the present day. To put it simply, I want you to know that you’re not the only one who has faced problems. Almost certainly, someone has experienced something similar in the past. Entrepreneurs always have been faced with some similar challenges since time immemorial. Now, one thing that should be at the back of your mind when faced with such problems is that you must overcome these obstacles for desired growth. Surely, you must understand the priceless nature of valuable history.

One common theme that is discussed in the book is to continue in the face of challenges. Basically, only perseverance brings growth, and this book teaches how to persevere with the goal in mind. I am certain that as you read this book, you will be able to pick key points along the way that you will adapt to grow at the desired pace. It may seem like a popular cliché but long term perseverance pays. I trust that you will enjoy this book as it helps you grow your business.

You can get more information about his book on Amazon here or you can read our book summary.

Best book on Marketing

Seth Godin: This Is Marketing

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This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See
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This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Seth Godin (Author) – Seth Godin (Narrator)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 11/13/2018 (Publication Date) – Penguin Audio (Publisher)

I am tempted to refer to this book as the best marketing book you can find out there. This is entirely my opinion however, but you can be sure that this book lives up to the hype. This book deviates from the stereotype ” how-to” books on the market. Instead, it looks to offer insight into the “why” of marketing.

This book is different from other marketing books that just recycle the same idea in different words. It actually answers to some untouched aspects of marketing. It is the only book that has successfully managed to change my perspective about marketing. You should enjoy it as much too, and probably read it again a couple of times for more insight.

More information about the book can be found on Amazon, or you can read our summary of the book.

Final thoughts

Finding the best books on how to run a small business will help you tackle many potential problems along your journey in entrepreneurship.

You will surely enjoy the experience of reading these books. There’s really a lot to be learned. These are not the only books about business, but they are the ones that are most suitable for you as a small business owner.

Hey, I’m Erik… a Swedish university student, marketing professional, and life-long learner. Here at BookSummaryClub I summarize my favorite non-fiction books into easily digested posts. Hope you like what you’re reading!

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