7 Books for First Time Business Owners

January 23, 2016 by

hands-hand-book-reading-largeAll entrepreneurs have three things in common: belief in themselves, passion, and patience. However, those are just the foundation. There are a number of additional skills, tips, and unspoken rules one should know before beginning the journey, or at least shortly after. Of course, budding entrepreneurs have a spate of other things on their plates, factoring in reading a few books is not exactly exciting. Still, it’s important to invest the time in doing so, to acquire knowledge that could help you prevent mistakes down the line. On the positive side, I’ve compiled a small list for you, which saves a least a 20 minutes of your time. Check out my recommendations below.


1. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers:
If no one has told you by now that starting and managing your own business is difficult, Ben Horowitz has you covered. The author shares personal stories about the good and the bad of entrepreneurship, discussing candidly about the mistakes he encountered so you don’t have to. This book will endow you with invaluable wisdom and answers that not many others have without Horowitz’s background.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1S2aslP


2. Escaping the Corner Office: The Start-Up Kit for First Time Business Owners:
This book is for individuals considering leaving their full time, successful careers to launch a less secure, personal establishment of their own. Especially those of the 87% who considered going into business but fail to do so. However, contrary to popular belief, not everyone begins with business ownership as a goal; some of the best are inspired after having already worked for someone else. The books shares tips for managing that transition and how to optimize the work you’ve done in the past to build your business for the future.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1niPW5m


3. One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business Even If You Have No Money or Experience:
The book’s title expresses very clearly its intent. Inspiring hopeful entrepreneurs who may not have prior experience nor loads of money. Neither is needed to become successful. Instead, the book details the process for  creating profitable business models, using basic marketing and sales, and builds on the stories of individuals who have done just that and subsequently amassed significant revenue. If that is also your goal, but you’re not sure where to start, check this one out.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1SulRMS


4. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses:
Eric Ries provides practical tips for slow growth and smart investments for startups, which rise quickly in America, but fail shortly. A major focus of the book is properly valuing innovation and developing in a way that’s sensible and conducive to long-term advancement. It also highlights the need for businesses to be flexible and adaptable in an ever-changing economy. This is the book to read for startups.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1eY2uVF


5. Think and Grow Rich:
It’s no coincidence that this book has remained popular for over a half century. People love and appreciate the resources in this book, and many have claimed that it has helped them become better business owners. The philosophies within are drawn for the likes of Mary Kay Ash and Dave Thomas. This book doesn’t necessarily make you rich overnight, rather it provides tools to become successful in every facet of your life as well as business.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1PDoPbF


6. Property Management Made Easy: For First-Time Rental Property Owners:
A book for navigating the real estate realm? Absolutely. Property managers are entrepreneurs, or should be. This book expresses in clear and relevant detail what rental property owners need to know, with specific tips about determining ability to pay and improving overall revenue.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/20caydD


7. Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business:
Perhaps you have a skill or something that you do for fun, like knitting, cooking, or graphic design. There’s a market for it, and if you’re interested, you could be leveraging it to your advantage. The author details how to do so with guides on applying for business license and bringing your product to the masses. In short, this Craft Inc. tells you how to mesh the legal with the creative to bring real value to the work in which you specialize.
Find out more: http://amzn.to/1WrrR8a

Filed Under: Advice, Books, Business, Education, Entrepreneurship Tagged With: , , , ,

Should We Encourage Entrepreneurship as a Career?

January 19, 2016 by

children-593313_960_720Take a look in business magazine and you’ll run across a story about startups, or small businesses started by typically young, ambitious college grads, capitalizing off of the growing tech market. News about such frequently includes news about financing, huge investments from equally eager venture capitalists,  ready to strike gold with the next Google or Yelp, and some businesses being valued at a whopping $1 billion just a few years off the ground. Those with such credentials have been labeled unicorns by industry experts, and there are quite a few of them in the U.S. and throughout the world.

As a result, it would appear that small business in the country is thriving. To a point, that is the case. In the last year, small businesses, which make up about half of America’s overall economy, have managed an official post-recession comeback. In 2015, small businesses appeared more optimistic about growth, experienced a surge in sales, and added a few jobs. However, research shows that small business in the U.S. as a whole has been steadily declining, not just recently, but since the 1970s. According the Kauffman Foundation and Brookings Institute the number of reported small businesses less than a year old has dropped by nearly half, more specifically, 44 percent, since 1978. The organizations pulled their information from U.S. Census data.

Add to that findings within the last year which also show that the number of businesses closing exceeded the number of those opening, beginning in 2008. So, we have a double issue in which a lack of growth from new companies is coupled with a rapid of failure of established businesses. Some have speculated that the impetus for such is a generational one. Inc. com, for example, sites the likes of Apple’s Steve Jobs, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and TV maven Oprah Winfrey as an example of the gap in entrepreneurship today compared to that of the Baby Boomer generation, to which the aforementioned belong. Even for Gen X’ers, the percentage of young business owners exceed that of Millennials.

The writer has a point, but I don’t think the fault rests solely on millennials. I think we fail younger generations by teaching them to seek stable careers rather than risk or giving inspiration to establish their own businesses. Look no further than the increased pressure in recent years to attend college, and now, to seek an advanced degree. The message has been to work hard and set yourself up to find a stable career after college.

Nevertheless, there are some who do see the opportunity to impress upon their children the value of entrepreneurship, or to support, rather, the children in their endeavors and interest. Craig Zamary, an entrepreneur himself, began teaching his son about business ownership and management after his son expressed a desire to work for himself. His son was in the first grade. Eventually, Craig would end up teaching an entire class of second graders about entrepreneurship, and nurturing the children’s business ideas to become a reality.

This experiment proved successful for a number of reasons, which we can learn as adults, and use as a foundation for inspiring our children to lead their own way. Craig found that the children’s lack of fear was hugely beneficial as well their use of imagination. They were able to think creatively and about possibility rather than reality. Another reason for teaching entrepreneurship early is that it establishes good principles and allow the children to build on the practice they get from their experiences.

Innovation drives our culture, our way of life and the world. Fearless, imaginative entrepreneurs have contributed so much to our development. We could certainly benefit from more. Thus, it’s extremely important to begin teaching and encouraging entrepreneurship as much as we encourage becoming a lawyer or a chef. They all work together.

Filed Under: Advice, Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Startups Tagged With: , , , , , ,