The Best Books on Small Business

Everybody needs a little help at some time or another, and what better way to get the advice that you need than from those who have been through the experience and are teaching others all about it. Learning from other people's experiences is a valuable time and money saver. It is useful not having to go through the same failing processes that some have experienced before you had the chance.

1) The E-Myth Revisited

This is the revised and updated version of the original book, The E-Myth (The Entrepreneurial Myth), written by Michael E. Gerber. In this book, Gerber, with his wealth of experience gained as an author and a small business consultant, identifies and highlights how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of successfully running a successful business.

Gerber will take you through the steps in the life of your business, from the infancy of start-up to the growing pains experienced through the adolescent phase, and finally into a mature and thriving company. Gerber also shows you how to apply franchising principles and lessons learnt from franchising, even if your business is not a franchise. This book also distinguishes the often overlooked element of working on and working in your business.

2) Differentiate or Die

Authors of this book, Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin, with the over 30 years marketing and advertising experience, both agree that the creative trend in advertising has gone a bit over the top. Trout and Rivkin believe, and caution, that a company’s survival in this hyper-competitive business environment lies in their ability to accentuate only the advantageous differences of their offerings. The book follows legendary ad man Rosser Reeves advice when he proposed that businesses should focus on their ‘Unique Selling Proposition’. This book will teach readers how to steer clear of ambiguous and arty advertising while focusing on their unique selling proposition, through a logical and direct advertising plan.

3) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Bestselling author Stephen R. Covey, has put this book together as a guide to increase a persons, and by proxy a business’s, effectiveness with regards to productivity. This progressively structured book will help readers gain mastery over their character by redefining their personal habits, moulding them into successes. Covey teaches the importance of interdependence by first gaining independence, as this is how the business world operates, creating leaders and team players. This book also teaches about finding the proper balance between actually producing, and improving one’s capability to produce, by highlighting that an immediate increase in output will usually come at the expense of future production. You can get the book here.

4) Think and Grow Rich

Written in 1937 by the former advisor to President F.D. Roosevelt, Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich was written to help people overcome the psychological barriers that keep them from wealth. Hill cites that desiring and achieving riches comes from a state-of-mind, advising ways in which one should change their perception about the way they do things, creating an obsessive and decisive plan to help them create their wealth. His book entails a process whereby the reader changes their mental construct of how to create their wealth, through logical and progressive steps. In his book, he writes that “Poverty needs no plan because it is bold and ruthless. Riches are shy and timid, they need to be attracted.”

5) The 80/20 Principle

Here, author Richard Koch helps us to identify and leverage the principle that 80 percent of our results come from only 20 percent of our efforts. The 80/20 Principle shows us how we can achieve much more with much less effort, by focusing our efforts on the 20 percent more effectively and where it really counts. Koch reveals how exactly the principle works, and how we can use it in a systemic fashion to increase our effectiveness, ultimately improving your career and company. By concentrating efforts on doing the things that actually count, Koch teaches readers how to unlock the unlimited potential that the 20 percent holds, transforming effectiveness across the board.

6) Duct Tape Marketing

Duct Tape Marketing is a collection of tried and tested tools and tactics that are a road map for small business marketing. This step-by-step marketing system will show small businesses exactly what to do to grow and market their business. Author John Jantsch has more than 20 years of working successfully in, and with small businesses, providing a clear, concise, and practical book that is filled with great ideas and strategies to help boost your company’s bottom line. This book provides the perfect perspective for maximising all on- and off-line marketing activities, laying out fresh ideas in a practical and usable way, and has been highly recommended for any growing business. Also, in 2015, our MD David Roberts became a certified Duct Tape Marketing consultant. Find out what this means here - https://www.jdrgroup.co.uk/

7) Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

This classic book on the power of persuasion explains the psychology of why people say “yes”, and how to best apply these understandings. An expert in the field of influence and persuasion, Dr. Robert Cialdini, through his 35-years of evidence-based research, as well as study program on what moves people to change behaviour, has resulted in the culmination of this very highly acclaimed book. This book teaches readers about 6 universal principles and how to use them to become a skilled and proficient persuader, as well as how to defend yourself against them. This book will move those who read it to a profound personal change, emulated through their driving force for success.

8) The One-Minute Manager

Authors Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson have put together a book that will cut through the time wasting involved in the management process when it comes to dealing with staff and setting organisational goals. They have compiled a winner which details ways in which to deal with the planning of activities and goals, and the praising and reprimanding of employees that are clear and concise, with great practical and psychological benefits for all employees. The One-Minute Manager is an excellent guide when dealing with matters that make a difference in your staff and business.

Expand your business book library

The reviews above cover some of the best books for small business and are guaranteed to be beneficial to anyone takes the time to read them. Applying the principles set out in each of these books will assure your business increased efficiency and effectiveness of its people and processes. These books are an absolute must for those seeking long-term business success and personal growth that will turn them into the most successful versions of themselves. They have been tried and tested and are now waiting to help you.