Six Books That Will Change Your Entrepreneurial Life

It can be so easy to take for granted what we know, what we’ve learned, to assume that everyone has seen the same films, tried the same foods and read the same books.

Well today, we’re taking care of one of those assumptions.

If I could only read 10 authors on business, I’m not sure who the other four would be, but the following six would absolutely be on my list.

One invitation, you’ll notice that outside of the works by Andrew Craig, which are more focussed on what to do with your profits once you’ve made them, I’ve not included anything about the nuts and bolts of accounting and finance. I considered ‘Profit First’ by Mike Michalowicz , which a lot of people rave about, but since I’ve not read it, didn’t want to recommend something without actual experience – so if you have any good recommendations in the direction of keeping on top of your numbers in business, let us know in the comments, or by reply.

Ok, let’s get into it:

Alex Hormozi?

When everyone you respect in business is raving about the same book…it’s fair to say it’s probably worth paying attention to.

When I read $100m Dollar Offers I knew why people were so enthusiastic about the book. I love a good framework, but it’s not just the simplicity and power of the frameworks that make the book so powerful, it is that Alex Hormozi brings together, in a?way anyone can follow, all the elements that are required to maximise your chances of creating an offer your customers will find attractive.

He launches his forthcoming $100m Dollar Leads on 19th August, with an event he’s dubbing ‘the Superbowl for entrepreneurs’. Whether you like the American Football analogy or not, I’m pretty sure both the book and the launch event will be worth your time.

Daniel Priestley?

I first encountered Daniel Priestley at one of those horrific pitch fest ‘business events’, where slick speakers masquerade as business people to get you to run to the back of the room with your credit card to buy their overhyped thing.

Daniel was a different beast entirely – proof that adding value is the best long-term approach any business person can take. His talk outlined a coming trend, the rise of the Global Small Business, which has (as he predicted) gone on to sweep the globe, and the Product & Strategy Masterclass that a few people purchased rewired how I thought about business (and life) for good.

While he’s written a number of books, the totality of which could make up a university curriculum on entrepreneurship, his first book ‘Key Person of Influence’ and his third, ‘Oversubscribed: How to get people lining up to do business with you’ are the two that I believe can have the greatest impact straight out of the gate.

In fact, if you genuinely applied the lessons from the three books listed so far…it would be really hard not to be heading in the direction of a viable business.

Bob Burg and John David Mann?

If you’ve not already listened to ‘The Go-Giver’, then consider it my top invitation for some weekend educational downtime. Or for the next time, you have a long drive. At just under 2?hrs, you may wonder whether something of genuine value could be delivered in such a short space of time.

The answer is a joyful and delicious yes. Through a wonderfully told story, even more wonderfully narrated by the authors Bob Burg and John David Mann if you listen to the audiobook, you’re introduced to the ‘five laws of stratospheric success’.

Do not let that somewhat hyperbolic label put you off. You can think of The Go-Giver as offering the founding principles upon which everything else is built – principles that Alex Hormozi has been leveraging this last year to explode his reach and influence.

Donald Miller

Knowing how to talk about what you do…and capturing this on a website, in a brochure and across other marketing and communications materials can be a major challenge. Donald Miller ’s book ‘Building a StoryBrand’ is not a complete and perfect answer…but it does offer a framework that anyone can execute and one that virtually guarantees any prospective customer will be able to understand who you are, what you do and why they should choose you – and that can never be a bad thing.

I’ve not read his recent book ‘How to Grow Your Small Business’, but I’ve no doubt it will similarly demystify the process of creating a profitable small business in the same way ‘Building a StoryBrand’ removes all the complication and doubt from the process of creating clear and compelling communication about what you offer.

Michael E. Gerber

Dear lord, I loathed and resisted ‘The E-Myth Revisited’ when I first began reading/listening to it. As a late twenty-something full of piss and vinegar and righteous anger about corporate corruption, the idea that I could learn anything about business from Mcdonald's was an anathema of the highest order.

Thankfully I stuck with it…and my incredulity was transformed into a sense of wonder – at the way Michael E. Gerber laid out a way of thinking about business that could guarantee not only a business built with the love and soul you might want to create it with…but also a way to ensure that all that love and soul resulted each and every time in the customer getting exactly what they wanted.

This book is also a foundational work if you might ever want to sell your business.

Michael Gerber has a whole series of E-Myth books, that can take you from idea to scale and everything in between.

Andrew Craig?

As stated in the intro to this newsletter, Andrew Craig ’s books are more about what to do with the money you make…and if you apply the lessons in the books above, and are willing to keep applying those lessons over a long enough time period, you will be successful – with the caveat that we assume you’re not trying to build a business in a rapidly shrinking market, in which case you’re probably doomed no matter what.

What to do with the fruits of that success?

‘How to Own the World’, Andrew’s first book, lays out in a way anyone can follow if they’re willing to invest a minimal amount of time, how to think about investing as a whole, and the comparative value of different investment opportunities.

He also maps out some pretty brutal truths about the real cost of and rates of inflation…and what can be done to build and safeguard wealth in the kinds of inflationary times we’re in at present.

I’ve not yet read, but have ordered his second book: ‘Live on Less, Invest the Rest’ which is a handbook that walks you through applying the principles of How to Own The World.

Of course, there are going to be elements of such an approach that may not be as lucrative for someone in their 50s or 60s – less time for compound interest to compound. This is why, at Greater Life, we are such passionate advocates of doing all we can to support entrepreneurs over 50 to prosper – because the profits from a business may be the only route left to create an abundant living and a powerful legacy.

So there you have it. Six authors whose books could change your entrepreneurial life.

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments, or by hitting ‘reply’ to this email.

See you tomorrow.

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Amazon links (full disclaimer, we get a tiny commission if you buy via these links)

Alex Hormozi - $100M Offers

Daniel Priestley - Key Person of Influence (Revised Edition)

Bob Burg and John David Mann?- The Go Giver

Donald Miller - Building A StoryBrand

Michael E. Gerber - The E-Myth Revisted

Andrew Craig - How To Own The World

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