Top 10 Best Business Book Reviews

Best Business Book Reviews - Top 10 List of Highly Recommended Business Success Books

 

I generally read 1-2 books a month to continue to expand my education and to be able to better support my clients.  I love to get the best business book recommendations from people who are more successful than I am.  Over time, I have not only compiled a nice library, but have also donated many of these books to local charities.  There are a handful of books that are extremely useful and well-written.  I’ve only included the best of the best business success book recommendations here.

Business Planning

E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber

Michael Gerber is one of my favorite business success authors.  He started 20-30 years ago with The E-Myth, and 20 years later re-wrote the book with The E-Myth Revisited to include all his learning from his workshops and coaching.  His basic premise is to help you get “on” your business rather than “in” your business.  That means leveraging products and building a powerful, efficient team (and not doing it all yourself, no matter how smart you are).  All new business startup entrepreneurs should read The E-Myth Revisited before getting started.  E-Myth Mastery is a compilation of all his years of experience AND a huge amount of online tools, checklists, and documents you can use to get your business running very smoothly and efficiently.

Marketing

Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson

I call this the entrepreneurial marketing bible.  He covers all topics of marketing and is spot-on with his advice.  This book is a bit like getting a marketing MBA for small businesses.  It’s not your college marketing textbook written for a grad looking to work for a big company, it’s get down and dirty marketing copy, strategies, and tactics to optimize your budget and get results.  A must-have for any small business owner.

Sales

The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

My dad was a truly inspirational man.  He was an electrical engineer and when my little brother died of a congenital heart disease, my dad dedicated his life to contributing to human cardiovascular health.  He started his own business and was highly successful for 20 plus years.  He gave me this book when I was 12 and he told me “If you can learn to sell, you can be successful in any business, as long as your heart is in the right place.”  I read this book and was amazed at how simple the principles of sales success were presented.  I then started my own babysitting and yard cleanup business and overcame my fear of rejection and learned to just go for it.  Og masterfully tells a story during biblical times and weaves in sales success secrets that will pay dividends for you for the rest of your life.

You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

Jen Sincero IS truly a badass in life and in coaching others to make money through changing their mindset and actions.  She also has a hilarious sense of humor that actually made me laugh out loud several times while reading her book!  She came from a background of poverty and desperation, so wherever you are in your journey to become financially abundant and free, this book will help you.  She has also included some amazing life wisdom and tips to shift your energy and transform your life – meditation, forgiveness, make fear your friend, and much more.  Enjoy – this is a must-read unless you’re already uber-wealthy.

Classic Money Making and Wealth Success

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

This is the quintessential business and life success book.  I wish all books were written in this way.  What I mean by that is that Napoleon met with and studied the wealthiest men on the planet for 20 years before starting to write this book.  He was truly an expert and had dedicated his life to this effort.  Yes, the tone is a bit sexist and even shockingly non-cosmopolitan at times, but that was how it was in the 1930’s.  Fortunately we continue to evolve in viewing all people as equals and beautiful souls on this planet.  Back to the good parts of the book … There is one pure and powerful message woven throughout the book.  It’s up to you to find it, and accelerate your own trajectory to success.  He covers the main thoughts, behaviors and habits of highly successful people.  Enjoy.

 

Main Street Millionaire by Codie Sanchez

This book is for you if you want to learn more about investing in small business, growing and scaling a small business and how to earn more without working more.  Codie is brilliant, successful and her writing (and personal) style is fast-moving, easy to understand and a bit sassy.  She also shares her failures so you can avoid common pitfalls and learn the easy way.  She also includes resources, tools, software and websites that are very helpful.  I got my first copy from the local Folsom library and then ordered it on Amazon because I knew I would refer to it again and again.  Enjoy.

Tax Strategies & Entities

Lower Your Taxes Big Time by Sandy Botkin

This is a very important subject for business owners.  We work hard for our money, and we want to keep as much as possible.  Sandy is highly qualified on the subject, having experience as a CPA and former IRS investigator.  When I went to college and took accounting, I seemed to doze off every class … I thought I would fall asleep every other page with a book on accounting and tax strategy!  Fortunately, Sandy is quite entertaining and the subject matter is very easy to understand.  I particularly liked how he explained how I could have my annual corporate meetings on tropical islands and write off the whole trip!  Highly recommended reading.

Leadership & Team

Bringing Out the Best in People by Alan Loy McGinnis

Good leadership is rare and very important for business success.  This author points out the paradox of helping others succeed, thereby enjoying your life more.  He says “Helping other people grow can become life’s greatest joy”.  I liked this book because it is clear, has specific examples and is easy to read.  You may end up reading it over and over as I have.  He also covers common pitfalls of poor leaders and how to avoid them.  Enjoy your life more, get to know your team and what motivates them.  Create a safe environment for learning and being human (which includes making mistakes and learning from them) where your whole team can communicate honestly with compassion and continuously move towards your commitment to excellence.

Efficiency, Automation & Streamlining Operations

The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Tim is truly crazy.  That’s what I like about him.  I read his book when it first came out in 2007 and still listen to his podcasts and interviews to this day.  Only a crazy man would think of a 4 hour workweek.  I highly advise that you not only read this book, but do every exercise he recommends.  In order to get quantum leap shifts in your results, profitability and quality of life, you will have to think and behave quite differently.  That’s what you’ll get out of reading this book.  See ya on the beach.

10X is Easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

This is one of the 3 best books I've read this decade.  I predict you will be blown away by the contents and ideas.  This book is perfect for us hard workers that want breakthrough results.  The ironic thing is that 5 to 10 fold improvement is easier than the old model of putting our noses to the grindstone even more.  It's all based on the Paredo principle - that 20 percent of what we do creates 80 percent of our results.  So how can we stop, delegate or do less of the 80 percent and focus wholly on the 20 percent?  It takes practice and discipline, and ultimately less effort.

Customer Service

Setting the Table by Danny Meyer

Danny Meyer is at least third generation successful entrepreneur.  He got to learn from his father and grandfather – what to do and equally importantly what not to do.  Succeeding in the restaurant business is probably one of the hardest things to do.  He is one of the premier restaurant owners (at least 7 in the New York City areas) in the world and has been seen on TV and interviewed for several publications.  This is truly the best book I’ve ever read on customer service.  He calls it “enlightened hospitality”.  It is also a fantastic book if you want to take your leadership skills to the next level.  He gains insights from powerful mentors in his business decisions and practices.  He also seems to have a knack for knowing exactly what to do and shares these insights in this book.  As a bonus, if you like food and wine, Italy, France, culinary passion and delights, you’ll love this book!

I have not yet read this next book yet, but I have been advised by several business mentors to read books on Disney’s customer service and how they treat their employees.

One common success secret that all successful companies have is that they treat their customers and employees very well.

Click on the following link to see a few more best business book recommendations:

Disney University Customer Service Books