One thing I’ve always said is that to be successful in business, you need to be educated about business.
But you might be thinking: “But college isn’t for me. It takes a lot of time and it costs a lot of money, and I’ll have to take all those required classes that have nothing to do with what I need to know for my business. It’s going to take forever.”
And you know what? You’re right. If you download and read my free ebook, “Starting From Zero,” you’ll see that I didn’t go to college, and I’ve had many multi-million dollar successes!
Stay with me and I’ll show you how I did it, beginning by sharing my top five business books that gave me the foundation I needed to start making (a lot) of money.
Check these books out (literally).
1. “Cashflow Quadrant” by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This book is the very first book I read from cover to cover, and it is this book that changed my perspective on going to college. I realized that what I learned from Rich Dad in these pages wasn’t something that was taught in school.
The book gave me a full understanding of how money works and how successful people think, by breaking it all down into the “Cashflow Quadrant.”
2.“Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat” by Michael Masterson
“Ready, Fire, Aim” is the second book that inspired me to read it cover to cover. It gave me a different perspective about starting and scaling up a business, and one of my biggest takeaways is knowing that there is no such thing as perfect in setting up a company.
Unlike shooting an arrow, where we are taught to get ready, aim and fire, in the business world, it’s different. You want to fire first before aiming; in other words, put out your product and see how sales go and then use that info to aim toward the money bullseye.
3. “Think and Grow Rich: The Original, an Official Publication of The Napoleon Hill Foundation”
This book was recommended to me by business coach Bob Proctor. I’ve always believed that business growth is always tied to personal growth, and “Think and Grow Rich” shares exactly how personal belief and actions have a tremendous impact on business.
Look at it this way: Today there are so many opportunities in the world for anyone to become an entrepreneur or make more income than what they are making. However, without working on ourselves and setting goals, it is impossible to succeed even if all the steps are laid out. “Think and Grow Rich” showed me how to think boldly and to unlock the real potential within me.
4.Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t by Verne Harnish
This book was recommended by my mentor, and it’s not just a business book, it’s a tactical guide that demonstrates exactly how to scale up a company. Now if you’re like me, sometimes you don’t learn as much from advice as you do from experiencing things. I call this “learning by doing.”
And sometimes, as your business scales to a certain point, there’s not much advice that people can give you that will actually help. “Scaling Up” breaks down growing a business into sections and offers a hands-on,one-page business plan template with action plans that I can actually try with my own business. To date, we’ve applied about 20% of what’s taught in “Scaling Up,” and it has already made a tremendous impact on our company.
5.Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
This book has given me a lot of insight into ways to continue to improve, personally and professionally. My main takeaway is: Never settle for good, always strive for greatness.
The book shows that your business success (or not) comes down to the people that work in your company. The book explains that you have to put the right person in the right seat, and even figure out if that person should be on the bus at all. After reading this book, I now look at how I can maximize each team member’s strengths and put them in a seat inside the company where they, and my business, will flourish.
There you have it: my top 5 business books. Pick them up and stick with me, and you’re business will be up and running — and making money — in no time!