Top 10 Business Books You Can Find At The Library
TPL's 2020 Entrepreneur in Residence, Tawny Autumn, has compiled a top 10 list of recommended business books to help you learn, grow and be inspired. All of these books can be checked out from Toronto Public Library and are available in a variety of formats.
1. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
This book is an absolute game-changer and a must-read for any entrepreneur. The 4-Hour Workweek has spent more than four years on The New York Times Best Sellers List, has been translated into 40 languages and has sold more than 2.1 million copies worldwide. It’s an epic step-by-step blueprint for creating a business, outsourcing tasks and hacks for establishing credibility. It’s also very practical and funny in tone. I have based my business and teaching style off of Ferriss’s straightforward tone and resources.
The 4-Hour Workweek is available in print and eAudiobook format.
2. Crushing It: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence - And How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
This book is jam-packed with tips for posting and connecting with your audience digitally. Four-time New York Times bestselling author and serial entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, shares his perspective and experience as an entrepreneur. He’s had enormous success in digital marketing and is a big investor in tech companies such as Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr and Twitter. Vaynerchuk loves to candidly share everything he knows and is a combination of business guru meets motivational speaker, making it very entertaining to consume his content.
Crushing It is available in print, eAudiobook and Audiobook CD format.
3. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
No crazy science here, just some basic tools needed to build trust with clients and professional or personal relationships. It’s essentially a book on how to be considerate and thoughtful. Not all of us grew up with etiquette tools, social cues or conversational skills, so this is a great cheat sheet on universal etiquette. The salient points include:
- Become genuinely interested in other people
- Smile (you can even hear it on the phone)
- Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language
- Be a good listener (and don’t interject until a natural pause)
- Talk in terms of the other person's interests
- Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely
How to Win Friends and Influence People is available in print, eBook and eAudiobook format.
4. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Reading this very practical book will give you perspective on how to manage self-limiting beliefs, professionally and personally. I can’t stress enough how crucial this book is for developing self-awareness. I highly recommend these four agreements to every sales representative and bootstrap entrepreneur out there. The four agreements are:
- Be impeccable with your word
- Don’t take anything personally
- Don't make assumptions
- Always do your best
Ruiz also wrote a subsequent book called The Fifth Agreement, which teach-es readers to: Be skeptical, but learn to listen.
The Four Agreements is available in print, eBook and Audiobook CD format.
5. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
Vaynerchuk stresses the importance of balanced content. Using your platform to build an engaged audience rather than to sell to them is based on the "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook" formula that Gary has perfected. This book will teach you to create content for a sales funnel that feels consumer-centric and organic. "Jabs" are the lightweight pieces of content that benefit your customers by making them laugh or piquing their interest while a "Hook" is a call to action, such as asking for the sale, sign up, follow or subscribe.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is available in print and eBook format.
6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is based on seven principles. Covey shares insights and anecdotes in this seven step strategy to living with integrity, service and dignity. The principles can help you adapt to change and take advantage of personal and professional opportunities. These habits are broken down into segments: Habits 1, 2 and 3 are based on self-mastery, with a focus on building independence; Habits 4, 5 and 6 are based on teamwork, collaboration, communication skills and moving from independence to interdependence; and the 7th habit is about continuous development.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is available in print, eBook, Audio CD and eAudiobook format.
7. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This book is so old (written in 1937) and it still shows up on most top 10 business book lists. Think and Grow Rich contains money-making secrets that could change your life, and your perspective on money and wealth attainment in general. Hill’s timeless advice includes auto-suggestion tactics like affirmations to build the desire necessary to achieve your goals, how to harness faith by believing in your goals and tips for organized planning. One of the principles that I found especially useful was acquiring specialized knowledge, doing so by gaining experiences and through continued learning. Life long learning is one of my top three passions in life. I learned about not just "finishing" school but rather the importance of "continued learning", such as developing new skills through online learning, YouTube tutorials or reading books by Napoleon Hill.
Think and Grow Rich is available in print, eBook, Audio CD and eAudiobook format.
8. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Understanding how habits work is the key to being more productive, exercising regularly, losing weight and achieving success. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities and our lives if we learn the formula for self-discipline, which is as simple as cue, habit and reward! If you can identify your habits, you can trace the cue (the reminder) and replace the reward. This incredible science is simplified into a diagram. I wake up in the mornings and get started with a cup of coffee every single day whether I have work or not because of this discipline strategy. Love it! A must read for people struggling with discipline and routine throughout this pandemic.
The Power of Habit is available in print, eBook , Audiobook CD and eAudiobook format.
9. Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Simon has discovered remarkable patterns about how the greatest organizations and leaders think. Your "why" for doing business (not your "what") is the reason people want to buy from you. Learn to tell the story of your passion and your brand with Sinek’s help. The story can help people to consider your product or service over other options. He uses a brilliant case study of Apple to illustrate how you can create a movement and a lifestyle out of a product (or service). His TED talk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action has been viewed over 52 million times. It’s an incredibly moving concept. We discussed this concept on my first day in eCommerce class, because it was foundational to all of the messaging and building we would do, and I have never operated without this concept at heart.
Start with Why is available in print, eBook and eAudiobook format.
10. Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss
This book’s tagline says it all: "Short Life Advice from the Best in the World". Ferriss has compiled an impressive list of tools, tactics and habits from over 130 of the world's top performers. It’s an encyclopedia of tools and case studies from iconic entrepreneurs, elite athletes, artists and billionaire investors, that can help you navigate life, business and achieve extraordinary results. Whether you want to speed up your results, reinvent yourself, or get unstuck, there is a case study or resource for you in this book.
Tribe of Mentors is available in print and eBook format.
Learn more about TPL's 2020 Entrepreneur in Residence program and seminars.
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