This is me telling people that I know something when I do not. But yes, this is basically my TBR (to be read) book list.
Someday I want to start my own business, and entrepreneurship fascinates me. There are so many books to choose from, so I will tell you which books will show up on my bookshelf. In the list, there are books that just interested me and were recommended by other people, and some I found by researching.
I have to tell you that I have never read anything about business. These will be my first books on the subject.
I went through a rabbit hole to put this here, so here they are in random order:
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! By Al Ries and Jack Trout
- Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
- The Art and Business of Online Writing: How to Beat the Game of Capturing and Keeping Attention by Nicolas Cole
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham
- 4-hour work week by Tim Ferriss
- The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco
Let’s go through each of them!
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! By Al Ries and Jack Trout
I’m curious about this book, which has a 4.06 rating on Goodreads. It sounds pretty straightforward. But I’m not sure if it’s still relevant today since it was written in the 1990s. I mean, marketing has changed a lot since then, especially with social media.
But then I saw that Tim Ferriss recommended this book and that it’s considered a classic in the field. Maybe it has some timeless principles that I can apply to any situation? Maybe I can just ignore the outdated examples and focus on the main ideas?
I looked for other books on marketing, but none of them really caught my eye, except for the next one. They all had mixed reviews and nothing that made me want to read them. So I decided to give this one a try since it’s a classic and Tim Ferriss likes it. Maybe it will be good enough for me.
Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
I’m a new blogger who writes about different topics, and I wanted to learn more about marketing. So I looked up some books on marketing for beginners, and I found this one with a 3.98 rating on Goodreads. It sounds like a good introduction to content marketing, which is what I need. I’m curious to read it and see what tips and strategies it offers.
“Epic Content Marketing takes you step-by-step through the process of developing stories that inform, entertain, and compel customers to act—without actually telling them to. Epic content, distributed to the right person at the right time, is the way to truly capture the hearts and minds of customers. It’s how to position your business as a trusted expert in its industry. It’s what customers share and talk about.”
The Art and Business of Online Writing: How to Beat the Game of Capturing and Keeping Attention by Nicolas Cole
4.45 rating on Goodreads.
This book has been on my TBR list since I found out about Nicolas Cole on Ali Abdaal’s podcast, Deep Dive. I have listened to the podcast two times, and it is the reason I decided to start publishing my writing on Medium. Before, I was writing on my own website, which was read only by my family and close friends because I was not marketing my blog anywhere. Essentially, I was writing in a black hole because I was afraid of judgement. This podcast made me realise what I am doing wrong, and I hope that this book will be as inspiring and useful as the man himself.
Link to the podcast: 5 Ways To Make $1 Million As A Writer – Nicolas Cole
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
I picked up this book because it had a 4.11 rating on Goodreads and it sounded interesting. It’s about start-ups and how to succeed in the business world. I saw it recommended on many websites while browsing for beginner books in business, so I thought I’d give it a try.
“Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs in companies of all sizes a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever.”
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham
This book has a 3.85 rating on Goodreads, but honestly, I don’t care about that. I’m so excited to read this book! Tim Ferris recommended it, and I was hooked as soon as I heard what it was about. It sounds amazing how some companies choose to stay small and focus on their niche rather than trying to grow bigger and bigger. I think this is a great gift idea for a friend who is into business, but I also want to read it myself!
4-hour work week by Tim Ferriss
3.92 rating on Goodreads. Again, I do not care about the rating; I want to read this. This is a classic in my eyes. Tim Ferriss is amazing, and I want to learn from him. I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time, and now I finally have the chance. I know some people don’t like it and say it’s useless or unrealistic, but I don’t care. I want to see for myself what it’s all about. My friend stated she read it and understood it wasn’t practical from where we live, but I’m intrigued regardless. Maybe I’ll find something valuable in it.
The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco
This book has been on my radar for a while. I’ve seen it recommended by many people, from Ali Abdaal to Tina Huang. They say it’s not just a catchy title, but a really valuable and insightful read. I checked the ratings on Goodreads and Amazon, and they are impressive: 4.32 and 4.7, respectively. That’s amazing! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book and learn from it. It sounds like a must-read for me.
Next is not a book but an essay that I want to put here as a bonus. This will be read in a few minutes, but still, it is on my TBR list.
1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
As an online writer, the concept piqued my interest. It is an essay, but it takes a spot on my TBR list. I will probably read this as soon as I publish this blog post. This was also recommended by Tim Ferriss.
So this is my TBR book collection.
I got them from people who inspire me. I think that’s the best way to learn—find someone you look up to and copy them. And one way to copy them is to read, watch, or listen to the same stuff they do: books, podcasts, Youtube, blogs.
Speaking of podcasts, here are some cool ones that Ali Abdaal suggested, and I was intrigued by them. I’m going to listen to them soon. These are new to me and they are about business, marketing, and finance:
- My first million
- Bookworm
- Indie Hackers
- Noah Kagan presents
- Smart passive income
I did a lot of research for this post, and I ended up reading tonnes of reviews and lists of books from different places and people. So many reviews—great and terrible. I learned that reading reviews is kind of annoying. They are so different that I can’t tell if the book is good or not.
My time is precious, and I want to read books that are worth it, but it’s hard to find the “best books”. I think it’s better to read a book that’s okay and learn something than waste time scrolling through reviews and not read anything because nothing is “good enough”. So I just told myself – Pick a book and read it! Trust that the people you admire are not dumb, and if they recommend something, it might have some value that you can use.
So this is me recommending books I haven’t read!