8 Best Books on How To Start a Business
It’s no secret that launching a new business is challenging. There’s a lot to think about, and it takes a huge amount of effort to get a venture off the ground. One of the things you’ll most certainly need is advice - and plenty of it.
Luckily, business books for beginners provide budding business moguls with helpful tips while highlighting the main challenges and obstacles company owners typically face.
Our Recommended Books for Starting a New Business in 2025
If you took a second to search for business books, or you opened an online directory or marketplace and clicked on the Books category and searched for business tips, you’d be greeted with hundreds of links and titles.
To save you time and point you in the direction of business books bestsellers, we’ve put together a list of our top recommended books. Let’s get started.
Will It Fly? - Pat Flynn
Running a successful business is much more complex than having an ingenious idea. In “Will It Fly? How To Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money,” Pat Flynn offers aspiring entrepreneurs advice to help them test out ideas and see if they would make money in the real world.
Turning an idea, concept, or design into a profitable venture is one of the most difficult elements of launching a startup and keeping it afloat. Flynn offers valuable insight into the processes involved in preparing to launch a startup and provides advice for those working on developing ideas and testing them before they hit the market.
Flynn asks entrepreneurs questions about factors and elements they might not have thought of and helps them to decide whether or not their business plan or idea is viable.
This book is likely to appeal to those researching the market, working on ideas, and figuring out how to monetize a venture. Reading this book could help business owners to identify potential mistakes or problems early in the process and find solutions.
Profit First - Mike Michalowicz
Statistics suggest that more than 20% of new businesses don’t survive the first year. For many entrepreneurs, the most significant barrier to success is managing finances and making a profit.
“Profit First: Transform Your Business From a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine” is an excellent book for small business owners who may have limited experience in accounting, investing and reinvesting, funding growth, and processing payments.
This title focuses on the financial aspect of managing a business and is designed to tackle common problems related to streamlining cash flow and boosting profits.
The beauty of this book is its accessibility. It uses language that is easy to understand and breaks down financial issues and elements into digestible chapters. It also guides the entrepreneur through the process of managing the accounts from the outset to create a solid financial foundation.
The E-Myth Revisited - Michael Gerber
Sometimes, beginner entrepreneurs have a rose-tinted vision of what life is like as a new business owner. “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It” is a candid reflection on the highs and lows of launching a startup.
This book outlines the pain points of running a business, discusses common mistakes startup owners make, and provides advice to minimize risks and errors.
One of the key messages of this book is to focus on working on the business rather than in the business. The aim is to create a company that can run itself without the need for constant intervention from the owner.
Lost and Founder - Rand Fishkin
Fishkin, the founder of Moz and a number of other high-profile tech companies, uses his own experiences to inform and advise entrepreneurs starting out on their journey.
“Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World” is designed to provide an open, honest insight into what being a business owner involves.
Fishkin moves through the stages of setting up and running a startup to highlight common misconceptions, challenges, setbacks, and mistakes. This is a refreshing take on developing and growing a business, and it offers a fascinating glimpse into what it takes to establish a profitable company in the 21st century.
Women Who Launch - Marlene Wagman-Geller
“Women Who Launch: Women Who Shattered Glass Ceilings” is one of the best books for female entrepreneurs.
Even today, many industries are still male-dominated, and female business owners face unique challenges. The author, Marlene Wagman-Geller, discusses these challenges, including securing funding and competing in sectors traditionally associated with men.
She also profiles a series of women who have blazed a trail and beaten the odds to reach the top, including Sara Blakeley, the founder of Spanx, and Estee Lauder, the founder of one of the biggest beauty brands on the planet.
This book is designed to shine a light on and celebrate female entrepreneurs and encourage those who want to forge a career in business to take the plunge.
Zero to One - Peter Thiel
“Zero To One: Notes on Startups, or How To Build the Future” is a bestselling book which concentrates on launching a startup rather than a solo venture.
Running a startup involves juggling multiple balls, and the initial costs may be much higher. Co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies Peter Thiel describes the character traits, strengths, and qualities required to launch and run a successful startup and underlines the importance of embracing innovation and creativity to make a splash in the market.
How I Built This - Guy Raz
Not all entrepreneurs have natural leadership skills, and many find managing teams one of the most difficult aspects of running the business.
“How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success From the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs” by Guy Raz is a fantastic book for small-business owners and ambitious entrepreneurs interested in learning about leadership and the importance of being a strong leader when growing a company.
Throughout the book, Raz uses real-life examples of positive, impressive, successful leaders and business magnates who have used their passion, compassion, communication skills, and life experiences to influence employees, build strong, cohesive teams, and ultimately generate profits.
Based on the popular NPR podcast, this book is a great title for anyone keen to enhance their leadership skills, business owners who have limited experience in managing people, and startup managers who want to improve cohesion within the workplace.
The $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau
Many people start their entrepreneurial journey with limited financial resources. One of the most significant barriers to overcome for prospective business owners is to figure out how they can get a venture off the ground without taking out massive business loans.
“The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future” is one of the best books for beginners on a budget.
This book dispels the myth that it takes a lot of money to launch a successful startup. Chris Guillebeau explores 50 case studies, highlighting entrepreneurs who managed to start a business on a very modest budget.
He delves deeper into each example, dissecting the story from start to finish to understand which factors underpinned the success of the venture. A lack of money can be a hurdle, but this book shows that it is possible to defy the odds with limited means and harness your talents, skills, and passion to set up a profitable business.
The Benefits of Reading Business Books
You may be under the impression that reading books has become irrelevant in our day and age or that business people can’t afford to waste time on reading, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Books are still irreplaceable sources of valuable information and reading business books will help you learn through other peoples’ experiences and gain an understanding of what it takes to launch a startup or a small business, grow a company, and generate profits.
Most of the titles listed above are reflections of personal experiences, which offer a refreshing, candid take on life as an entrepreneur. Many of the books also provide case studies and examples to highlight success stories and inspire others.
There are books to suit various types of companies and titles that target specific aspects of running a business, as well as general guides about starting a business. It’s possible to find great books regardless of the exact aspect you’re interested in, from balancing the books and turning over profits to raising equity for female-run businesses.
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