Which business books do you consider essential reading?

[Kerwin]

I'm looking to learn more about business as a whole and was wondering if people had any recommendations about business, finance and economics?

 

[Mark T Jones]

The Dummies series is pretty good for pure knowledge

Then of course you can go deeper into specific areas, from sales to accountancy or whatever

My personal view is that economics and business are very closely related- get to grips with the basics of economics with The Undercover Economist and work from there

 

[Kerwin]

The Dummies series is pretty good for pure knowledge

Then of course you can go deeper into specific areas, from sales to accountancy or whatever

My personal view is that economics and business are very closely related- get to grips with the basics of economics with The Undercover Economist and work from there

Thank you. I'll certainly look at The Undercover Economist.

 

[Ethan39]

@Kerwin Would you mind if I moved this to the general forum? Time Out isn't browsed as much, and this is a question I feel could be helpful for everyone on UKBF.

 

[Kerwin]

@Kerwin Would you mind if I moved this to the general forum? Time Out isn't browsed as much, and this is a question I feel could be helpful for everyone on UKBF.

Sure. No worries.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

When I started the bank gave me a copy of the "Financial Times book starting a business", we a good read and included many things i would never have thought about, don't know if they still produce updated version, but worth the money of maybe ask the bank if they have and books

 

[Kerwin]

When I started the bank gave me a copy of the "Financial Times book starting a business", we a good read and included many things i would never have thought about, don't know if they still produce updated version, but worth the money of maybe ask the bank if they have and books

Thank you. I'll certainly get that.

 

[Deleted member 356896]

Not a specific book recommendation but a subject. There are lots of books on the subject. Some more detailed than others.

Learn about financial reporting. It’s shocking how many business owners don’t know the difference between a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement or know what their cash flow is.

These financial reports should be monitored regularly to keep an eye on the pulse of the business. As a minimum once a month but potentially more frequently depending on your particular business.

A couple of my favourite business books below.

Business Adventures by John Brooks. Some really interesting tales from the past.

The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. I found this difficult to read but took away some good lessons for running a business. Main one is the difference between a business and a job. So many people think they have a business when all they’ve done is bought themselves a job.

Hope this helps.

 

[fisicx]

I’m not very good with books as my business questions are often specific. But anything to do with marketing basics is good. It’s one of those topics that covers every single part of any business but is poorly understood by many.

 

[Kerwin]

Not a specific book recommendation but a subject. There are lots of books on the subject. Some more detailed than others.

Learn about financial reporting. It’s shocking how many business owners don’t know the difference between a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement or know what their cash flow is.

These financial reports should be monitored regularly to keep an eye on the pulse of the business. As a minimum once a month but potentially more frequently depending on your particular business.

A couple of my favourite business books below.

Business Adventures by John Brooks. Some really interesting tales from the past.

The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. I found this difficult to read but took away some good lessons for running a business. Main one is the difference between a business and a job. So many people think they have a business when all they’ve done is bought themselves a job.

Hope this helps.

Thank you. I could certainly do with improving my financial and accounting knowledge. I'll check those books out.

I’m not very good with books as my business questions are often specific. But anything to do with marketing basics is good. It’s one of those topics that covers every single part of any business but is poorly understood by many.

I'll have a look and see what I can find. Thank you.

 

[fantheflames]

Cool question! I think going Dummies would be a great start. Then looking at books with case studies and the fundamentals first. My personal recommendations are:

• Self Made - The Definitive Guide to Business Start Up Success by by Bianca Miller-Cole and Byron Cole
• The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon
• Build a Story Brand by Don Mille
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek (great fan of Simon's books)

 

[Socio South West]

I got a lot of thought provoking ideas mainly around customer relationships and company culture from 'Delivering Happiness' by Tony Hsieh
Somewhere he went off the rails and met a sad end, but an interesting tale nevertheless.

 

[Kerwin]

Cool question! I think going Dummies would be a great start. Then looking at books with case studies and the fundamentals first. My personal recommendations are:

• Self Made - The Definitive Guide to Business Start Up Success by by Bianca Miller-Cole and Byron Cole
• The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon
• Build a Story Brand by Don Mille
• Start With Why by Simon Sinek (great fan of Simon's books)

I got a lot of thought provoking ideas mainly around customer relationships and company culture from 'Delivering Happiness' by Tony Hsieh
Somewhere he went off the rails and met a sad end, but an interesting tale nevertheless.

Thank you both. I'll check those out.

 

[HFE Signs]

I'm not against books at all and would encourage plenty of reading, however just be careful that they don't distort your own creativity - books are generic, your business is unique

 

[Mattymoomoo]

Beermat Entrepreneur is probably my favourite. I think it is written very well, by someone very competent, who focuses on what matters without the BS. As a word of warning, dont ever meet the guy that wrote it.....It will ruin everything.

 

[SillyBill]

Absolutely none that are essential. Like anything, it is worth always trying to educate yourself so I find some of them useful, but I find I can distil the "lessons" of a book into a paragraph for what an author spreads over 300 pages (clearly a paragraph for £x would be a tough sell). I find a lot of these books frustrating for that reason. I mean "Rich Dad Poor Dad" could be a page long for its message. I've probably read almost every popular one in any case, usually when on holiday so I can pretend I'm still "working" somewhat to make me feel less guilty. I bought a load of marketing ones in January, currently reading the "The Youtube Formula". I think there is a danger for some to be reading them in honesty, I find as an established business owner their use is a "Hm, I never thought of that" and then apply into an existing business model. And to be honest, if I spend £20 on a book and I get one line out of it of use (probably all I do) then its worth the cost in my view. For newbies to business, my advice is less reading, more just get going doing something, don't put authors on a pedestal that are typically more successful in selling books than they are in running companies... my two penneth worth.