10 Best Books for Business Owners to be Successful in 2024

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned one, you have started your entrepreneurial journey with ambition and a plan to achieve that. Once entrepreneurs turn their dream into reality, their journeys become a source of inspiration for others to achieve their goals.

Taking all these factors into account, we present a curated list of the top ten books that will inspire and push you towards achieving your goals:

10 Best Entrepreneur Books for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

• Elon Musk
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• The $100 Startup
• Screw It, Let’s Do It
• The Art of War for the New Millennium
• The Big Billion Startup
• Outliers
• This is Marketing
• The Lean Startup

On our list you will find some of the best books for new business owners, entrepreneurs and for people who want to expand their entrepreneurial horizons.

• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Elon Musk Biography)

The Elon Musk Biography, titled ‘Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future’ is a New York Times Bestseller that has been penned by Ashlee Vance. It talks about the inspirational life of Elon Musk and his eccentric, yet far-sighted vision, by accounting interviews of his friends and family.

The book begins with fascinating instances of Elon Musk’s early years and how he was determined to work for the benefit of the planet. And how his inspirational entrepreneurial journey was inspired by his ventures with Paypal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

Although the book is non-fiction, Elon Musk’s life is nothing short of fantastical and is a book that every business owner should read.

Get your copy for Elon Musk Biography book from: https://www.amazon.in/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/0062301233

• How to Win Friends and Influence People

 ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ is a classic and one of the best books for new business owners. Authored by Dale Carnegie, it narrates his humble beginnings at the farm he lived in and his initial days as a salesman where he sold soap, bacon and lard.

His dedication and skills alone made his small sales territory of South Omaha, the biggest revenue source for for Armour & Company (the firm he worked for).

People like Warren Buffet took the famous Carnegie’s course, which is compiled in this book for every business owner to read and implement.

Get the book from: https://www.amazon.in/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0091906350

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ is one of the best entrepreneur books of the decade that talks about what sets some business owners apart from the others. The book talks about what are the seven habits that all the successful entrepreneurs have in common; with the habit of putting first things first and synergizing being a couple of them.

It is a not just a one-read book but an inspirational manual for every entrepreneur who aspires to make it big. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book that needs to be revisited time and again, during your entrepreneurial journey.

Order your copy from: https://www.amazon.in/Habits-Highly-Effective-People/dp/1471131823

• The $100 Startup

If you are looking for a source of guidance and inspiration that helps you in your a startup journey, ‘The $100 Startup’ is just the book for you. Written by Chris Guillebeau, the book is an engaging and well-researched case-study of about 1,500 people who made more than $50,000 by investing less than $100.

It provides fresh perspectives and insights on how to sell products by adding value so that you earn money as well as customer loyalty. This is one of the best books for small business owners to get insights on how to make the most out of the limited capital.

Get the book from: https://www.amazon.in/100-Startup-Reinvent-Living-Create/dp/0307951529

Suggested Read: Simple Business Ideas During Lockdown

• Screw It, Let’s Do It

If you read Richard Branson books, it’s very likely that this title is there on your book shelf – Screw It, Let’s Do It. It is one of the popular reads among business circles and provides a positive perspective on the lessons of life. This book is considered as the best books for business owners to learn how to rise from difficult times to become successful.

The book talks about 9 key values that has made Richard Branson what he is today. Some of the key takeaways from this book are – do rather than procrastinate and have fun at what you do.

Written in an autobiographical style with each chapter starting with a key lesson, this is one of the best Richard Branson Books that should be on the top shelf.

Get the book from: https://www.amazon.in/Screw-Lets-Do-Lessons-Life/dp/0753511673

• The Art of War for the New Millennium

By Dan Lok & Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ is a book on efficient military strategy written around 500 B.C. and remains relevant even today. Adding to it, Dan Lok, the bestselling author has updated it for the present times, so that it can be applied to the business world, which isn’t much different to a battlefield.

Some of the warfare tactics that the book discusses are ‘changing plans according to the circumstances’ and ‘pondering and deliberating before making a move’. All these points stand true for both war and business.

The book consists of thirteen chapters, with each chapter dedicated to a warfare strategy. All of its lessons can still be applied by small business owners to be victorious in their journey.

Get your copy from: https://www.amazon.in/Art-War-New-Millennium-Dan/dp/1933596570

• The Big Billion Startup

By Mihir Dalal

The Big Billion Startup is a well-researched and accounted story of two individuals, who go on to build India’s largest ecommerce company. The inspirational story is about how Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal started Flipkart as a book-selling platform and how they sold its 77% stake to Walmart.

It talks about how the two IIT graduates conceived and implemented their vision in a small apartment in Bengaluru. In October 2007, Flipkart spread its wings as an online bookstore and as they say, the rest is history.    

The story is an inspiration for those entrepreneurs who are initiating their startup or small business journey. This book falls under the best entrepreneur books.

The book is available online at: https://www.amazon.in/Big-Billion-Startup-Untold-Flipkart/dp/9389109140

• Outliers

By Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell, is of the best-selling writers, and has authored some of the most illuminating books such as ‘Tipping Point’, ‘Blink’ and ‘What the Dog Saw’. His one of his most famous books, ‘Outliers’ talks about how perseverance and practice makes people successful.

Accounting the examples of famous people such as athletes, entrepreneurs and musicians, Gladwell talks about how business isn’t about luck, it’s about working smart and hard. But what makes the book ‘Outliers’ an outlier is that it makes us question the very foundation of what we have been taught about success.

For instance, one of the segments talks about how people who are born in certain months have a higher chance of becoming an athlete. He further explains that people who were born between January to July can influence their circumstances and choices of becoming a hockey player in Canada, a baseball player in the US or a football player in Europe.

Get your copy of this engaging and enlightening book at: https://www.amazon.in/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930

• This is Marketing

By Seth Godin

‘This is Marketing’ by Seth Godin is an eye-opening read that touches various effective marketing techniques such as storytelling, permission marketing and customer engagement. It is an ideal read for a new entrepreneur or owner of a small business. Books like This is Marketing not only provide a different perspective but also learn key business points for entrepreneurs to follow.

One of the best takeaways for entrepreneurs from this book is to focus on values, needs and desires of the consumer rather that imposing your brand on them. It also talks about how the marketing ecosystem is an ever-changing sphere, where your tactics, and approach so be in tandem with the trends or you’ll be forgotten.

In this insightful book, Seth suggests us to repeatedly ask these two questions before making any decision: ‘Who is this for?’ and ‘What is the problem of this solution’.

Get the book from: https://www.amazon.in/This-Marketing-Seth-Godin/dp/0241370140

• The Lean Startup

By Eric Ries

Most of the businesses that start, don’t take flight. ‘The Lean Startup’ talks about how these failures can be prevented if the Lean Startup Method is applied by the businesses.

The concept of what consumers really want and how to identify those quickly is explained in the book. This is the best entrepreneur books, includes the accounts of the author when he was starting his venture, IMVU. IMVU is a 3D social network virtual metaverse where people can meet through their simulated avatars.

The book talks about the systematic approach to measure the milestones for a startup. Eric says that it is the time for innovative startup. If you have a unique concept along with determination, the right timing and a bit of luck, you will be successful. If not, then something is missing.

The book is available on: https://www.amazon.in/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898