What books to read?

[Slade]

I have been reading up online about entrepreneurship and lots of different blogs and articles and lots of them say to read as many books on the subject and people you aspire to be like, however I don't know where to start, can anyone recommend some books that I should read?

[Brendan]

Hey Slade,

Great to hear you are starting to research and one of the best ways to do that is to read how other in the past have done it.

I have read a whole heap of books over the past year and some I have liked and some I have hated, but I beleive they have all helped me in a different way to get on the right path.

The first one I recommend I have a love hate relationship with, the book is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki - this was the book that actually made my complete outlook on life change and the way I viewed things.. this I love it for. I hate it on the other hand as some of Kyosaki's ideals are primarily aimed at selling your courses and games, but he does it in a clever way, apart from that It is a great read and really makes you look at income earning and life in a different view.

The second one is, Screw it, Lets Do It - Richard Branson, Although not the best written book in the world, and not the best flow between chapters its a great insight into how really successful entrepreneurs view life, and takes you through the ups and downs of Richard Branson's success.

The Third one would have to be The One Minute Millionare as mentioned in the Pete Willaims interview in our successful Australians section.. Although this books is a little airy fairy with the 'Enlightened Millionaire' approach, they do really hone in on some key issues to generating some great wealth.

Other books I have read are usually Autobiographies of other entrepreneurs who have come from nothing to make themselves extreme wealth, such as Duncan Bannantyne ( BANNATYNE - The Bannatyne Group of companies (http://www.bannatyne.co.uk/) ), Felix Dennis (Felix Dennis Publications (http://www.felixdennis.com/)) Donald Trump etc.. You can really learn a lot by reading how they challenged themselves and overcame obstacles time and time again..

Hope that Helps!

[Brendan]

I was just reading the age online, and came across this article ( The Age Blogs: Enterprise (http://blogs.theage.com.au/enterprise/archives/2008/02/mustread_busine.html) ) which I figured I should post here, the article basically asks exactly the same as Slade has.. and these are the books they recommend in the age..

Meatball Sundae: How New Marketing is Transforming the Business World (and how to thrive in it) by Seth Godin
This is a must for anyone who wants to understand how technology is transforming the way we market our businesses. Godin suggests that too many companies are embracing "new" (online) marketing strategies by trying to use them to implement "old" (traditional) paradigms. It's not that companies aren't quick off the mark to take advantage of what the internet has to offer, but they are stuck in their old ways. He give the example of a not-for-profit that has a database of 500,000 people.

Following their "old" direct mail strategies, they do "email blasts" to their database to appeal for donations. Last year, they raised about $2 million. Godin compares the organisation to Kiva who, after a few months, "generated nearly ten times as much traffic as the older group". He says this is because they have created a "different sort of organisation ... they created a web-based non-profit that could never even exist without the new marketing." Kiva enables people to make direct loans to micro-enterprise entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Ultimately, Meatball Sundae makes you think. It makes you look at companies who are allocating big budgets to online strategies for little return. It also reinforces the fact that smart new marketing doesn't have to cost much. I read it from Cairns to Sydney and by the time I got off the plane, my head was buzzing with new ideas for my business.


Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath
One of the best take-aways from this book is the idea that compelling stories are so much more effective than the most well-researched statistics or expensive marketing collaterals. The Heaths give the example of Subway poster boy Jared, the guy who ate Subway sandwiches and went from 425 pounds (193 kgs) to 245 pounds (111 kgs) in a year. Jared's story and the visual impact of his before-and-after photos are a far more effective concept than "We have 8 subs under 6 grams of fat".

It's like my accountant. Before we embarked on a business relationship, I knew her socially. Of course, I know what accountants do (I used to be one!) but it wasn't until I heard stories about her clients - and how she helped them - that I was sold.


The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
You've heard me talk about this one before. While there are some great ideas in the book, I'm the first to admit that they won't be useful to everyone. However, it may be a useful read to help to you think in a new direction and open your eyes to new possibilities. My tip here is to buy the actual book - not the audiobook, which was my original purchase.

I'm a big fan of audiobooks but The Four-Hour Work Week is so full of different websites and resources that it's much easier to have them in a written reference manual than trying to note them all down while you're listening.

[rosshill]

I've read most of 4HWW and the first chapter of MTS - all good so far :)