I am a serious book reader. I pride myself on reading at least 25 new books a year to learn the latest information about running a successful small business. 
When you are first launching your small business I believe it’s best to plan for 12 months before you start. During that time there are many things you will need to do to get ready – including developing a life plan, saving money, networking, joining industry organizations and reading as much as you can about the business of running a business. Below are some of the best start-up business books I have read. They could be a great resource for you, too.
Start Your Own Business, 4th Edition (Entrepreneurial Press, Revised 2007) by Rieva Lesonsky — While I don’t agree with the author in that this is the only book you’ll ever need, it is one book that you should have in your business book library. This book is extremely useful to a newcomer starting a business. Rieva Lesonsky was at the helm of Entrepreneur Magazine when she and her fellow editors wrote this book on small business start-up. Start Your Own Business is a best-selling book now in its fourth edition; it has helped thousands of people start their own businesses
What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (Kaplan Publishing, 2004) By Jan Norman — What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business is practical business advice from over 101 real-life entrepreneurs who have “been there, and done that.” It is designed for people who are launching a business, whether they are first-time entrepreneurs or people who need to re-group and do it right this time. Norman combines practical, straightforward how-to advice with interesting and memorable stories.
The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge: Using Your Ambition, Independence, and Youth to Launch a Successful Business (Princeton Review, 1999) By Jennifer Kurshell — I’ve read The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge twice at different stages of running my numerous businesses. This book is not only “informative,” but it provides humorous and enlightening stories from the front lines of starting a business before you have much of a professional track record. Being a young entrepreneur is possible, but it takes many of the specific tactics that she lays out in this thoroughly researched book. Everyone can learn from this book!
The Successful Business Plan, 4th Edition: Secrets and Strategies (The Planning Shop, Revised 2008) By Rhonda Abrams — The Successful Business Plan is a thorough small business planning book. She leaves no stone unturned in the planning process. This book also helps you sort out your thoughts and feelings about why you are starting a business which is critically important. If you are someone who wants to use a book to write your business plan, instead of software, this is a great resource.
Tell me about the best small business start-up books you have read and how they helped you.
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Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works! will be released by Adams Media in March 2010.
For more tips on how to start or grow your small business visit http://succeedasyourowboss.com and subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog.
thanks for the great post melinda. A few other books I recommend are “how to be a billionaire” (ambitious but hey you have to aim for the stars), the entire kiyosaki series (great primers for employees wanting to shift to entrepreneurship but resulting the pull), and from acorns to oaks.
I’ve read The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge and did find it inspirational
thanks for the time, chris
Great article and recommendations.
I would add Peter Church’s book The Added Value – the life stories of Indian Business Leaders. Definitely a must read for everybody in the corporate world.
http://www.amazon.com/Added-Value-stories-Business-ebook/dp/B009PMPKZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355983142&sr=8-1&keywords=authorzilla