Do you need motivation to start your entrepreneurial adventure? We share 5 books that will help you learn about starting great businesses and that will inspire you.
2 minutes of reading
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Biography of one of the brightest minds in marketing. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers tells us about his life, his beginnings, his travles through India that allowed him to have a closer contact with nature and that appreciation for art and simple things that was later reflected in the products they developed. The book also tells about his personal struggles, how to start a business from scratch, recruiting talent, and how he conveyed his vision to others. He was a person with many facets, very creative, very hard on the workers and who finally led them to be able to create products that not even they thought they were capable of under the motto “Think Different”.
- Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Autobiography of the founder of Nike – at the beginning Blue Ribbon- who started the company with $50 dollars that he borrowed from his father and that today bills more than 30 billion in sales. He tells us about his love for athletics and the need he found in the absence of quality shoes. It is a super motivating book where you will learn about the humble beginnings of the company, the difficulties they went through, the way in which they created the purpose and branding of the company. Also, Phil Knight talks a lot about chasing our dreams, working hard, believing in our ideas and remember: Just Do It!
- The Virgin Way by Richard Branson
If you want to start a business but you don´t know whta, then this is the book for you. Richard Branson is an Englishman who was never good at studies; however, in business he has proven to be very clever. In his school days he started his first business and in the following years he founded several companies under the Virgin Group, a name he gave it because he considered himself and the group as virgins in business.
In the book you will learn a lot about entrepreneurship, taking risks, creating organizational culture and how to compete against larger companies in different fields from soft drinks to aerospace. It reminds us that the secret to success is making employees happy. His mantra: Listen, laugh and lead.
- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
Elon Musk, born in South Africa is the founder of Paypal and currently the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, Hyperloop and many more companies that are pointing to the future. He is a born innovator, so in this great book you will be able to learn more about the training, personality and path that Elon Musk had to become the well-known businessman he is today. But not everything was easy, the book also recounts the adversities he has had to overcome.
Can you imagine learning about space engineering in a self-taught way or leading 3 companies from different fields at the same time? If you want to know how Elon Musk does it, we recommend this book.
- No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
The owner of Netflix (Reed Hastings) tells us about the corporate culture they have within the company. Can you imagine working somewhere without having vacations policies or an expense policy? In Netflix there are none as long as they help to grow the business.
Netflix is a company that adapts it´s culture according to the country and is very open to receive constuctive feedback from collaborators. With this organizational culture, they have managed to attract very talented professionals (in addition to giving them the best salaries in the market) who have helped improve the company. Hastings closes with the phrase “the roles of the CEO is to lead and not control”
We know that the process of starting a business is complex and that is why we wanted to share with you these 5 books that will be very helpful. If you have a project in mind or a business in operation and you need help, do not hesitate to contact us at josesalmon@t-nomads.com
