70 Must-Read Books For Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero
I love books and I buy at least 5 - 10 per week!
Ever since I was a young child I’ve been a skimmer and a reader.
Over the years I’ve developed quite a library of books and as ebooks and love the heft and feel of a “real book.” I remain a traditionalist when it comes to books. I don't really like ebooks unless I print them off and have them bound at the local printers.
However as much as I love modern books, my real passion is searching for and collecting rare and first edition business-oriented books; the same books that have paved the way for so many of today’s successful entrepreneurs and business owners. Authors like Napoleon Hill, John Caples, David Ogilvy are a few that immediately come to mind.
I believe every entrepreneur should have his or her own success library. In case you are looking for new additions, or need a reminder of what you may already own, I want to share a list of 70 books that have my personal recommendation for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to learn from the very best.
You’ll notice this list leans towards many of the classic books that you’ve may have already read, which is further evidence that “success leaves tracks”. The most successful entrepreneurs I know all have read the classic books listed below.
In the event you have not read these classics, I suggest you seek them out immediately.
You’ll also see I’ve listed certain authors multiple times and other authors only once (even though there may be other books from them I would recommend). Again this only comes from necessity to keep this list manageable and relatively short.
I hope this list generates some new, must-read books for you or reminds you of a few dusty books sitting on your shelves you may want to pull off and re-read. I would also love to hear your comments and additions to this list, so leave a comment below!
1. Jay Abraham - Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got
2. Richard Bayan - More Words That Sell
3. Richard Bayan - Words That Sell
4. Harry Beckwith – Selling the Invisible
5. Harry Beckwith - The Invisible Touch
6. Harry Beckwith - What Clients Love
7. Richard Benson - Secrets of Successful Direct Mail (Classic)
8. Drayton Bird - Common Sense Direct Marketing
9. Robert Bly - Business to Business Direct Marketing
10. Robert Bly - Copywriters Handbook
11. Bob Burg - The Go Giver
12. John Caples - How to Make Your Advertising Make Money (Classic)
13. John Caples - Tested Advertising Methods (4th Edition) (Classic)
14. Robert Cialdini - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
15. Robert Cialdini - Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
16. Robert Collier - The Robert Collier Letter Book (Classic)
17. Jim Collins - Good to Great
18. T. Harv Eker - Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
19. Michael Gerber - The E-Myth Revisited
20. Jeffrey Gitomer - Little Red Book of Selling
21. Jeffrey Gitomer - The Sales Bible
22. Malcolm Gladwell - Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
23. Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point
24. Bill Glazer - Outrageous Advertsing That’s Outrageously Successful
25. Rene Gnam - Direct Mail Workshop
26. Seth Godin - All Marketers Are Liars
27. Seth Godin - Permission Marketing
28. Seth Godin - Purple Cow
29. Herschell Gordon Lewis - Sales Letters That Sizzle
30. E. Haldeman-Julius - The First Hundred Million (Classic)
31. Denny Hatch - 2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success
32. Denny Hatch - Method Marketing
33. Denny Hatch - Million Dollar Mailings
34. Napoleon Hill - Grow Rich With Peace of Mind
35. Napoleon Hill - The Laws of Success (Classic)
36. Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich (Classic)
37. Richard Hodgson - The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time
38. Claude Hopkins - Scientific Advertising (Classic)
39. Joe Karbo - The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches (Classic)
40. Dan Kennedy - No B.S. Guide to Business Success
41. Dan Kennedy - No B.S. Guide to Sales Success
42. Dan Kennedy - No B.S. Guide to Time Management
43. Dan Kennedy - The Ultimate Marketing Plan
44. Dan Kennedy - The Ultimate Sales Letter, 4th Edition
45. Robert Kiyosaki - Rich Dad, Poor Dad
46. Julian Lewis Watkins - The 100 Greatest Ads (Classic)
47. Michael Masterson - Ready, Fire, Aim
48. Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm
49. Ted Nicholas - Billion Dollar Marketing Secrets
50. Ted Nicholas - How to Turn Words Into Money
51. Ted Nicholas – Magic Words That Bring You Riches
52. David Ogilvy - Confessions of an Advertising Man (Classic)
53. David Ogilvy - Ogilvy on Advertising (Classic)
54. Raleigh Pinskey - 101 Ways to Promote Yourself
55. Steven Pressfield - The War of Art
56. Nido Qubein - Stairway to Success
57. Rosser Reeves - Reality in Advertising (Classic)
58. Robert Ringer - Action!: Nothing Happens Until Something Moves
59. Robert Ringer - Winning Through Intimidation
60. Jim Rohn - The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn
61. Maxwell Sackheim - Billion Dollar Marketing (Classic)
62. Maxwell Sackheim - My First Sixty Years in Advertising (Classic)
63. Victor Schwab - How to Write a Good Advertisement (Classic)
64. Eugene Schwartz - Breakthrough Advertising (Classic)
65. Steven K. Scott - Mentored By a Millionaire
66. Bob Stone - Successful Direct Marketing Methods (Classic)
67. Joe Sugerman - Advertising Secrets of the Written Word
68. Joe Sugerman - Triggers
69. Donald Trump - Think Like a Champion
70. Zig Ziglar - Secrets of Closing the Sale
Remember, this is just a partial list of what I have. You should have your very own library and read and use it often.
All the best,
Dr. Carney