5 books for aspiring entrepreneurs

I’m often asked for book recommendations from aspiring entrepreneurs. Rather than write a custom note each time, I’m listing them here. There are many other books I recommend, but these are the top five for aspiring entrepreneurs. If you think there’s another one that I should add to this list, please let me know.

My top five book recommendations for aspiring entrepreneurs are:

1. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It. This is a book about the common myths associated with entrepreneurship. The author reviews the assumptions that get in the way of running a successful business. The book explains the differences between working on your business and working in it.

2. The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business. This is a book about leadership, teams, and culture. The book is a complete guide on how to build a healthy organization from the ground up from meetings to mission.

3. Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You. The number one mistake entrepreneurs make is to build a business that relies too much on them. When the time comes to sell, buyers aren't confident that the company can stand on its own. This book introduces a few ways to build a valuable company.

4. The Mom Test. This is a book about business idea validation. The Mom Test is a way to structure market research conversations so that they lead to facts. The key to good idea validation is asking good questions.

5. The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. This is a book about people and capitalization. Should you go it alone? Or should you bring in co-founders, employees, and investors to help build the business? This book examines the early people decisions that can make or break a startup and its team. The easy decision in the short-term is often the most perilous in the long term.