5 Must-Read Business Books

These tomes have stood the test of time and deliver advice no startup should be without.

Magazine Contributor

February 13, 2009 2 min read

This story appears in the March 2009 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

5 Must-Read Business Books
View the slideshow version of this lineup.

No single business book contains everything you need to know--and some even offer advice nobody ought to hear. But these five have withstood the test of time to become books no one should start or run a business without reading first.

Will It Fly? How to Know if Your New Business Idea Has Wings... Before You Take the Leap, by Thomas K. McKnight
(FT Press, $27.95)
The heart of this book is its 44-item checklist for evaluating business ideas by a hugely experienced veteran of business launches. By the time you've evaluated everything from your personal attitudes to exit strategies, you'll know as well as possible your chances for success.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber
(HarperCollins, $16.95)
This revisit of the 1995 classic on general small-business management famously shows entrepreneurs why and how to stop working in their businesses and start working on their businesses.
Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits From Your Small Businesses, by Jay Conrad Levinson (Mariner Books, $14.95)
Now in its fourth edition, the original guide to small-business marketing packs the same high-impact, low-cost punch that made it a standard when it first came out in 1983. Now, however, it's updated with tips on websites, blogs, podcasting and other up-to-the minute techniques.
The Business Planning Guide, by David H. Bangs Jr.
(Kaplan Business, $24.95)
This book's jargon-free writing and inside tips from a former banker and entrepreneur have made it the first and only choice for countless entrepreneurs getting started.
Start Run & Grow a Successful Small Business, by Toolkit Media Group editors
(Toolkit Media Group, $24.95)
If anyone ever publishes the perfect all-in-one small-business reference, it will look a lot like the sixth edition of this 720-pager. It touches on everything, from accounting to staffing, with checklists and forms.

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