9 Must-Read Books to Prepare Entrepreneurs for 2021
Be as ready as you can be for whatever the next year holds.
By Peter Daisyme •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The events of 2020 seemed to catch the entire world by surprise, and there's no reason to think 2021 will be any different. If entrepreneurs want to survive whatever comes next, they'll need to start preparing now.
One of the best ways to do so is through reading. New books are published every day containing cutting-edge insight into how businesspeople can best prepare for the future — here are some of the best.
1. Solving the People Problem: Essential Skills You Need to Lead and Succeed in Today's Workplace by Brett M. Cooper and Evans Kerrigan
At the heart of being a great entrepreneur is the need to be great with people, and Solving the People Problem helps budding business tycoons do just that. In order to run a great business, leaders need to be prepared to bring together a diverse group of people, and this book goes a long way in teaching the basics of how to do so.
2. Crawl, Walk, Run: Advancing Analytics Maturity with Google Marketing Platform by Michael Loban and Alex Yastrebenetsky
Anyone who has grappled with Google Marketing Platform will immediately understand the title of this. You need to have a firm hand on the basics before you can take your next steps. Crawl, Walk, Run takes the reader on a journey through each phase of the learning process, ensuring that everyone who buys it walks away fully prepared to market like never before.
Related: 6 Books That Helped Me as an Entrepreneur
3. Courage to Lose Sight of Shore: How to Partner with Private Equity to Grow Your Business with Confidence by Kelley W. Powell
Founding a successful company is one thing, but knowing how to grow it properly is something else entirely. Kelley W. Powell has had a lifetime's worth of experience in achieving sustainable company growth, and Courage to Lose Sight of Shore is a perfect distillation of the knowledge she has accrued.
4. Own Your Career, Own Your Life: Stop Drifting and Take Control of Your Future by Andy Storch
It's probably why you became an entrepreneur in the first place — to take control of your life, once and for all. Andy Storch has long understood that feeling, and his book Own Your Career, Own Your Life is an infectious statement of empowerment for all looking to finally mark their territory as an individual as much as an entrepreneur.
5. Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out: The Catalyst's Guide to Working Well by Tracey Lovejoy and Shannon Lucas
A word of warning: This book is not going to be for everyone. Tracey Lovejoy and Shannon Lucas have created a call-to-action for the movers and shakers of the business world. Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out. is a validating text for everyone who's ever been told that they press too hard or go too far — attitudes that will be necessary for forging ahead in the coming months.
6. More Good Jobs: An Entrepreneur's Action Plan to Create Change in Your Community by Martin Babinec
No entrepreneur is an island. Every one is a part of a local community, and his or her success has a lot to do with the opportunities that exist in this local economy. Rather than wishing your community was more conducive to startups, More Good Jobs teaches you how to become an active participant in creating this change, opening the doors to more opportunities, wealth and fulfillment in the process.
7. A CEO Only Does Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite by Trey Taylor
Being a CEO is no easy task, but broadly speaking, the duties fall into merely pillars: culture, people and numbers. That's it. In A CEO Only Does Three Things, Trey Taylor brings an important perspective to the conversation around the responsibilities a business leader has. The book serves ultimately as a how-to for navigating both the good times and bad as the leader of a dynamic organization.
Related: 7 Books for Maximizing Life Satisfaction During Uncertain Times
8. Get Rooted!: Growing People and Companies Through Change by Stacy Henry
As 2020 has proved to us all, change is coming whether we want it to or not — all that we can do is prepare for it. Get Rooted! is Stacy Henry's guide for seeing change not as a hindrance but as an opportunity. Sometimes change is exactly what a business needs to thrive, and this book can show you how to harness it.
9. The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You: Follow Your Own Path, Discover Your Own Journey by Simone Knego
Being a great entrepreneur isn't just crunching the numbers and holding meetings; it's also about understanding what kind of person you are and how you can play to your own strengths. The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You asks you to discover the person at the heart of your entrepreneurial persona and learn more about what that means for your business.
Every entrepreneur's journey will be different, but drawing on the experiences of others never hurts. Take the time to learn about what your next move will be. It may be the biggest one you ever make.
