The Best Small Business Books of All Time (2024)

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber is a crucial read for entrepreneurs, explaining why 80% of small businesses fail and offering invaluable strategies for success. It teaches how to get your business to run without you, using systems and processes, that reduce your work and stress. It shows how to work ON your business, not just IN it.

"The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries is about how to build new startup businesses smarter, using lean and agile methods. It emphasizes launching a Minimum Viable Product, gathering customer feedback with scientific tests, and pivoting based on insights. This approach helps quickly develop valuable products that truly benefit customers.

Traction explains an 'operating system' that can help entrepreneurs achieve more control and organization in your business. Gino Wickman has assembled many practical management tools including: a 10-year vision, a people-grading chart, a data dashboard, a systems documentation method, and 90-day priorities called "Rocks."

Zero to One is about the future of technology and a guide for startup business founders. Peter Thiel is a billionaire entrepreneur and investor that shares many unconventional ideas. He says entrepreneurs should avoid competition. Instead build a (legal) monopoly selling something completely new and incomparable.

The 4-Hour Workweek is about building a passive income business so we can escape the usual 40-hour workweek, and design our ideal lifestyle. Tim Ferris also shows how we can improve our productivity by following the 80/20 rule and a 'low information diet.'

The Millionaire Fastlane is about getting wealthy and retiring in 10 years rather than 40 years. At first the title may sound unrealistic, but MJ DeMarco offers hard-earned business wisdom based on his success making millions of dollars after building a limousine booking website.

$100M Leads by Alex Hormozi is a book about how to increase sales by getting more engaged leads. It teaches us how to create a valuable lead magnet, cold contact people you don't know, build a large audience of followers, scale advertising profitably, build an affiliate program, and much more.