For entrepreneurs who are busy in running their own business or newbies who are laying the foundation to launch their startup, it’s impossible to find time to read the business & leadership books published every year. However it is important to take out time and read about the real life experiences of other successful entrepreneurs in order to learn lessons from their journey and saving you trouble and stress.

Since you might not have time to read all that is on the bookshelf, here is our list of some great books that are an absolute must for all entrepreneurs to prepare them for the journey ahead:

1. Zero to One: Peter Thiel

Jeff Boss lists this as a must read book for entrepreneurs in 2015. Zero to One is a book by Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, in which he shares his opinion on startups and innovation. “Zero to One is more conceptual in nature, challenging preconceived notions of startups, or rather: what it takes to create a truly important startup.” Zero to One is book that challenges entrepreneurs to think big and act even bigger.

This is a great book for all first time entrepreneurs offering invaluable advice on things you should consider and things you should avoid.

 

2. The Lean Startup: Eric Reis

Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and author known for pioneering the concept of lean startup movement. In his book, Ries “provides an approach to dealing with uncertainty, which is integral to the success of a new company. It’s often touted by VCs and entrepreneurs as a must-read roadmap for innovation.” [Emmi Martin]

 

3. Rework: David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried

According to Dylan Varian in his article “Rework is one of my favorite books on this list because it’s not really your average business book. It’s all about showing you a smarter approach to succeeding in business and it’s one of the best books I’ve read in the entrepreneurship category.”

Hansson and Fried are the founders of a successful software company, 37signals, defying conventional business models for over 15 years now. In their book they share the secrets to their own success. Their ideas initially may sound counter-intuitive, but as you read you see that they actually do make sense in a weird manner.

 

4. How to Win Friends & Influence People: Dale Carnegie

Learning to deal with people is a very essential part of entrepreneurship, and the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” teaches you how to get good at it. Although around 50 years old, this is one of the best self help books. The book may be old but most of the ideas are timeless.

“How to Win Friends and Influence People is broken into different sections based on subject and offers advice on human relations. While some of his lessons may appear obvious, this book provides relevant insights on how to make people like you more and how to convince people to change their habits or thinking to be more in line with yours.” [Jimmy Rodela]

 

5. Choose Yourself: James Altucher

According to Adam Torren, “If time and money are at the top of your needs list, you’re going to especially love James Altucher’s Choose Yourself. This book is packed with the advice and inspiration every entrepreneur needs to build themselves and their core personal practices up to face the challenges of this lifestyle.”

This is an amazing book. Altucher’s writes like an old friend and his self-depreciating style is raw, honest, and the kick in the pants every entrepreneur needs.

 

6. The E-Myth Revisited : Michael E. Gerber

The book E-Myth was first published in 1985, and revisited a decade later in 1995. Over the years it has been regularly included in many best business books lists. E-Myth Revisited offers very good advice on what mentality an entrepreneur should have in order to create a successful business.

Gerber discusses “that despite entrepreneurs coming up with great ideas, rarely do they make for good business people. To help prevent readers from making fatal mistakes, Gerber presented in an easily understood book an effective business model to guide entrepreneurs at all stages of growth”. [John Rampton]