Top 5 Business Books for Millennials
Despite the hate they get in the media, millennials are actually extremely hard working and entrepreneurial. In fact, there’s a good chance you either are a millennial business owner or know of one.
A recent study from The Center for Generational Kinetics found some fascinating data about millennial business owners. They found that millennials don’t just want to be entrepreneurs, but rather a huge chunk of them already are entrepreneurs.
According to the study, 39 percent of the millennials surveyed have worked in a startup, 30 percent currently own a small business or startup and 26 percent are able to live off their business.
As for millennials who haven’t started their own businesses, about half of them want to and are even willing to quit their day job to do it. That being said, millennial business owners may need to learn some business chops in order to take their ventures to the next level. Below are some essential books every millennial business owner should read.
Four-time New York Times bestselling author Gary Vaynerchuk offers new lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands.
In this lively, practical, and inspiring book, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each.
Having success in business has just as much to do with your mindset as it does with your skillset. In fact, one can argue that your mindset is what really makes the difference. You can have all the required skills in the world, but if you don’t believe you can make money, you won’t.
Enter the self-help classic, “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill. In this book, Hill interviews some of the most successful businessmen of the 20th century to see how they think. From these interviews, Hill came up with 13 principles that can help anyone achieve success not just financially, but in any area of life.
We can’t discuss startups and entrepreneurship without mentioning “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries.
What’s great about “The Lean Startup” is that Ries offers a scientific approach to building a business from the ground up. First, you start by asking the right questions. Then you come up with a viable product you can test. From there, startups can test their vision each step of the way until they bring a product or service to market.
Of course, this is the Cliff Notes version. Ries goes into excruciating detail about what to do each step of the way so new entrepreneurs don’t waste time or money on unnecessary things.
While most people operate with only three degrees of action-no action, retreat, or normal action-if you're after big goals, you don't want to settle for the ordinary. To reach the next level, you must understand the coveted 4th degree of action. This 4th degree, also know as the 10 X Rule, is that level of action that guarantees companies and individuals realize their goals and dreams.
The 10 X Rule unveils the principle of "Massive Action," allowing you to blast through business cliches and risk-aversion while taking concrete steps to reach your dreams. It also demonstrates why people get stuck in the first three actions and how to move into making the 10X Rule a discipline. Find out exactly where to start, what to do, and how to follow up each action you take with more action to achieve Massive Action results.
It’s worth mentioning Brunsun’s most recent book, “Expert Secrets,” which is also worth a read. Like his first book, it’s very straightforward, with practical steps a millennial business owner can implement right away.
This one dives into how to position yourself as an industry leader and how that works in the online space. In a time when everyone is trying to build a brand online, this book really shows you how to stand out in what seems like an overcrowded marketplace.
For example, Brunsun talks about how to carve out a mini-niche within a niche. An example of what that may look like is a business coach who specializes in Facebook Ads. Their overall niche may seem saturated, but their particular specialty is where they can carve out space for themselves.
He also lays out some of the reasons why customers and clients find certain leaders attractive based on common sense marketing principles. All of this is done with the intention of teaching the reader how to become a leader in his or her own right.
“Book Yourself Solid” is probably considered the book on sales for a service-based business. The book walks you through a very basic sales funnel, from getting in front of a prospect to getting them on the phone to closing a sale.
Speaking from my own experience, it was the information in this book that allowed me to quit my job. It was also the book that made the terms “sales funnel” and “systems” finally click in my mind.
In a day and age when it’s easy for a millennial business owner to feel overwhelmed by online marketing tactics, this book can help get back to basics. Just recently, I had my first five-figure launch for a digital product, and much of the sales were a result of the practices laid out in “Book Yourself Solid.”
Comments
Post a Comment