Reading is one of the best ways to learn. In fact, even Bill Gates reads a book a week. So if you’re looking to grow your business and maximize your profits in 2021 then why not learn from the experts? From business plans to marketing strategies to productivity secrets: here are four books every small business owner needs to read.
- Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
- Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy
- Marketing Made Simple by Donald Miller
- The One Thing by Gary Keller
Living Forward
Most people don’t take the time to plan out their lives. They’re even less likely to make a business plan.
And that’s a huge mistake.
Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy helps you get the life and the business you’ve dreamed of.
It encourages you to identify what your goals are for your life — and your business — and helps you design a plan to achieve them.
The Life Plan, as Hyatt calls it, works as a road map. It doesn’t just help you reach your destination, it makes sure you don’t get lost.
The challenge for most people is the tendency to DRIFT on by. They react to life instead of being proactive.
The same is true for small business owners.
If you just put your head down and focus purely on the service you offer, then you cannot expect your business to grow.
There is so much more to it than just buying and selling products.
You need to be intentional about putting a business plan in place and then following it.
Living Forward will help make sure you’re set up for success.
Marketing Made Simple
So many companies risk losing out on sales because they don’t know how to market their business.
Enter Donald Miller’s Marketing Made Simple.
This book does exactly what the name suggests. It uses Miller’s StoryBrand framework and gives you the foundational tools you need for successful marketing.
Learn how to design a website, build a sales funnel and generate leads even without any previous marketing experience.
The best part about the book is it includes a list of examples so you have a better idea of what a successful marketing campaign looks like.
To quote Miller’s other work, “it’s not enough to build it and expect them to come. You have to invite them.”
Businesses thrive because they learn how to make and manage money effectively. But you can’t do that effectively without first attracting customers.
Marketing Made Simple will help you establish your brand and generate leads.
The One Thing
Sometimes as business owners, we bite off more than we can chew.
So we end up dividing our time into too many projects.
We want to work in the business, we want to attract more customers and we want to boost our bottom line.
And when we try to do all those things at the same time — we fail to get anything done.
The One Thing is about focusing on — you guessed it — one thing at a time.
How? By learning when to say “no” and adopting Dave Ramsay’s snowball effect (which is also a fantastic way to destroy your debt).
That means prioritizing the easiest task on the list and only moving onto the next one when you’re finished.
The book also goes into a lot more detail about how you can build willpower, decide what projects you should prioritize and how to create more freedom in your personal life.
Order this book today and learn to grow your business one step at a time.
Bonus Book: Profit First
What? A profit first professional can’t recommend Profit First?
Look, there’s a reason this is one of the books every small business owner needs on their reading list.
You can have a growing business and still not see the returns you deserve. Why?
According to author Mike Michalowicz, the conventional accounting formula is wrong.
Traditionally, your profit is what is left behind after you subtract your operating expenses from your total revenue.
Sales – Expenses = Profit
Instead, flip that formula around and take out your profit first.
Sales – Profit = Expenses
Seems simple enough right? Michalowicz says it’s based on psychology.
According to the primacy effect humans tend to prioritize the first thing we see on our to-do list.
So by putting profit first you eventually make it a habit and then your top priority.
As a result, you learn how to get the same things done for less money and wind up with more take home in your pocket.
And it works.
Profit First has helped tens of thousands of business owners finally pay themselves what they deserve.
Partner with a Profit First Professional
So there are four books every small business owner needs to read.
We highly encourage you to buy Profit First for yourself. But as a certified Profit First Professional we help you streamline your success with expert support when you need it.
We’ve helped dozens of naturopathic doctors like you enjoy healthy profits from their practice and we even have a free guide to help you get started.
Schedule a call today and get the freedom and financial reward that comes from a profitable business.