10 Books Small Business Owners-operators Must Read in 2023

What should you read in 2023, if you’re a business owner-operator?

Now that you have survived a global pandemic and adjusted to the new normal, it’s time for you to boost your skills and mindset by reading more business books.

Because why else would Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg aim at 50 books per year?

88% of self-made billionaires set reading apart as a beneficial daily habit and dedicate at least 30 minutes per day to books. Besides, people who read at least seven books on business, as a rule, earn 2.3 times more than those who can boast of one book only.

So, we’ve asked several entrepreneurs and managers what business books they’d recommend and prepared a collection of the best books for small business owners who operate it themselves.

Jump to:

• 10 Best Books for Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Owner-operators

  • 1. Zero to One by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters

  • 2. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

  • 3. The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer by Steven Kotler

  • 4. The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

  • 5. Win at Losing: Harnessing the Power of Setbacks to Succeed in Work and Life by Sam Weinman

  • 6. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

  • 7. Emotional Intelligence, 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

  • 8. The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey & Jim Huling

  • 9. The Ten-Day MBA by Steven Silbiger

  • 10. The Three Pillar Model for Business Decisions: Strategy, Law and Ethics by George Siedel

• Wrapping Up: Books for Owners-operators and Smarter Small Business Growth

10 Best Books for Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Owner-operators

1. Zero to One by Peter Thiel & Blake Masters

“Nothing can be better than learning from someone who has real-life experiences, especially from someone like Peter Thiel who co-founded PayPal and worked as its owner-operator.” - Grace Alvarez, Chief Editor at Best LLC Services

In this book for business owners-operators, Peter Thiel joined forces with Blake Masters, his former Stanford student, to tell you that business has no definite rules, because everyone has different ambitions and skill sets and, therefore, does everything differently. But you can always learn from big brands that do it perfectly well.

“The biggest thing the book describes is about being ambitious and never losing the urge to create new things, absolutely new, something that the world needs but lacks. Progress can be achieved in any industry or area of business. It comes from the most important skill that every leader must master: learning to be an innovator.” - Grace Alvarez

Zero to One contains examples of companies that started with little or no money at all and reached sky-high revenues: PayPal, Google, Facebook, and SpaceX.

2. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Source: Amazon.com

It’s one of the best books on business picked for this list by Amy Bos, Co-Founder & COO at MediumChat.

“If you’re looking for a book on how to succeed in business, Rework is the book for you. It will make you rethink your strategy, culture, attitude to yourself and your customers. It helped me start thinking outside the box and looking for fresh perspectives. It gave me a clear understanding why I don’t have to be a superwoman to stay productive all day long and lead a business successfully.” - Amy Bos

One of the book chapters focuses strictly on productivity for business owners. It explains why interruption is your enemy and how you can avoid distractions.

Some other chapters worth mentioning are:

• Hiring
• Culture
• Promotion
• Damage control
• Competitors, etc.

A clear brand strategy can be created even without looking at your competitors, the authors say. No business plans, no excuses. If you have your enthusiasm, you’re set to go.

“Rework is a must-read for SMB owners who are looking for an escape route from the traditional, old-like-the-sea methods in business management.” - Amy Bos

3. The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer by Steven Kotler

Source: Amazon.com

Steven Kotler simplifies the complexities of peak performance and explains how creativity and motivation can lead to unbelievable results.

“Dwelling on the neuroscientific and psychological backgrounds of motivation and creativity, the author hints that these are the two drivers of high performance. And they truly are. For instance, by prioritizing creativity in our family owned business, we exceeded our expectations with creative marketing campaigns (limited-time offers for our garden furniture in summer) and grew sales by 54%.” - Andrew Porwol, Owner at Garden Centre Shopping

This subject of peak performance is spoken about widely, but the author clears up any confusion you may have about how to reach your ultimate peak.

If motivation reshapes your goal setting strategies, creativity can drive growth and increase business efficiency tremendously, according to Kotler.

“This is an inspirational and educational book I refer to quite often and it has found pride of place in my workspace. It’s virtually a playbook for achieving high performance and reaching far beyond your goals.” - Andrew Porwol

4. The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

The Thank You Economy got onto the bookshelf of Brian Nagele, CEO at Restaurant Clicks, in 2011 (right after its release).

“It’s an indispensable handbook for small business owner-operators in the Food & Beverage industry, in the first place. The author himself joined his family’s wine business at the age of 14 and later co-founded a direct-to-consumer wine company, Empathy Wines.” - Brian Nagele

The author offers you to take advantage of the top social networks and follow social media trends so as not to lag behind in the fast-changing world of today. This way, you can boost customer loyalty and trust during one-to-one digital interactions with your customers.

“Gary Vaynerchuk gives the best pieces of advice to business leaders to help them develop customer relationships by implementing humanization and personalization via social channels.” - Brian Nagele

You can also apply Vaynerchuk’s “thank you” economy, when you manage online reviews expressing gratitude and following up every time to check whether the issue has been solved, if it’s a negative comment, for example.

5. Win at Losing: Harnessing the Power of Setbacks to Succeed in Work and Life by Sam Weinman

Source: Amazon.com

Did you know that 20% of businesses fail during their first two years? Based on ThriveMyWay stats, 50% of entrepreneurs never make it to their five-year mark.

“Win at Losing is an invaluable read for anyone who wants to not close down their business before they even started it properly.” - Adam Garcia, Founder of The Stock Dork

Of course, there are some clear signs a business is destined to fail, but should you live with the fear of failure all the time?

“As a business owner-operator, you’re bound to face constant setbacks, because not everything works the way you expect it to. Plus the spirit of fierce, relentless competitiveness that’s so deeply ingrained in our business culture! What you need the most now is some encouragement, and this book will give you just that: countless true-to-life examples to teach you to stop fearing failure.” - Adam Garcia

6. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Source: Amazon.com

What motivates you? What motivates your employees the most?

“Owners and managers of both large and small businesses have been accustomed to the carrots-and-sticks method to reward and punish their workers. But the truth is: it doesn’t work anymore.” - Logan Mallory, VP of Motivosity

Do you use any recognition programs or thank-you notes for employee appreciation?
If not yet, this book will make you reconsider your employee engagement strategy.

“Inspired by Drive, we have stepped into the future of employee rewards with ThanksMatters Card. Employees can now choose how and when they get rewarded and spend their hard-earned bonuses whenever they wish.” - Logan Mallory

7. Emotional Intelligence, 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

Source: Amazon.com

“It’s a guidebook on self-awareness, socialization, emotional spikes and drainages, relationship management, etc.” - George Tsagas, Owner & Founder of eMathZone

Rating it as one of the greatest business books for owner-operators, George Tsagas shares the insights he has taken from it:

“I never bothered to analyze emotions or how they influence behaviors of people. During and after college, I was completely swallowed by the math universe. Computational statistics, formulas, proportions, and other math-related concepts were the only things I could “talk to” without dismay and operate with freely. Until I read Emotional Intelligence, 2.0.” - George Tsagas

8. The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey & Jim Huling

Source: Amazon.com

Do initiatives last long in your company or do they fade away immediately?
What about your goals? Do you reach them easily?

“Some core ideas from the book are: 1) focus only on meaningful and essential goals; 2) measure only influenceable, controllable job outputs; 3) use visible-to-everyone scoreboards for the team to see results; and 4) hold weekly meetings to keep employees accountable for results.” - Jarret Austin, Owner of Bankruptcy Canada Inc.

The authors also suggest using the formula for each goal you set – “From X to Y by Z (When)”:

• X is what you have now
• Y is the desired result
• When (Z) is the deadline or timeframe

However, this formula isn’t enough for getting “wow” achievements. Additionally, you should give due importance to employee engagement.

“For several years already, we’ve been executing our plans applying the four principles from this book.” - Jarret Austin

9. The Ten-Day MBA by Steven Silbiger

Source: Amazon.com

In fact, Daniel Apke, CEO of Land Investing Online, characterizes this book as #1 read for an entrepreneur or small business owner.

“Silbiger’s MBA guide is a must-read for those who want to master the art of entrepreneurship and business administration. In just ten days, you’ll grasp the basics of finances, real estate investment, organizational behavior, and more. Each of the ten days is dedicated to a separate topic: Economics, Finance, Ethics, Marketing, etc. On the tenth day, you proceed to MBA mini-courses.” - Daniel Apke

Steven Silbiger becomes your personal business coach and teaches you how to develop and adopt a more strategic approach to marketing and not only.

His book will also help you decide on the right pricing strategy for your business, once you learn how to assess the financial and economic condition of any business sector, especially now, in the post-pandemic times.

“With The Ten-Day MBA, you can get an A-level business education, without attending any top-ranked business school, and save $150,000 you would typically spend on a university program.” - Daniel Apke

10. The Three Pillar Model for Business Decisions: Strategy, Law and Ethics by George Siedel

Source: Amazon.com

“Written by the Professor of Business Law, it goes in depth about the legal landscape of being an entrepreneur and how a great entrepreneur, apart from making money, should concentrate on such aspects as labor law, governmental regulations in business, intellectual property law, etc. The Three Pillar Model also helps deal with risks and resolve disputes by following the legitimate procedures.” - Mark Pierce, CEO of Cloud Peak Law Group

George Siedel’s three-pillar scheme consists of:

• Strategy
• Law
• Ethics

The book will help you get an accurate picture of employee classification and legal requirements you need to follow when hiring full- or part-time workers, temporary employees, or independent contractors.

“It’s one of the best books for business owner-operators who are eager to lead and operate an ethical business creating value for all stakeholders.” - Mark Pierce

Wrapping Up: Books for Owners-operators and Smarter Small Business Growth

If you remember the statistics mentioned at the beginning of the article, then, perhaps, you have already selected the seven out of ten books every small business owner-operator must read in 2023.

But why should you stop yourself at seven books per year? If you read more, your chances to gain success and profits will naturally be higher. That’s because the game-changing ideas of others help you work smarter, not harder.

Author's Bio
Erika Rykun is a book nerd and editor at Booklyst. When she is not busy reading books, she writes about them.