The Entourage Summer Reading Guide for Entrepreneurs

As we take in the last few weeks of summer and prep for an ever-busy fall, take some time to relax with some entertaining and educational reads for your business!  There’s no better time to invest in your own business than when you can get a breather from your client work.  The books below are a great resource for new approaches to entrepreneurship fundamentals to run your business by.

Here’s what we recommend:

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, – Hot of the shelves, written by the founders of 37Signals (aka the Basecamp/ Highrise Enterprise)-  A quick read breaking down their rules for success (hint here- Simplify, Simplify, Simplify).  If you are a new entrepreneur and are continually mystified by the corporate nonsense business structure, you’ll appreciate this authentic review of the new way of working.

Review here by Inc. Mag

Tribes by Seth Godin- Forget traditional marketing, authenticity is key and having a tribe of supporters is the best kind of publicity.  The Web has opened new doors to leadership and has presented us with a new way to garner a following of people interested in what we have to say.  Godin’s mantra  (and we would concur)  is that everyone can now find or assemble a tribe and lead it. The tools are there to lead the tribes that are forming from Facebook to Twitter to Craigslist.

Review here by USA Today

Faves for female entreps:

Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility- by Mireille Guiliano, the long-time super-classy CEO of Veuve Cliquot, and the author of French Women Don’t Get Fat. A guidebook for the professional woman on how to navigate the business world and live a well-balanced, happy life.  From acing a job interview or performance review to hosting a dinner party, Mireille tells it like it is (with her french flair!) as she shares her secrets for feeling good, facing challenges, getting ahead, and maximizing pleasure at every opportunity.

The Martha Rules- Martha Stewart (Emily’s favorite!)  Martha’s fundamentals for successful entrepreneurship.  A legendary entrepreneur in her own right, she shares her 10 rules for succeeding in business.  Having turned her personal passion and experience into a multi-market phenomenon the MSLO enterprise is a leader in diversification.  Tapping into her years of experience in building a thriving business, Martha will help readers identify their own entrepreneurial voice and channel their skills and passions into a successful business venture.

Oldies but Goodies:

Rules for Revolutionaries- Guy Kawasaki, former Apple Chief Evangelist.  The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services. Rules lays out Kawasaki’s decidedly audacious (but personally experienced) strategies for besting the competition and triumphing in today’s hypercharged business environment.  Lots of note-taking in this summer read, definitely more product and corporate focused, but relevant to entreps nonetheless.

The E-Myth Revisited- Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work, by Michael Gerber – The original guidebook for running a small business.  Key takeaway here- “As Entrepreneurs we need to focus on working ON our business and not IN our business.”  So many of us start out doing everything in our businesses, when really we should be focusing on being the leader of our business.

Summer Fun:

The Accidental Billionaires- Ben Mezrich  The story of the founding of Facebook (unofficially!) but a great, interesting fun read.