The 7 books that have had the biggest impact on my business

In my journey as an entrepreneur reading has played an enormous role in forming my mindset and instilling the right habits to grow the business.

I think two must-read books for any early stage or struggling entrepreneur are: 

• The E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, and
• Built to Sell by John Warrilow

Both of them are very quick reads, but can help change the way you think about business; and help you focus on the big picture, rather than your latest client deadline.

For those who have already proven their business model and are ready to take it to the next level I highly recommend: 

• Scaling Up by Verne Harnish

This is the opposite of a quick read. I’ve been working on implementing the frameworks over the past year and a half and I’ve only scratched the surface. But it’s already had a huge impact on my business. It’s an amazing instruction manual for building a great organization.  

I think a key to building a business, is working on your own personal development. To improve focus and personal habits I recommend: 

• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

Essentialism is a great synthesis of many great ideas on how to be effective in life and business, in simple, actionable and easy to read format. It has a lot of the same themes as The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, as well as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covery (which I’ve both also read and recommend). But if you only have time for one in this category I’d go for Essentialism, which is more practical and includes less theory. 

Atomic Habits really dissects how the brain form habits; and how you can essentially hack your habits to become better at everything you want to do.

On the tactical side, if you’re looking for go-to-market strategies, I really recommend: 

• Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestly
• Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller

Both of these books give really clear frameworks to follow to build your marketing and sales engine. 

Of course, just reading these books isn’t enough - you have to apply what you’ve learned in your life and business. Sometimes that’s hard to do on your own. Several of these authors offer coaching programs. Personally, I worked with a business coach in Spain, Juan Antonio Martinez, who offers coaching in English, and it had a huge impact on my business. 

One on one coaching can help you develop the discipline to keep on reading and applying the learnings on your own. 

My pro tip: Load all the books you want to read on your e-reader, and bring your e-reader everywhere. Every time you're tempted to pull out your smartphone, pull out your e-reader instead. With this method I've managed to read 20 to 40 minutes a day for the past year and a half, and blow through my reading list.

What do you think? Did I miss any essential books on my list? Have you been able to implement what you've learned from business books on your own or have you worked with a coach?