Start Up Book Resources
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Book Resources for a Start-Up Business
Finding the right books to help you start your business is important. If you are starting a product business, try to find books that use product examples, product pricing and product introduction information.
If you are starting a service business you will want to find examples of service business start-ups. There are so many differences between the two types of organizations: the way you will market, the way you will use staff or outside contractors, and the way you will service your customers.
Go to the library and check out the books; peruse them and only read the ones that will definitely help you.
Here is a list of potential books for the start-up owner and a little bit of information about each one. We will add to the list regularly.
Capitalizing on Being Women Owned: Expert Advice for Women Who Have or Are Starting Their Own Business Including Marketing Research, Planning, Government Support, and Tax Breaks
by Janet W. Christ
This book outlines how to find government agencies as target markets, how they can help you, and finally how to analyze them for best results.
The Women’s Business Resource Guide
by Barbara Littman
This book shows you how to begin your business; it gives hundreds of sources for programs, resources, other books and organizations to help you along the way. The chapters include Membership Organizations, and Selling to the Government.
Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up Book You’ll ever Need
by Rieva Lesonsky and the staff of Entrepreneur Magazine
This book outlines every aspect of owning a business from a quiz to find out if you are ready, getting ideas, to naming your business, getting the financial backing, finding your target market, and the help you will need from other professionals.
The Women’s Advantage: 20 Women Entrepreneurs Show You What it Takes to Grow Your Business
by Mary Cantando
The contributors of this book are all women business owners who have taken their small business to million-dollar businesses and it reads as though you were there with them. It is helpful for women attempting to grow their business but also for those starting out or coaches working with women business owners. It discusses things most resources omit e.g. reducing stress, the power of certification, referrals, and having mentors.
Birthing the Elephant: The Women’s Go-For-It! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business
by Karen Abarbanel and Bruce Freeman
This authors of this book believe that the hardest part of starting your own business is getting the right mind set, how to handle emotions, the traits needed and the commitment it takes. It outlines 4 stages of owning your own business and includes real life examples from some famous women business owners.
The Girls Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business
by Susan Wilson Solovic
This author of this book is an example herself, and she outlines the things that women must do in order to grow their business to this level. She advises many commons things likes building a business plan, and keeping customers happy, but she explains how to keep employees, maintain credit lines, and overcoming the gender bias all with an optimistic and contagious attitude.
The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business: Candid Advice, Frank Talk, and True Stories for the Successful Entrepreneur
by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio
This is a lighthearted approach to ‘letting women be women’; it gives all kinds of resources including the benefits and drawbacks to being a women entrepreneur, quizzes, interviews, and charts. The authors write things in a way that is easy to understand and sometimes comical, for instance chapters entitled ‘Being a boss sucks’, and ‘Acting like an adult.’
The Boss of You: Everything A Women Needs to Know to Start, Run and Maintain Her Own Business
by Emira Mears and Lauren Bacon
The authors walk through an entire business sample to follow and make sure to explain how to best use new technology and networking.
Riches to Niches: How to Make It Big in a Small Market
by Susan Friedman
This book shows you how to stand out from other professionals with similar credentials and how to become branded as an expert in your field. I have spoken with Susan by phone, was a guest on her radio show and have read her book. It is an excellent resource for professionals who need to get focused on a niche in order to become well known for something!
Art of the Start: The Time-Tested Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
by Guy Kawaski
Each chapter is starting with what the author calls a ‘GIST- Great Ideas for Starting Things’ and offers comprehensive advice on raising funds and how to get and maintain good employees. This book is simply amazing!
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Blue Oceans are untouched markets that most businesses are not using because they are too busy trying to beat their competitor. This book uses real work examples and a whole new approach to starting a business. To get new ideas, and for thinking out of the box, this is a great book to try.
