The Mom Test
Everyone, even your mom, will say your idea is great. How to ask questions that reveal the truth.
“I want to build my own business”
Start something of my own
Thinking of starting a business or side project? These books help you test ideas, take smart risks and build something that lasts.
- 27 books that help
Start with these
The three books we'd hand you first.
The E-Myth Revisited
Michael E. Gerber
Work on your business, not just in it. Why small businesses struggle, and how systems set you free.
The Innovator's Dilemma
Clayton M. Christensen
Why well-run companies fail when new technologies arrive, and the theory of disruptive innovation.
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Build, measure, learn. Test ideas quickly and cheaply before betting everything on them.
More books that help
Building a StoryBrand
Make your customer the hero and your brand the guide: a seven-part framework for clear marketing messages.
Contagious
A marketing professor explains six principles that make ideas, products and messages spread.
Profit First
Take profit first, then pay expenses from what's left. A simple cash system for small businesses.
Rework
Ignore conventional business wisdom. Short, punchy essays on starting and running a calm, profitable company.
Shoe Dog
The candid story of building Nike, from selling shoes out of a car to a global brand, with every near-disaster along…
Show Your Work!
Share your process, not just your results. A short, illustrated guide to building an audience by being generous.
Start With Why
People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. How purpose inspires loyalty.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Honest advice on the hardest parts of running a company: layoffs, crises and leading when there are no easy answers.
This Is Marketing
Marketing isn't hype or spam. It's the generous act of helping people solve problems, starting with the smallest viable…
Traction
The Entrepreneurial Operating System: six components to run a small business with clarity and accountability.
Zero to One
Real progress means creating something new, not copying. Contrarian ideas on startups and the future.
$100M Offers
A practical guide to creating irresistible offers by increasing perceived value, not cutting prices.
Built to Last
What made some companies endure for decades: core values, big goals and a culture that preserves the core while…
Company of One
Growth isn't always better. Build a business that's small, resilient and designed around the life you want.
Crossing the Chasm
Why new products that excite early adopters often fail with mainstream buyers, and how to cross the gap.
Financial Freedom
A practical guide to reaching financial independence faster by earning more, saving aggressively and investing.
Good to Great
What turned good companies into great ones? A research team's influential, and debated, findings.
Measure What Matters
The goal-setting system behind Google's growth: Objectives and Key Results, explained by the investor who brought it…
Pitch Anything
A dealmaker's method for pitching ideas by controlling 'frames' and keeping attention.
Purple Cow
Advertising is losing its power. The only way to stand out is to build something remarkable.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Learn the difference between assets and liabilities, and money starts to make sense. A best-selling mindset book.
The $100 Startup
You don't need much money to start a business. Stories and steps from people who started with very little.
The 4-Hour Workweek
Rethink work so it funds your life instead of consuming it. A bold, controversial guide to lifestyle design.
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Tell us a little more about what you're facing and how you like to read.