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4 Inspiring Books for Entrepreneurs to Read in 2020

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Did you read the books you wanted to this year? Whether you conquered your list or barely touched it, you’re about to get the chance to start fresh.

If you want to be the sort of entrepreneur who stands out from the crowd, it’s important to choose reads that inspire and challenge you. Whether you want to increase sales, learn the art of stress management, or start a new company altogether, books can help you get there. 

1. “The $100 Startup” by Chris Guillebeau

Not every new business idea costs a lot of money to turn into reality. The New York Times bestselling author Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead a life of adventure, meaning, and purpose — and earn a good living along the way. 

Guillebeau explores case studies in which people with no “special skills” discovered how to monetize their personal passions. In each case, Guillebeau shows how the person restructured his or her life to live a life of greater freedom and fulfillment.

You don’t need to be rich or have previously founded a company in order to succeed, Guillebeau shows. All you need is passion, a product or service, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.  

2. “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

In case you haven’t read this classic, add it to your list for 2020. One of the most popular self-improvement books in American history, Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” has sold more than 30 million copies.

Carnegie’s book isn’t simply about expanding your circle of friends. Negotiation, sales, marketing, HR, and leadership skills all get some love within it’s pages. Dig in to learn to close a partnership, take the focus off of price, and provide a better customer experience in 2020. 

3. “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown

Brené Brown, another New York Times bestselling author, is looked up to by leaders everywhere. “Dare to Lead” is a thought-provoking book born from the years Brown spent at enterprises, startups, and companies of every size in between.

What did Brown find? She learned that leaders not just in business, but at nonprofits and civic groups all ask the same question: “How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?”

Courage cannot be built in a single day, or even by reading a single book. Brené emphasizes empathy, patience, and helpfulness as key ingredients for leading workers into an unknown future.

4. “That Will Never Work” by Marc Randolph

Netflix may be a behemoth of a company now, but it has come a long way. This book covers the previously untold story of how Netflix went from a concept to a Blockbuster-beating enterprise.

Marc Randolph, the company’s co-founder and first CEO, is exceptionally open in his telling of Netflix’s history. From early-stage conversations about cash flow to employee disagreements, Randolph walks the readers through his choices in a calm yet amusing style.

Not every entrepreneur will found the next Netflix, but bear in mind as you read this book that Randolph’s company could have crashed and burned. It didn’t because Randolph persevered, took care of his team, and had the courage to ask whether an existing model needed an overhaul. 

Entrepreneurs have no shortage of good read to choose from, but these four are great choices for the new year. Make the most of chilly weekends by curling up in your favorite chair, grabbing a book, and keeping your notepad close at hand. You never know what ideas you’ll stumble upon, or just how much they’ll help your company grow in 2020. 

5 Tips for Making Time for Your Big Goals

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You know just how easy it is to get caught up in the daily grind of life. When you spend all day putting out fires, it’s easy to lose sight of those big, long-term goals.

Although some of those more tedious daily tasks may never go away entirely, you can start organizing your days with time carved out to work on those larger dreams and priorities. Here’s how to do it:

1. Begin with the end in mind.

Steve Jobs famously spoke about prioritizing his daily tasks based on what he would want to be working on if it were the last day of his life. He defined his long-term goals and then made sure that his to-do list was aligned with what he ultimately sought to accomplish. 

How does what you are working on today fit with your big picture goals and priorities? If your tasks at hand aren’t helping you arrive at that end goal, it may be time to scrap what you’re doing and work backwards. Start with those long-term dreams, and figure out what you can do today to ensure you will get there.

2. Organize your tasks based on urgency and importance.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a time-tested method for dividing your to-do list into four categories: urgent and important, urgent but not important, important but not urgent, and neither urgent nor important. 

Prioritize urgent and important tasks to be the first things you accomplish. If you’re able, delegate the urgent but unimportant tasks to someone else, leaving you plenty of time for your important but not immediately urgent items. These items will often include your larger business goals that transcend your daily tasks that can so easily bog down your day. 

If a task is neither urgent nor important, either delegate it, scrap it, or save it for a space in your day when you need a mental break from your main tasks. Re-evaluate your matrix at the beginning of each day to ensure you are focusing your energy and attention on what is most valuable.

3. Schedule everything.

It’s easier said than done, but strictly scheduling your day will boost your productivity and give you the time to work on those bigger goals. You may not be able to avoid all of the more mundane tasks of your day; some of them are part and parcel with running a business. What you can do, though, is to place your tasks on a calendar rather than letting them sit on a simple to-do list.

Account for every minute of your work day. Then, stick to your calendar. If you have constructed it to be a reflection of your priorities, do not let yourself get sidetracked. Own your time. 

When you schedule each of your tasks for the day, you have a defined start and finish time for each item, giving yourself control of your day. That ensures you have time to work on both your necessary daily tasks as well as your big picture goals.

4. Take advantage of your commute time.

You’re a business owner: There’s no way around the fact that you have a lot of work to do. Even after prioritizing your tasks as much as possible, they will still inevitably take up a fair chunk of time each day.

To make as much time as possible to chip away at your big goals, make use of your commute time. If you commute 20 minutes each way five days per week, that’s more than three additional hours of work time.

How you decide to use your commute time will vary based on your situation. Perhaps you can knock out some of those smaller, more tedious tasks: replying to emails, checking your voice messages, or scheduling meetings. Alternatively, you may find that your commute is the perfect opportunity to brainstorm or listen to podcasts that will inspire you to reach those long-term goals. Make your time work for you, even if it is your drive to work.

5. Keep your big ideas visible.

When your whiteboards are covered in sales and marketing metrics, you may easily lose track of what your long-term goals really are. It pays to write down your most important ideas and keep them in a place where you will see them and remember to keep them central each day. 

How you do it is up to you. Hang an inspiration board with quotes and plans in your home office. Put sticky notes on your desktop. Let your big dreams and plans motivate you in the midst of all the small tasks necessary to get there. Don’t lose sight of the end you desire.

Organize each day, and even each hour, with your big goals in view. Work backwards from those goals to choose how you spend your time. As you take charge of each day, watch the future you want becomes less and less distant.

Time Management Secrets from Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and 5 Other Highly Successful People

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Managing and maximizing your time is no easy task. However, who better to turn to than some of today’s most successful people for guidance. By taking a look at some of the tips and tricks that people like Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett have come up with, your one step closer to better time management and higher productivity. However, the time management concepts that some of the world’s highest achievers have created were based on their own schedules and needs. So taking ideas from some of these people is great for inspiration, yet your best bet might be figuring out your own strategies that work best for you and your time. Just take it from Amazon’s Bezos who has his very own meeting philosophy called the “two pizza rule,” which means he won’t attend any meeting that’s too big and that two pizzas can’t feed. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh came up with his own email management method called, “Yesterbox,” where he only responds to emails from the day before. To learn more about these quirky time-saving tricks, here are seven time management secrets from the world’s most successful people.

1. Zappos CEO’s “Yesterbox”

Today, email alone can feel like it’s sucking up most of the work day. And even after responding, deleting and archiving, the idea of “inbox zero” is still far-fetched. When Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh felt this way, he came up with a solution, which he coined “Yesterbox.” Yesterbox is Hsieh’s very own email management system, where instead of trying to tackle everything in his inbox at once, Hsieh only responds to his list of messages from the day before. Unless they are urgent, the rule of thumb is that Hsieh never responds to any of the actual day’s emails.

2. Richard Branson’s “social sweep”

After waking up at 5 a.m. and starting his day with some kitesurfing or tennis playing, Virgin Group billionaire Richard Branson finishes up his morning with a major “social sweep,” where he logs onto his Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts and catches up on news as well as addresses any messages and other activities. “Social media has opened up the world, and given the public the power to really have a say — it’s a wonderful thing,” Branson says. Another great perk of a social sweep, is you take care of it all at once, instead on constantly logging on and off of social media all day long, and becoming distracted.

3. Warren Buffett’s simple approach

Famous billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s approach to time management is as simple as it gets: say “no.” He’s not far off either, because letting yourself get overloaded with work by constantly saying “yes” to new projects and assignments will lead you straight to burnout. According to Entrepreneur, Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.”

4. Jeff Bezos’ “two pizza rule”

The richest man in the world doesn’t have time to waste in meetings. That’s why he has his own meeting philosophy to make sure he maximizes his time. Calling it the “two pizza rule,” Bezos refuses to go to meetings if they are too big. How does he measure this? If two pizzas can’t feed the amount of people that are supposed to go to a meeting, then it’s too big.

5. Basecamp CEO’s 32-hour workweek

Jason Fried, the CEO of Basecamp, offers employees 32-hour workweeks during the summer. “You can get plenty of stuff done in 32 and 40 hours if you cut out all the stuff that’s taking up your time,” Fried explained to CNBC. However, other than summer, employees are required 40-hour workweeks during the rest of the year. Fried also shared to CNBC that his company does not require that any meeting be mandatory, so people can pick and choose the meetings they think they need to attend.

6. Microsoft executive’s laziness approach

Julia Larson-Green, Microsoft’s Chief Experience Officer, admits she’s lazy. In fact, Larson-Green has found a way to use laziness to her advantage. In an interview with Fast Company, Larson-Green explained, “Being lazy makes me more efficient, because I try to find ways that I can do the best work in the most minimal amount of time. I also know that I need pressure to perform, and procrastination is one of the levers for creating that pressure.”

7. Airbnb exec depends on Apple Notes

Airbnb’s Chief Business Affairs and Legal Officer Belinda Johnson attributes Apple Notes to much of her productivity successes. In an article by Fast Company, Johnson explains how Apple Notes help her stay organized and on top of things: “I use it all day long. As I’m going through my email, I’m either taking care of things in the moment or making [an entry] in Apple Notes that I need to deal with it later. At the end of the day, I go through all my notes and make sure I’ve addressed everything.”  

Originally published here.

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