40 High-Impact Books for Entrepreneurs [Giveaway]

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We love to encourage learning here at Shopify. That’s why we started Ecommerce University, and it’s also a big part of what this blog is about. Today we’ve selected 40 books that can help you build, launch and grow your business.

Each of these books offer tremendous advice and value. We've assembled a mix that include classics, likeOgilvy on Advertising, as well as more recent titles, includingMalcolm Gladwell’s latest bookand Ben Horowitz’sThe Hard Thing About Hard Things, published just last week.

As with our previous book roundups, you'll find a link to purchase the books on Amazon with all of the money earned from Amazon's affiliate program going toAcumen Fund, a non-profit venture that supports entrepreneurs in developing countries.


40 High-Impact Books for Entrepreneurs [Giveaway]

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

Anyone who works in tech hears constant references to Steve Jobs. It pays to know the man beyond the quotes on an inspirational poster.


Steve Jobs

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Malcolm Gladwell

Each of Gladwell’s books are riveting. Learn about the success of the Impressionists, the history of the full-court press, and why you should avoid elite colleges like Harvard and Brown.


David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising

Ryan Holiday

Figure out how to adopt the growth hacker mindset and the right way to establish product marketing fit from a guy who’s mastered both.


Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising

The 4-Hour Workweek

Tim Ferriss

If you follow this blog, then you’ve seen Tim’s work. Learn how he went from working 80 hours a week and earning $40,000 a year to earning $40,000 per month and working 4 hours a week.


The 4-Hour Workweek

Poke the Box

Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a legend, and that’s why we’ve picked out three of our favorite works to be included in this list.Poke the Boxis a call to action on the initiatives you’ve always wanted to start.


Poke the Box

All Marketers Are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works – and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All

Seth Godin

Great marketers don’t talk about features or benefits. They tell stories instead. Learn how to craft yours.


All Marketers Are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works – and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All

The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable

Seth Godin

After you’ve seen one brown cow you’ve seen all brown cows. Here how to be an unforgettable purple cow in Seth’s classic work.


The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz

的名字Horowitz seem familiar? It’s one half of Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most respected VCs in the Valley. Ben offers essential advice on founding and running a startup.


The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Jonah Berger

What makes content go viral? Professor Jonah Berger of the Wharton School has spent the last decade figuring out answers. They’re found in this book.


Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is Help Not Hype

Jay Baer

Still concerned with nothing but the bottom line? Let Jay Baer explain why the greatest products aim to be genuinely helpful, not just profitable.


Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is Help Not Hype

Rework

Jason Fried

Jason Fried convincingly shows that most of what we regard as obstacles – hiring staff, dealing with paperwork, renting an office – are simply excuses not to get started. Here’s how to stop talk and to start working.


Rework

Content Rules

Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman

Ann Handley is the first Chief Content Officer in the world. This book is her guide to creating engaging web content and to building a loyal following.


Content Rules

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

Clay Shirky

The web is changing everything. Learn some of the philosophical, economic, and statistical principles behind the change.


Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

Trust Me I’m Lying

Ryan Holiday

Do you want to know how the media really works? Ryan Holiday claims to know how. This is dangerous information.


Trust Me I’m Lying

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries

The concept of the Lean Startup is now a global phenomenon. This is the book that got it all started.


The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company

Steve Blank and Bob Dorf

The Startup Owner’s Manual is a 608-page how-to guide on how to run a startup. If you like charts, graphs, diagrams, and startups, this is the book for you.


The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company

Crush It!

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary V. discovered the possibilities of sales through the internet earlier than many. Here’s his advice on turning your web presence into a personal brand.


Crush It!

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy World

Gary Vaynerchuk

This is Gary’s most recent book, and it’s about mastering social media. Learn how to connect with customers before you make an ask.


Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy World

Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas From the Computer Age

Paul Graham

Paul Graham studied philosophy in college, has painted for most of his life, and was a co-founder of Viaweb. He’s a founding partner of Y-Combinator, and this book outlines his thoughts on the age of the internet.


Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas From the Computer Age

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

The CEO of LinkedIn, and his “Chief of Staff,” offer their thoughts on how to accelerate your career. Here’s how to treat your life along startup principles.


The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Malcolm Gladwell

这是马尔科姆·格拉德威尔的sma的重要著作ll changes can prompt big changes. You’ve heard about it. Now it’s time to read it.


The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t

Jim Collins

Jim Collins profiles major companies including Intel, Coca-Cola, and Merck to discover how they made quantum leaps ahead of competitors. His findings are rigorously presented.


Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t

23 Anti-Procrastination Habits: How to Stop Being Lazy and Get Results In Your LIfe

S.J. Scott

This post could have been written in a fifth of the time if I properly applied the lessons in this book. Pick up this book to learn of them.


23 Anti-Procrastination Habits: How to Stop Being Lazy and Get Results In Your LIfe

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

Richard Fisher

Getting to Yes is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation project, and has been continuously published for 30 years. Not many business books can claim the same.


Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do it

Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban tells his rags-to-riches story, going from selling powdered milk to becoming a multi-billionaire. This book also collects some of his most popular writings from Blog Maverick.


How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do it

The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand

Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio

The best thing about this book is that it’s filled to the brim with full-color images and examples. It’s visual-, not text-based.


The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand

Hooked: A Guide to Building Habit-Forming Products

Nir Eyal

Looking for a product to sell and are open to trying anything? Consult Nir Eyal’s “Hook Model”, a four-step process to build customer habits and learn how to build products that people can’t put down.


Hooked: A Guide to Building Habit-Forming Products

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder

Arianna Huffington

Thrive is Arianna Huffington’s personal quest to understand what it means to be successful. Money and Power are two legs of a three-legged stool. She tells us what she believes is the necessary third leg.


Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder

Ogilvy on Advertising

David Ogilvy

This is the classic written by a co-founder of Ogilvy & Mather. He’s been called the original “Mad Man.” These are his thoughts.


Ogilvy on Advertising

Stiletto Network: Inside the Women's Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business

Pamela Ryckman

Pamela Ryckman discusses women’s groups that are forming in various cities across the country that help to empower them in the workplace. Here’s how she sees the movement.


Stiletto Network: Inside the Women's Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business

The Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords

Perry Marshall

This is one of the most practical book on our list. Learn how to master Google Adwords, which is critical to online marketing.


The Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords

Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing

Lee Odden

This is another super practical work, on how to optimize SEO. If you run a site, then you have to master it.


Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing

Marketing in the Age of Google

Vanessa Fox

Need another perspective on SEO? This is written by the person who created Google Webmasters, and gives you everything you need to know about search rankings and search data.


Marketing in the Age of Google

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

A classic: this book will give you people skills that are useful personally as well as professionally.


How to Win Friends and Influence People

The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness

Jeff Gitomer

This guy wrote the “Sales Bible.” Plus, we all want to know about the 0.5 principle.


The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki was one of the first marketing people for Apple. This is his guide on how to put plans into action.


The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-winning business correspondent for the New York Times. He examines social science evidence to discuss how habits form.


The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

Amber Mac

Amber Mac gives the secret to making social media work for your company: think of your audience as your friends and treat them that way. Learn from her personal experience on building a big network.


Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Tony Hsieh

There’s a lot of things cool about Tony Hsieh and the amazing corporate culture he built at Zappos. There’s no one better to learn from to make your employees more effective.


Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin spent a year trying to be happy. See what happened as she personally experimented on how to be happier.


Entrepreneurship Book Giveaway

Congratulations...

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Shopify book giveaway:

Ven Chag: for her business NOURI Bars – snack bars that are nutritious and help to feed hungry children. Her recommendation for a great book?The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

Thanks to everyone for tweets, thoughtful comments, and especially for book recommendations. You've made this a better list. If you have a business idea that your'e thinking about launching, make sure you check out Shopify'sBuild A Business competition.


Congratulations...

About The Author

Dan Wangis a Shopify Content Specialist studying economics and philosophy at the University of Rochester. Talk to Dan onTwitter.