Last Updated on July 16, 2023 by Monica Snyder
As an entrepreneur, reading and learning is always on your to-do list but there is always the problem of what to read next! That's why I'm bringing you my top 5 books to help you scale your business.
I've read them all and used teachings from this book to scale my business or my previous businesses (with successful exits).
Each is titled with what I think they are best for, so give this list a scroll, pick one, and start reading!
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When You Want to Scale to Sell
Built to Sell is such a great book because it takes a concept that I'd know for a while… how to systemize… and brought it into reality.
It's told in a story format so it's super fast to read (which I always enjoy).
I particularly love how it talked about the struggles you'll face when you want to streamline your business. How hard it is to take the leap of faith into that one core thing you'll do.
That's what I feel when I try to do this. There is so much uncertainty around if it will work on not. This book helped me realize those feelings are normal and how to get through them.
I'm not looking to sell my business right now but I believe it is always a good idea to build something that could sell. Because that is how you don't create a job for yourself but a company that can run itself.
When You Want to Scale Like Amazon
The Bezos Letters is a roadmap of how Amazon grew into the company it is today. If you want to model anything Amazon does, read this book and start implementing the 14 principles.
Each principle introduced is very well thought out and backed up by what Bezos says in the shareholder letters and also by examples.
I’ve been an Amazon customer since it’s early days and it was fun to read all the stories of the successes and failures. Remember when Amazon tried to compete with eBay? That did not work but it turned out to be the basis of another platform that is working very well today.
It’s also great that each chapter ends with a set of questions that allow deeper thought and prompts action around that principle.
Some principles are simple… like the way Bezos encourages disagreement but commitment (explained in principle seven). I’ve already implemented that and I’m seeing positive change.
Other principles are more complex and will take more time to implement.
I’m excited to see more change in my company happening because of the action I’m taking after reading this book.
Definitely pick it up this book and read it. Even if you just implement one strategy, your company will improve!e
When You Want to Scale Your Revenue
Perry Marshall is a long-time mentor of mine, and in 80/20 Sales and Marketing, he takes 80/20 to the next level – he discovered it's fractional.
I love that this book is filled with practical applications that you can apply no matter what level of business you're in right now.
The most significant impact it had on my business was when I applied the 80/20 fractional rule to my pricing. HUGE impact on my bottom line, and it was pretty simple to do.
Perry calls this the espresso machine and you need one in your business asap if you want to scale your revenue.
When You Want to Scale But You're Stuck
If you're stuck, Bottleneck Breakthrough is where you should turn.
The Bottleneck Matrix breaks down how to get to your next business level a super easy way. I've never seen anything like it. It hit to the heart of the problems that I'm having in my business at the current level and digs right in with actions steps to solve those problems.
The author uses stories that he uses to illustrate his points are amazing! I found myself writing notes about these companies and wondering who they are. I love that he maintained their privacy while still sharing the details of their struggles so that I could learn from them.
I also appreciated how he kindly points out that the problem you think you're having is not probably the real problem that you need to solve. It's so true.
We get so close to our business that we think we know what problem to solve next but taking a bigger picture overview almost always reveals a different picture. Josh's book helps you do that and then leads you down the path to solving the real problem.
For example, one of the biggest a-ha moments I had while reading the book is that I really need to work on my onboarding process. I thought that I would need to focus on getting more people in the door but this book made it clear that I needed to work on getting the people onboarded to my product correctly and keep them around for longer so that I would have the revenue I need to build additional traffic pillars into the business.
When You Want to Scale Based on Data
Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business gets to the heart of a repeatable business quickly and using data.
I love this book specifically because I'm a data geek at heart and I've never seen KPIs broken down like this.
The author shows you exactly how to build a business based on data that matters and how each point of that data has other data that matters.
Then he shows you how to set that the right data points as the driving force for your team's decisions.
There's no fluff here – it's efficient and action-oriented. The part on financial models alone makes it worth the read.
Grab One of These Books to Help You Scale Your Business Today
Let me know in the comments if you read one of these books and what your thoughts are about them!
I'd also love to hear about your favorite books to scale your business!
