Essential Reading: 7 Best Books for New Business Owners

List of Best Books For New Business Owners

In no particular order, we’ve curated a list of books we believe are essential for kickstarting your entrepreneurial journey and setting you on the path to success. While these books provide invaluable insights, they may not be entirely sufficient on their own. 

• The Lean Startup: Starting With The Bare Minimum

One of the most important lessons I learned from my mathematics teacher, Mrs. Sumner at Batswana Commercial School, was the value of simplicity: “Keep things simple.” This philosophy is especially relevant for new business owners, where overthinking and overcomplicating a venture can lead to overcapitalization and wasted resources. That’s precisely why Eric Ries’s The Lean Startup earns its spot on our list of must-read books for new entrepreneurs.

Ries, a startup advisor, employee, and founder, draws from his own experiences to provide a scientific approach to entrepreneurship. In The Lean Startup, he introduces the concept of starting small and simple, focusing on incremental growth through a process of learning, testing, measuring, and rapidly innovating.

Central to his advice is the idea of “just-in-time scalability.” This involves conducting product experiments without heavy upfront investments in planning and design, allowing businesses to adapt quickly based on real-world feedback. The book emphasizes the importance of actionable metrics over vanity metrics, guiding entrepreneurs toward better decision-making.

Ries also explores the necessity of pivoting—changing direction when circumstances demand it—and highlights the need for a culture of continuous innovation. By fostering an environment that values experimentation, feedback, and adaptation, businesses can become more resilient and successful.

If you’re an entrepreneur in the information technology space or a founder in any industry, The Lean Startup is an indispensable guide to navigating the early stages of your business journey. 

• Side Hustles and Startups

So, you’ve come up with a killer business idea and are ready to turn it into a side hustle or startup. But what’s next? How do you go about turning your idea into a tangible business? This is where Side Hustles and Startups comes in, making it a valuable addition to our list of best books for new business owners.

Whether you’re looking to earn extra money on the side or dreaming of launching The Next Big Thing, Side Hustles and Startups offers practical, actionable insights to guide you through the process. It’s packed with valuable information that will help you take that crucial first step toward a successful venture.

1. Find your passion.
2. Test your idea.
3. Write a business plan.
4. Get funding.
5. Ace your business admin, tax and compliance.
6. Brand and market your business.
7. Manage your money.
8. Set up systems.
9. Build your team.
10. Take care of you

Heavy Chef interviewed South Africa’s top entrepreneurs, side hustlers, strategists, marketers, venture capitalists, and tax specialists to help you get started. With centuries of combined experience, their advice is distilled into bite-sized lessons, offering instant insights whenever you need them. Start up and hustle away!

• Flying Without Wings: Your Take-off Strategy to Business Wealth

Next on our list of best books for new business owners is Flying Without Wings, a must-read for those considering buying a franchise. Franchises are a major U.S. export, with millions of franchisees worldwide.. Some of the biggest franchises in South Africa include KFC, Nando’s, McDonalds, Shell, and Spar. The author, Eric Parker, one of South Africa’s leading entrepreneurs and an expert on business start-ups and franchising, brought together a team of talented people to collaborate with him on a book that is a blueprint on how to succeed in business in the new millennium.

Whether you’re in a large corporation or starting your own business, this book offers valuable insights to help you take control of your career. It covers everything from business planning and finances to legal issues, staff selection, and effective marketing, preparing you for success in today’s fast-paced world.

• 68 Suffocating Entrepreneurial Mistakes: Rookie Business Owner Mistakes Avoidance

A common source of anxiety for entrepreneurs is learning from past mistakes to avoid repeating them, much like studying past exam papers to master potential questions and avoid errors. This is why this book makes our cut. 68 Suffocating Entrepreneurial Mistakes is written by the author of this article. Who is a serial South African entrepreneur, Lebogang Morule. His entrepreneurial track record include Ezilet, Stylux, Cicero, Bookbay, Ketsia Capital Partners, and WANDA.

A book such as this can be of great help to any entrepreneur, regardless of their level of experience or age. Author Lebogang Morule has written an innovative book that seeks to teach you how to stop the cycle of entrepreneurial failures. You will learn how to improve the quality of operational small businesses. He has gathered no less than 68 of the most common business mistakes that make almost everyone pay school fees. 

• The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business

This book, The Entrepreneur Equation by Carol Roth, is essential for aspiring business owners. It helps you evaluate not just if you could be an entrepreneur, but if you should be one. The Entrepreneur Equation  guides you in deciding whether your dreams are better suited for a hobby, job, or business. Roth emphasizes the importance of passion, purpose, and a strong support system, arguing that successful entrepreneurs are driven by more than just financial goals—they seek to make a positive impact. It’s a reality check and toolkit for launching or reevaluating your business.

• Start Your Own Business: the only startup book you’ll ever need

Last but not least on our list of 10 books for new business owners is the book by staff of Entrepreneur Media Inc. called Start Your Own Business. Entrepreneur Media guides entrepreneurs beyond opening their doors and through their first three years of business ownership.

This updated edition provides essential guidance on selecting a business, partnering, securing funding, and managing employees. It also covers the latest tax and healthcare reforms and offers legal advice for business owners. 

• The EntreprneurTist

Next on our list of best books for new business owners is EntrepreneurTist by Goitseona Modisane. The book examines universal principles of entrepreneurship that can elevate your business. The EntrepreneurTist recognises that for the business to become healthy, the entrepreneur must be healthy. The author, 

Goitseona Modisane empowers the entrepreneur to lead oneself and consequently lead the business well, as business starts with self-leadership. This book emphasizes that entrepreneurship is not a one-time event, but an ongoing art and lifestyle. It encourages aspiring and struggling entrepreneurs to stay committed, believe in their ideas, and keep pushing forward, as success will come with persistence.