There’s an endless supply of business books that come highly recommended from successful entrepreneurs — but which books do you actually need to read? If there’s one thing better than reading the best business books, it’s reading the best business books for where you’re at in your entrepreneurial journey, specifically.

Because let’s face it, there’s no point reading a book about how to ideate and come up with a business idea if you’ve already built a business, or a book about increasing customer engagement if you haven’t secured any customers yet. 

That’s why, in this series, we’re listing five of the best business books every entrepreneur should read according to their startup phase: planning, starting, and growing. First up, the planning phase.

Stage: Planning

“I Need Help Getting My Business Idea Off The Ground.”

Owning your own business: You’ve talked about it, dreamt about it, and scribbled your ideas onto every napkin in town. Now, it’s time to make your dreams into a reality. From funding to product development, marketing, and beyond, these business books can help you turn your business idea into an actionable plan. 

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Start With Why shows that the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way — and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does.

Sinek calls this powerful idea “The Golden Circle,” and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with why. Get inspired to take action with your new business idea with the help of this great read.

Grab your copy.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

This best-seller ignores trends and pop psychology and instead focuses on timeless principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity to help you solve any problem you may face. Before you even think about starting a business, you want to be as highly effective as you can be personally and professionally. Do you feel aligned with the seven habits below? If not, study this book — don’t just skim it — and make a real change.

1. Be proactive.
2. Begin with the end in mind.
3. Put first things first.
4. Think win-win.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
6. Synergize.
7. Sharpen the saw.

Grab your copy.

The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage by Daymond John with Daniel Paisner

The planning stage is the perfect time to read about the story of an entrepreneur who credits his entire wealth to starting out broke. With no funding and a $40 budget, Daymond John had to come up with out-of-the-box ways to promote his products.

Now, with a $6 million brand, John says being broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. Why? Because starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively. Learn how to scrape, hustle, and dream your way to the top.

Grab your copy.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Every single small business owner wants to be more productive. By reading this book when you’re just starting out, you’ll be ahead of the game. Are you ready to transform the way you work and be able to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down? Getting Things Done teaches you how to:

• Apply the “do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it” rule to get your inbox to empty
• Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations
• Plan projects as well as get them unstuck
• Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
• Feel OK about what you’re not doing

Grab your copy.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

One of the best books you’ll ever read related to the key relationships of humans, this book is full of insight and useful tips to be successful in your interactions with others. This is crucial to understand when you’re working on your business idea. Because if you can’t effectively communicate that idea to potential investors, customers, and even your own team, your small business may not achieve greatness.

With this book, you’ll learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment. 

Grab your copy.