3 Must-Read Books If You Want To Start a Business
Many Gen X women use the second half of their life to try entrepreneurship
Whether you're dreaming of turning a side hustle into a full-time venture or launching something completely new, there are three books I recommend to everyone who wants to start a business.
These books deliver real-world wisdom about building a sustainable business that works for your life. They offer practical insights and proven strategies that can save you time, money, and stress if you take their advice to heart.
What are these three books? Keep reading.
1. The Freelancer's Survival Guide by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Don't let the word "freelancer" fool you. The Freelancer’s Survival Guide is a goldmine for anyone starting a business, whether you plan to be a solopreneur or dream of building something bigger.
At nearly 600 pages, this comprehensive guide covers everything from cash flow management to intellectual property. While other business books paint rosy pictures of entrepreneurship, Rusch gives you the straight talk you need.
This is my favorite business book, and for a good reason. I reread it every 12-18 months because its practical wisdom remains relevant no matter how your business evolves.
Rusch does a remarkable job of combining thoroughness with readability. Thanks to her writing skills, even the sections about taxes (yes, taxes!) are engaging.
There's no fluff here. She addresses the real challenges that keep business owners up at night.
Managing Your Time
You might have thought that leaving your 9-to-5 would mean endless free time. Rusch nails it when she says: "When you quit your day job, you feel like you have a limitless amount of time ahead of you... But you lose the job's structure, so often days go by without accomplishing anything."
She then walks you through creating an informal business plan that prioritizes revenue-generating work while protecting your creative energy. Her approach helps you build a schedule that's both productive and sustainable.
Making Smart Money Decisions
Her advice on expenses is delightfully blunt: "You need to evaluate each expense with an eye to getting rid of it altogether. The only standard you have now is this one: Can you run your business without spending that money?"
This mindset shift changed how I viewed business expenses. After reading this section, I cut several "essential" expenses from my budget, including a pricey CRM system and a monthly subscription to stock photos.
Guess what?
The business didn't suffer one bit. Instead, I found simpler solutions that worked just as well without the ongoing cost.
Protecting Yourself
Remember Carrie Fisher signing away her Princess Leia merchandising rights? That decision cost her millions in potential earnings from Star Wars toys, clothing, and collectibles.
Rusch offers practical advice on contracts and negotiations to help you avoid similar pitfalls. She explains common contract terms to look for and provides negotiation strategies that protect your long-term interests.
For example, she explains why you might want to limit the duration of licensing agreements or maintain creative control over how your work is used.
Staying Relevant
One of my favorite insights is about keeping up with adjacent industries. As Rusch explains, "I try to keep up with the recording, gaming, and comic industries as best as I can. Why do I do this? Because I work in the entertainment industry, and I need to keep up on what's going on within it."
This kind of strategic thinking is crucial for any business owner. A marketing consultant might follow developments in AI and social media, while a personal trainer might stay current with nutrition science and wellness technology.
Understanding connected fields helps you spot opportunities and stay ahead of industry shifts.
2. Your One Word by Evan Carmichael
Every new business owner faces a flood of decisions—which opportunities to pursue, which clients to work with, which projects to prioritize.
Without a clear framework for making these choices, it's easy to get pulled in too many directions at once.
That's where Carmichael's concept becomes transformative. In Your One Word, he guides you to find the single word that captures your core mission—whether it's "create," "empower," "connect," or something else entirely.
This word becomes your filter for business decisions, helping you build something authentic and meaningful rather than just chasing every opportunity that comes along.
The power of this approach lies in its simplicity. Instead of wrestling with complex mission statements or trying to please everyone, you have a clear standard for evaluating opportunities.
Does this choice align with your word? If not, it's probably not right for your business.
Finding Your North Star
For example, my word is #read. In my business, this means I prioritize opportunities that promote reading and literacy. It guides everything from the projects I choose to how I structure my services.
When considering a new opportunity, I ask myself, "Does this help more people discover and enjoy reading?"
This clarity simplifies decision-making. Would creating a personal development book club be a good project? Absolutely. A lucrative opportunity to promote video content? Probably not the right fit, even if it's profitable.
Your word might be completely different.
If your goal is to "empower," you might build a business focused on helping others develop confidence and capability. If your goal is to "innovate," you might focus on finding fresh solutions to old problems.
The specific word matters less than how it guides your choices.
Building an Authentic Business
Your word becomes a practical tool for evaluating opportunities and setting priorities. For instance:
Which clients to work with? Choose those who align with your core mission.
How to market your business? Focus on messages that reflect your guiding word.
What services to offer? Develop those that best express your core purpose.
When you're clear about your word, you naturally attract customers who share your values and appreciate your authentic approach.
This kind of authentic alignment creates a natural magnetism in the market. Customers can tell when business owners are genuinely passionate about their work versus just chasing profit.
3. Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell
In a world of automated responses and chatbots, genuine customer service has become a rare competitive advantage.
That's where Jack Mitchell's wisdom comes in. As chairman of Mitchells Stores, he built a network of successful luxury clothing stores by mastering one key principle—making every customer feel truly valued.
While the book is called Hug Your Customers, you’re not literally hugging your customers. You’re creating those memorable moments that transform a transaction into a relationship. Mitchell shows how small, thoughtful actions can build lasting customer loyalty.
Understanding the “Hug” Philosophy
A "hug" is anything that exceeds your customer's expectations.
In Mitchell's stores, this might mean remembering a client's size and style preferences, opening the store on a day off to respond to a customer's emergency, or simply greeting someone by name.
While his examples come from luxury retail, the principles apply to any business—whether you sell services, products, or expertise. The key is making each customer feel special.
Creating Memorable Experiences
Mitchell's approach to service goes beyond basic courtesy. A "hug" can be any thoughtful gesture that exceeds expectations—responding to emails promptly, remembering client preferences, or adding special touches that aren't standard in your industry but make clients feel they're getting luxury treatment.
Whether you run a brick-and-mortar store or an online business, these personal touches matter more than ever. Mitchell shows how treating customers as valued individuals rather than transactions builds the loyalty that sustains a business. His store opened on days they were closed to help customers with emergencies, remembered personal details about their clients' lives, and consistently exceeded the expected service level.
This approach is powerful because it works for any business. You might not sell luxury clothing, but you can apply these principles to create your version of exceptional service. It's about finding opportunities to show your customers they matter—and in today's rushed, automated world, that kind of attention stands out.
Making Service Your Competitive Edge
Having a good product isn't enough anymore—Mitchell proves this through decades of success competing against major retailers.
Your service needs to be noteworthy, remarkable, and worth talking about.
Mitchell’s stores thrived not because they had exclusive products (they often carried the same brands as other luxury retailers) but because they provided service that customers couldn't find anywhere else.
The beauty of this approach is that it doesn't require a huge budget or a large team. It simply requires genuine care and attention to detail—remembering customer preferences, responding personally to feedback, and finding small ways to exceed expectations.
In a world where many businesses are reducing human interaction, this personal touch isn't just nice; it gives you a powerful way to stand out from your competition.
Start Your Business Journey With Confidence
These three books work together to give you a complete foundation for building a successful business.
The Freelancer's Survival Guide provides the practical wisdom you need—from managing finances to protecting your interests. It helps you avoid costly mistakes while building a sustainable business.
Your One Word helps you clarify your mission so every business decision aligns with what matters most to you. This focus helps you build something authentic and meaningful.
Hug Your Customers shows you how to create memorable experiences that turn customers into loyal fans. In today's competitive market, exceptional service can be your most significant advantage.
These books are especially valuable because they focus on building a sustainable business that works for your life. They provide practical strategies for success while helping you create something that matters to you and your customers. Whether starting a side hustle or launching a new venture, these books will help you begin with confidence and clarity.
