Here are 100 books that Joy of Agility fans have personally recommended if you like
Joy of Agility.
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I joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 and by 2015 I was a Sergeant who had made all the same financial decisions most service members make…tattoos, alcohol, cars, chasing tail, etc., and had a negative net worth to show for it. Then I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and the light came on. I started buying houses, and by 2021 I exited the military as a financially free millionaire and spend my time helping service members and veterans learn how to build wealth. The military is one of the best places to set yourself up for success, and these books will help you get started on that journey!
Profit First is a banking system that accounts for the inevitable human error of “ooh, there is money in my account, I can afford that”.
This book helped me set my businesses up so that I was actually able to keep some of the income that was coming in from them, rather than continually getting to the end of the month and wondering where the revenue I had generated went.
This is a must read for self-employed and small business owners, and a solid read for personal finances too!
Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.
Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by…
I'm the Founder and CEO of Intertech, an IT firm I started over 30 years ago. I've written three books and more than 100 articles on business, leadership, and technology. Intertech has won over 50 awards for growth, workplace best practices, and employee engagement including being named one of the Best 30 Employers in Tech by Fortune Magazine and one of the Top 10 Consulting firms in America by Consulting Magazine.
I learned from Verne firsthand at two separate multi-year courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that were held for high-growth entrepreneurs.
In Scaling Up, he lays out what needs to be done at different stages/sizes of an organization to move to the next level. Like the other books I've recommended, he provides candid advice and practical ways to implement the ideas outlined in the book.
Winner of the International Book Awards for General Business
Winner of the Readers' Favorite International Book Award for Non-Fiction Business
It’s been over a decade since Verne Harnish’s best-selling book Mastering the Rockefeller Habits was first released. Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) is the first major revision of this business classic which details practical tools and techniques for building an industry-dominating business. This book is written so everyone — from frontline employees to senior executives — can get aligned in contributing to the growth of a firm. Scaling Up focuses on the four major decision areas every company must get…
I’m passionate about Sales with Soul because being sold to is awful. I’m passionate about leaders, by title, actually leading and it bugs me when the balance between getting work done and caring for the human is out of balance. There’s an elegant way to do both, and as someone who struggles with that concept, I have embraced my struggle and put frameworks and systems around the concept and teach it. We host clients, colleagues, and peers on our Rev Shots show to bring our content and discussions to life and share with our audience. I hope you enjoy the books and content as much as I have!
For every business owner, there’s the question of scale. I never wanted my company to be big. Our purpose is to make the world a better place and we can’t do that if we’re spread too thin; we’d lose our personal touch.
This book gave me ideas to use and wording to use to stay small and excellent in our craft; which was a huge salve to my heart.
How maverick companies have passed up the growth treadmill — and focused on greatness instead.
It’s an axiom of business that great companies grow their revenues and profits year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing great customer service, making great contributions to their communities, and finding great ways to lead their lives.
In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen remarkable…
Hermann Simon is a world-renowned expert on price and profit management. He is the founder and honorary chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, the global leader in price and topline consulting with 1700 employees and 41 offices worldwide. He is the only German in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame of the most influential management thinkers. In China a business school is named in his honor. Profit is at the core of Hermann’s writing and consulting activities.
This book is very basic and aimed mostly at small business owners or readers who are interested in the fundamental mechanics of profit. It’s a hard-hitting book and controversial, e.g. with recommendations such as, “Never pay your vendors on time. Wear your control-freak badge with pride.” It shows that many little things influence profit and should be observed. Useful for start-ups and readers with basic economic knowledge. The obsession with profit as the only priority is, however, somewhat exaggerated.
Now more than ever, business owners need a reality check. As we see the economy flattening and businesses struggling to stay afloat, "Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing" is a wakeup call for the 23 million small businesses across America who need to get their business fundamentals in order. George Cloutier reveals 13 no-nonsense, tough-love maxims that small businesspeople may not want to hear at first, but will thank him for in the end. Among his controversial (yet proven!) ideas are: forget teamwork, micromanage like crazy; pay raises are over; fear is the best motivator; and, if your business…
When I went back to school for my MBA, I was looking for a way to apply the passion I’d found for changing lives for a better world. Studying business started my journey toward founding Velentium, a medtech engineering firm, in 2012. The pandemic was a make-or-break season for every industry, medtech included. We were determined to do our part, but were faced with an unprecedented challenge: boost the world’s emergency ventilator production from hundreds per month to thousands per week—in just 28 days. We succeeded—and it was a spiritually moving experience. I wrote28 Days to Save the World in hopes of inspiring other organizations to punch above their weight class like we did.
Lencioni’s latest work gave words to inner frustrations that I’ve felt my entire life. Six Types of Working Genius finally gave me permission to admit that I’m not tenacious! As a leader, I need to lean into the geniuses I have and build a leadership team that complements me and shores up my weaker areas. And, I need to do the same at every level of my organization.
This book will be key to leaders for years to come, giving them the tools they need to build and grow teams that will be more enthusiastic, more energetic, and more effective than ever before.
New York Times best-selling author Patrick Lencioni unveils a truly groundbreaking new model that will change the way we think about work and teams forever.
The 6 Types of Working Genius is the fastest way to help people identify the type of work that brings them joy and energy, and avoid work that leads to frustration and burnout.
Beyond the personal discovery and instant relief that Working Genius provides, the model also gives teams a remarkably simple and practical framework for tapping into one another’s natural gifts, which increases productivity and reduces unnecessary judgment.
I’m Heather Smith and I love writing. I love Accounting and AccounTech. I gratefully sit at the Ikigai inflection point, where my profession, passion, vocation, and mission intersect, and I can use my explanation skills to empower others in the accounting industry. Ikigai is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. Believing Accountants don't save lives, Accountants save livelihoods; I use my superpower of explanation to educate the accounting profession about accounting technology and modern accounting practices. I do this through many channels including my latest book Xero for Dummies, 5th edition.
This book provides entrepreneurs with a practical, user-friendly guide to understanding their businesses' numbers. Being a Chartered Accountant, I often see entrepreneurs who have the drive, ideas, and passion for their businesses, but fall short when it comes to the numbers. I recommend this book to anyone who is working to create a business they love but needs a little help with the numbers. With no jargon, and easy-to-follow guidance, you'll discover how you can grow your business.
Break free from the 'time for money' treadmill and build a business that works for you!
Too many business owners work too many hours for not enough pay. They don't have time or the energy for family, friends, hobbies and relaxing. If they don't work, they don't get paid. You may think you own a business but, if these points ring true for you, chances are you actually own a job.
In The Profits Principles Steven Briginshaw draws on his vast experience as a chartered accountant and business mentor to show exactly what you need to do to...
I’m Heather Smith and I love writing. I love Accounting and AccounTech. I gratefully sit at the Ikigai inflection point, where my profession, passion, vocation, and mission intersect, and I can use my explanation skills to empower others in the accounting industry. Ikigai is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. Believing Accountants don't save lives, Accountants save livelihoods; I use my superpower of explanation to educate the accounting profession about accounting technology and modern accounting practices. I do this through many channels including my latest book Xero for Dummies, 5th edition.
Della has a way of simply explaining what’s practically needed to run a modern practice. Like Della, I’ve built a modern practice and she has laid the steps to start and thrive in a clean and easy-to-follow manner. Hudson's writing style is engaging and accessible, making it easy to understand and apply the concepts presented. With personal anecdotes and asides littering the narrative, the book reads like a quiet meeting between friends over a nice cup of tea. Overall, The Numbers Business is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to build a successful cloud accounting practice.
This is the manual every qualified accountancy professional needs to read before setting up their own practice. Having applied her corporate experience to building a modern cloud accountancy practice, Della Hudson presents her road map to help you to do the same. Here, she shares her hard-earned knowledge so that other accountancy professionals can grow their own successful, scaleable and even sellable businesses. This book is a road map that will help a qualified professional to: start a successful business from scratch with no personal or business contacts; move from the kitchen table to an office space; recruit and train…
I know it's kind of weird, but I have been fascinated by the world of direct-response marketing ever since I first saw the full-page ads in the "newspapers" my grandmother loved to read (The National Inquirer and the Weekly World News). Those ads fascinated me because, at first, I thought they were stories in the newspaper. That was my first exposure to the work of the brilliant Eugene Schwartz. I used to check our mail so I could grab all the "junk mail" that everyone else threw away because that's the only mail I wanted to read. That's why I became a direct-response copywriter.
I have read this book five times, and every time, I feel as if I picked up a new epiphany or distinction about how to launch (or relaunch) a business online. Over the years, I have paid the author, Jeff Walker, tens of thousands of dollars to attend his in-person training and seminars.
I can hardly believe how many of his "secrets" he reveals so openly inside a $27 book. It really does teach how to sell almost anything online, how to create huge “profit events”, and how to do it with excellence and integrity.
The only guide you'll ever need to achieve online marketing success. With new chapters offering fresh information, you'll find all the insider tips in one place.
The revised and updated edition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Launch will build your business - fast. Whether you've already got an online business or you're itching to start one, this is a recipe for getting more traction and a fast start.
Think about it: What if you could launch like Apple or the big Hollywood studios? What if your prospects eagerly counted down the days until they could buy your product?…
I used to hate lifestyle businesses, looking down my nose at them, saying (as many others do!) that they weren’t realbusinesses. After a “lightbulb moment,” I now proudly describe myself as an ambitious lifestyle business owner – someone who designs their business around their lifestyle, rather than the other way around. Work to live, not live to work! As well as Big Ideas... for Small Businesses, a bestselling book about how to build a lifestyle business, I also host the Ambitious Lifestyle Business podcast, where I interview other lifestyle business owners, discovering how what an ambitious, lifestyle business looks like for them.
Bigger isn't better – at least not when it comes to lifestyle businesses.
The “Company of One” mindset is very similar to my own “Ambitious, Lifestyle Business”: deliberately small, and designed to deliver the lifestyle desired by the owner, rather than growth at all costs. It doesn’t necessarily mean one person (personally, I run a Company of One with a team of seven).
There is only one “rule” for a Company of One – you must constantly question the need for growth. People say you should start with the end in mind. I say start with the lifestylein mind, and then design the business around this.
Company of One will help you do this from day one (and believe me, that's far easier than changing old habits!).
What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale a new start-up, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours, and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better - and smarter - solution is simply to remain small? This book explains how to do just that. Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth. Not as a freelancer who only gets paid on a per piece basis, and not as an entrepreneurial start-up that…
I love building businesses. I’ve built several businesses, ranging from a one person consultancy to a venture-backed tech company to an 8-figure marketing agency to a managed HR marketplace to a virtual memorial services company. The only thing I love more than building businesses is building and helping create new entrepreneurs. These books have helped me tremendously in my journey and I hope they help you as well!
Built to Sell is the perfect parable that taught me how to build a scalable business with processes and predictable revenue. I read it, I shared it with our leadership team, who all read it, and then we built and sold a company for 8 figures. Whether or not you plan to sell your company, this is the most important book for all entrepreneurs to read.
Most business owners started their company because they wanted more freedom—to work on their own schedules, make the kind of money they deserve, and eventually retire on the fruits of their labor.
Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because their business relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless.
But the good news is that entrepreneurs can take specific steps—no matter what stage a business is in—to create a valuable, sellable…
