The Art of Being an Entrepreneur

This lawyer-turned-marketing-consultant and his wife offer terrific advice on communicating, relating and selling yourself. In true Beckwith style, this book is a collection of pithy chapters built around good storytelling. And, yes, you’ve probably heard some of it before, but you probably haven’t heard it in such an interesting way.

Hawken once said, "I believe that most people in new businesses, and some in not-so-new businesses, don’t feel connected to the conventional wisdom... as if a small business is just a flake chipped off the larger corporate world." Happily, Hawken has given us an alternative to standard business fare with this brilliantly wise and useful exploration of bringing an idea to life.

This book will answer your thorniest questions, give you a cornucopia of resources and make your entrepreneurial journey serene. In addition to lots of nuts and bolts, this juicy handbook also has information on green businesses, e-commerce and other Twenty-first Century business building tools.

The subtitle is, "How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything." What more do you need to know?

The War of Art will help you identify — and overcome — the resistance that is holding you back. It’s also my candidate for Book of the Decade. Quite simply, the most profound explanation of resistance that I’ve seen with wise advice for moving past it.

This gorgeous book is designed to help artists think more like an entrepreneur. It can also help entrepreneurs think more artistically. Since the first step to bringing an idea to life is to get it out of your head and onto the page, this guide will show you how to do that beautifully. This award-winning book is a huge favorite with my entrepreneurial friends.

This book has the provocative subtitle "Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future." An insightful discussion of what it will take to succeed in a changing world. Whether you want to be a one-person operation or manage a staff, this is essential reading for understanding the trends that are shaping the future. It might also trigger some right brain thinking as you read.

Marketing That Matters is a refreshingly sane approach to marketing for entrepreneurs who want to make a difference while making a living. Full of great ideas you can adapt from two street smart entrepreneurs.

This Seth Godin title is a collection of the prolific author’s blog postings. There’s not much rhyme or reason to the book, but it’s great fun to read since it’s full of good ideas and examples. It’s the perfect book to grab if you need a bit of entrepreneurial inspiration.

This may be the most readable marketing book ever written because Lynda Resnick has a terrific story and tells it brilliantly. A lifelong serial entrepreneur, Resnick shows us how marketing can be fun, creative—and profitable, of course.