10 must read business books for designers
95% of the books I read are not that helpful.
But there are a handful of books that I have returned to time and again as I’ve built my business over the past decade or so. These are the books that have fundamentally shifted my thinking and the way I do business.
If you’ve been in my community for a while you may have heard me talk about a number of these books before, but I have never documented them all in one list like this and I often get asked for book recommendations.
So in this post I want to put together a list of my top 10 must read business books.
These are the books that have most influenced my business progress over the past few years.
1: SHOW YOUR WORK BY AUSTIN KLEON
Key message:
Show your work is a quick read that you will return to over and over.
It will help you understand how to share your knowledge and creative work in a way that you feel proud of. For those of you who are scared to “put yourself out there” this will give you a new framework for how to think about what you share on social media and in other content you create.
The book has lots of practical ideas for how to document your process and teach others.
Tip: Get all the books in this series - they are really quick to read and they are one of my most referred to resources.
2: ANYTHING YOU WANT BY DEREK SIVERS
Key message:
I re-read this book every single year (I actually listen to the audio book and it only takes about an hour or so to get through).
This is one of my favourite and most life changing books.
People spend far too much time doing things they don’t enjoy and following pursuits they have no interest in or that don’t make them happy.
But when you create your own business you get the chance to do things exactly how you want them and build it around the life YOU want and the rules you set. That’s one of the great joys of being a business owner.
This is one of the main things that Sivers teaches in this book.
Another hugely important message from the book is that you should be completely obsessed with your clients. Your job as a business owner is to make the best possible experience, product and service you can. This is how you build a business that not only you can be exceptionally proud of but that people will talk about with others.
If you only read one book on this list make sure it is this one!
3: THINK AND GROW RICH BY NAPOLEAN HILL
Key message:
This is a business and self-improvement classic and a must read in my opinion.
Napolean Hill interviewed and studied numerous self-made millionaires to find out what routines and habits they had that made them successful. In the book he shares a summary of the main lessons he learned from his study.
A core premise of the book is that we are all capable of whatever we set our minds to. If we set our mind on achieving something then we can definitely do that if we are willing to put in the effort, persistence and consistency that it requires.
4: ATOMIC HABITS BY JAMES CLEAR
Key message:
This book got me started on my journey of habit stacking and the pursuit of creating better habits for myself step by step.
I have built lasting change in my life by simple adding small, daily habits bit by bit over a long period. And the compounding effect of small changes has been huge for my life and business.
Habits can compound in good or bad ways. Good habits will cumulate over time to create amazing outcomes whereas bad habits will cause us problems in the long run. Good habits generally require us to make hard choices now for the sake of better outcomes later (e.g. exercising every day). Bad habits generally are the easy choice now but lead to worse outcomes for us later (e.g. drinking alcohol every night).
5: INFLUENCE: THE POWER OF PERSUASION BY ROBERT CIALDINI
Key message:
This is one of the most top recommended business books in the world (for good reason!). Influence is a book about the psychology of marketing and sales and will help you understand the reasons why people say ‘yes’ to what you have to offer.
It teaches you the six principles of persuasion:
Reciprocation
Commitment and Consistency
Social Proof
Authority
Liking
Scarcity
The book then shows you how to apply these concepts to your marketing and sales. It’s not about manipulation - it’s about understanding how psychology influences the choices people make.
6: SUPERFANS BY PAT FLYNN
Key message:
The way to build a successful business in today’s overly crowded world is to create a group of ‘superfans’ - a set of highly engaged, enthusiastic and supportive people who comment on every post you write, chat to you in the DMs and purchase everything you create.
Traditionally superfans were saved for celebrities like movie stars and sports people but every business or brand should be aiming to build a group of superfans who are there for you, no matter what happens.
“Instead of spending money on ads, spend more time on people. Instead of worrying about the latest growth hacks and strategies, worry about identifying and addressing the biggest pains and problems in your target audience. Instead of figuring out how to optimize your conversion rates, figure out the rate at which you’re able to connect authentically with your audience and make them feel special. Fans are important but superfans are everything” (Pat Flynn).
7: DEEP WORK BY CAL NEWPORT
Key message:
This book teaches you strategies for how to work without distraction so you stop doing non-stop ‘busy work’ and instead work on complicated, important projects that will provide you with better long-term results.
If you’re constantly feeling pulled in multiple directions or you’re always distracted and bombarded by notifications and information overload then this book will be hugely helpful for you.
8: THE 5AM CLUB BY ROBIN SHARMA
Key message:
This book helps you understand why 5am is the best time of day (including science behind this), how to actually start getting up at 5am and then how to build a routine around this habit so you can set yourself up for success.
The premise is that if you want to have exceptional results then you have to be willing to do things that 99% of other people don’t do.
I’ve been getting up early (4am for me) for nearly 3 years now and this book was part of my journey towards this life changing habit.
9: BUILDING A STORY BRAND BY DONALD MILLER
Key message:
Getting better at story telling is the way you will connect to more clients and customers and in this book Donald Miller breaks down the elements of a good story and shares one critically important point - your customer is the hero of the story, not you (or your brand/company).
Your clients/customers are looking for someone who can take them on a journey and solve their problems and you need to build trust with them to position yourself as the guide who can help to take them on that journey.
Using a story brand framework the book will also help you create a better website, write better copy and generally learn how to clarify your marketing messages so that people listen to you (and ultimately want to buy from you).
10: REWORK BY JASON FRIED AND DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON
Key message:
A relatively simple business book but full of very practical tips and advice. There’s nothing you perhaps haven’t heard before in this book but it’s put together in a way that you can flip through easily in a few hours and get some solid tips from entrepreneurs who have built a very successful business.
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
