Five Books to Help Start a Business for the Online Entrepreneur
And one notebook.
So many people are making money online these days. You can too.
All you need is a computer, internet access, something to say, a story to tell, coupled with a whole lot of work ethic and tenacity.
The right advice and tools will help you get there.
Here are five books and one notebook — to write down reminders of what I learned from these books — that were game changers for me and monetizing my online business. They can be for you also, especially if you do the work presented inside each.
I refer to them often when struggling with a task I know needs conquering to get me to where I want to go.
High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard
I’m a fan of all of Brendon Burchard’s books, but High Performance Habits is my favorite.
Burchard is the world’s highest-paid performance coach, Oprah was a client, so were a couple of past presidents.
I just came back from an Influencer Event hosted by Brendon that was mind-opening. If he could bottle his energy and sell it, I would buy it.
Burchard’s positivity radiates from his every pore; it’s infectious. His mission — teach how to become successful online, to hone one’s message, and become an influencer. He gives you tools to work on the habits you most need to get ahead of your peers in the online world.
High Performance Habits rated among the top three business books on multiple media outlets in 2017.
It is a well-researched book of high performers who are wildly successful in both their careers and their social life.
Burchard took the top six habits shared by high performers around the world, that made the most significant difference in the highest amount of long-term success. Brendon is a force in life and his books. Burchard is an online master entrepreneur with revenue streams from multiple sources, including subscriptions, e-books, books, coaching, and mastermind group services.
He doesn’t need the money but loves helping people refine their message and find success online. He believes your self worth should never be confused with what the market will pay and has no qualms asking for money in exchange for his advice, products, and expertise. The message he kept repeating at his last summit was, “you have to monetize to sustain your mission.”
Nothing wrong with that!
Expert Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Creating a Mass Movement of People Who Will Pay for Your Advice Peak by Russell Brunson
This is a book for anyone who has an idea to share or a skill set to teach.
Brunson provides tried and tested formulas for selling a skill set you have to offer the world. He believes we all have expertise in some area to monetize with the right techniques.
From ideation to monetization with an emphasis on creating webinars to sell content or a product to subscribers, this book will help any online entrepreneur market their content.
Brunson is an entrepreneur who started an online company while still in college. He sold over a million dollars worth of his products and services from his basement before graduating from Boise State University. He is the founder of Click Funnels.
This book packs in information including marketing and sales advice, along with some of the best advice I’ve ever read about building a tribe interested in buying your coaching services or products.
Expert Secrets is a great book for self-starters, it teaches step by step instructions to refine your message, build your tribe, and monetize your blog with products.
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
We all have a story to tell.
Whether you’re a writer, selling a product, selling yourself, or your online business, you need to have a story and the ability to convey that story with a clear message to your audience with clarity and vision.
This book will help you do that.
This book is an excellent for any idea person.
Most of us are writers. Especially if you’re an online entrepreneur, writing is required, even if that constitutes writing a well-crafted email to a distraught customer. It comes with the territory.
Building a Storybrand will teach you the seven universal story points all humans respond to when reading a story, or reading a story about the product you are selling. It will show you how to best brand your message and your product so that your audience understands it.
You will learn how to create the most effective messaging for your tribe through your blog, website, eBook, monthly subscription, and social media.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
I balked when I was required to read Think and Grow Rich in high school for an economics class.
Now, I recommend it often and reread it once every few years because it is that powerful of a text. It is a classic.
The basis of this book is the Law of Success philosophy. It teaches money-making secrets used by men like Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford, and delves into their growth mindset in terms of generating wealth.
I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs mention this book in seminars, conferences, and lectures. It has inspired people around the world.
Any wealth you can imagine is possible.
It has such a powerful message of mindfulness and intentionality. I think it is the original The Secret before The Secret was published.
Think and Grow Rich has taught so many about the mindset of wealth and success.
This book will show you not only what to do but how to apply the simple techniques for lasting success in all areas of your life, with a concentration on creating wealth. I love this book.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is not only a helpful book for creative people and writers, but it’s beautifully written and packs a ton of useful advice.
I’m guessing if you are starting an online business, then writing is required. If so, this is an excellent book to learn how to write better.
Bird by Bird has been popular for 25 years, inspiring writers, new and old, for good reason.
Not only will you be reading Anne Lamott’s beautiful words flowing on the foundation of her expert structure, tone, and voice, you get advice on what it takes to be a lifelong writer.
This book is valuable for anyone who is a writer or who has dreamed of writing. Lamott makes it clear that if you want to be a writer, then the only choice available is a commitment to the process itself, a just do it attitude.
This is a touching, laugh-out-loud, and tear-up-at-times book about a writer who writes and lives equally well.
The Apica notebook is what I use to take notes after I have finished a book. I copy everything I have underlined into this notebook. It is thin, perfect for note-taking, spiral-bound, college ruled, and cheap. I love it.
Here is some more inspiration.
Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering perfectionist. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.
