Top 50 book Recommendations for Coworking Space Owners, Community Builders, and Entrepreneurs

One of the most challenging yet exhilarating parts about being an entrepreneur is what I like to call, wading through obscurity, which is when you’re in the process of creating something new. For me, the process of creating something new always starts with a feeling of something I want, or something I think would be helpful for my community. Personally, that process can often take a long time, and one of the things that I’ve found most helpful in allowing me to refine those thoughts is turning to books. Whether it’s paperback, hardcover, or audiobook, it’s always helpful to hear about the solutions that other men and women have come up with for their particular challenges.

Below is a list of my top 50 book recommendations for coworking space owners, community builders, and entrepreneurs.

Ecosystem/Community Building

1. Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City – Brad Feld
2. The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future – Steve Case
3. Innovation Blindspot: Why We Back The Wrong Ideas – And What To Do About It – Ross Baird
4. The Launchpad: Inside Y Combinator – Randall Stross
5. Makers & Takers: The Rise of Finance and the fall of American Small Business – Rana Foroohar
6. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community – Robert D. Putnam
7. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters – Priya Parker
8. The Coming Jobs War: What Every Leader Must Know About The Future Of Job Creation – Jim Clifton
9. Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier – Edward Gleaser
   

Building your business

1. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business – Gino Wickman
2. Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field – Mike Michalowicz
3. Blue Ocean Strategy: Beyond Competing – Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Seize New Growth – W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne
4. Clock Work: Design Your Business to Run Itself – Mike Michalowicz
5. Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKR’s – John Doerr
6. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses – Eric Rise
7. Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t – Verne Harnish
8. Expert Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Creating a Mass Movement of People Who Will Pay for Your Advice – Russell Brunson & Robert Kiyosaki
9. The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business – David S. Rose
10. Hug your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results – Jack Mitchell
11. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement – Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Jeff Cox
12. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine – Mike Michalowicz
13. Do More Faster: TechStart Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup – Brad Feld & David B. Cohen

Personal Development

1. High Performance Habits: How Extaordinary People Become That Way – Brendon Burchard
2. Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results – Drew Boyd & Jacob Goldenberg
3. Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth – Samuel Chand
4. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity – David Allen & James Fallows
5. Be Obsessed or Be Average – Grant Cardone
6. The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone – Fredrik Eklund & Bruce Littlefield
7. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol S. Dweck
8. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything – Joshua Foer

Inspirational Entrepreneurs

1. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future – Ashlee Vance
2. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike – Phil Knight
3. Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
4. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller – Ron Chernow
5. The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World – Randall Stross
6. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story – Arnold Schwarzenegger
7. When I stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man – Jerry Weintraub & Rich Cohen
8. Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon – Robert Kurson
9. The Accidental billionaires: The Founding of Facebook – Ben Mezrich

Marketing Books

1. This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See – Seth Godin
2. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen – Donald Miller
3. Hacking Growth: Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret – Raymond Fong & Chad Riddersen
4. Growth Hacker: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising – Ryan Holiday