Today, I would like to introduce you (or reintroduce you) to books that have influenced my business and me, and how they have been an active part of growing my business. These are seven motivational and inspirational books that will make you more money. How do I know? I've read them and they've helped me, so I think they may help you. I believe that when you stop learning…you stop to stop earning. I am a HUGE advocate of investing in yourself. Now I am an audiobook guy, but whether you listen or read, there is much to be learned from people who have paved the way to your success!
My 5 Favorite Books
Really, it's five books and then I've got a couple of bonuses. But, let's start off with the first one. It's by Michael Hyatt, and it's called Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Now, Michael Hyatt is an ex-CEO of Nelson Publishers. This book was kind of an inspiration for me to really get online and build platforms. What I mean by platforms is websites, social media, and communication tools that bring people into the fold where you can build your sphere of influence and start to grow your brand. This book is about building a platform which is about standing above the crowd to present your meassage (either politicially or as a speaker). It's a really great book. He's a big Twitter user but he lays out a whole bunch of stuff that I think that you'll really enjoy. So, again, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt.
The second book, and these are not necessarily in the order that I read them, but they're in an order I think is going to help you. The next piece is The Four-Hour Workweek: Escape the 9-to-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss. Now, Tim talks about the four-hour workweek. I think it's an interesting concept, but I don't think it's reality. Tim's secret is leveraging the power of building a team that can step in and do the work for you at much lower rates than you could do. He uses teams of virtual assistants and managers all over the world to get the work done for him so that he can travel and do the kind of things that he wants to do. He's got a great podcast as well. Check that out, it's a great book. It's called The Four-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-to-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss.
The third book, which I think is very inspirational and really kind of lays out a great foundation for anybody's business, is called The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. Now, this book says that most people start a business as a technician and he talks about the technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur. What I mean by technician is I run a website business, right? That's how I started this. So, I was the person actually producing the websites. But, I'm also a manager, because I get to manage projects. That's what I've grown into. I've gotten to the point where, now I can hire people to do some of this stuff. Some of them are virtual assistants, some of them are freelancers. You know, a little bit different, they've got a higher skill set. I use them on a regular basis. And I'm also an entrepreneur; I'm always dreaming of ways of taking this to the next level and that's how I've been able to build the systems in the business that I have today. So, this is a really great book of helping you work on your business and lessen your business. So, again, check it out. It's The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.
The fourth book is by Bob Burg and John David Mann and it's called The Go-Giver. This is a little story about a powerful business idea. This is a business fable about this guy named Joe who's a salesman and he gets to meet this one guy named Pindar, who's a consultant, and refers him to five different people that help him learn lessons about really creating value in business. It's about how to create value that's over and above what other people do. It's about trying to do something where your customers see a difference in who you are and what you have to bring. Now, if you want to learn more about this, I actually interviewed Bob on my Bacon Podcast. Just go to baconpodcast.com and search for Episode 217 – Learning How To Be A Go-Giver with Bob Burg. You can learn more of the details about the principles of the book.
The fifth book that I want to talk about is called The Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. Now, a red ocean is where all the sharks are feeding. The reason it's red is because there's blood in the water because all your competition is going there, fighting each other for the same fish. A blue ocean is where all the people go, all the fish go, where there's not a lot of competition. So, you can feed at will, and that's basically about creating a strategy of a niche. You're trying to create a niche where everybody else is not fighting for the exact same fish or the same business. The blue ocean strategy is about trying to come up with the strategy that helps you have less competition and you actually meet people where they are and solve their problems in a very specific way.
The Culmination…
When you sit down and look at these five books, I mean, the very first one is about getting noticed in a noisy world. It's about creating a platform to get your message out. The second one is about hiring people to help you accomplish what it is that you're trying to do. The third one is understanding about how to become less of a technician in your business and more of a manager or entrepreneur. So, sometimes you actually have to hire to those strengths or hire to your weaknesses. I always say you work to your strengths, you hire to your weaknesses so maybe you need help. The fourth one is a fable about creating a great business proposition or a value proposition that makes you stand out from the crowd. And, the last book helps you figure out a niche that makes you stand out from your competition and provide a very strategic solution to a very specific group of people.
Bonus Books
Now, I would be remiss if I did not add two more books to this list. They happen to be mine.
I think that they fit very, very well into this group. The first one's called It's Not About You, It's About Bacon: Relationship Marketing in a Social Media World. When I first started writing it, it was going to be a how-to book on social media. It turned out the topic became obsolete after the third chapter because social media was changing so fast! What it is really about now is building relationships. I think of social media as a relationship-building tool first. Secondly, it's a content delivery platform. Then, thirdly, it is an advertising medium. If you treat it that way, you're going to build the tribe which helps you build the platform and the respect, and also stay in that blue ocean. You want to learn about how to manage, maintain and grow relationships.
The last one is my most recent book called The Bacon System: Sizzlin' Hot Recipes That Grow Your Business. Now, this book is a complete marketing system that I developed for myself first and then worked with clients and helped them to figure out how to market their businesses with content marketing so they don't have to pay for pay-per-click ads and advertising. It's worked incredibly. As a matter of fact, some businesses have doubled, even tripled their business. But, anybody who's followed the system, who's gone through the class, has read the book and has seen great improvement. The whole purpose of this is a 12-step program that builds upon those relationships and helps you to get your message out there the right way and also in a way that is measurable, actionable, and will help you make more money.
Final Thoughts
You may or may not have your top five or seven business books, but no matter what – keep reading and learning. You may have different business models or client bases, but keep learning, growing and earning.
If you want to learn more about the books above, please visit https://www.baconpodcast.com/7-motivation-inspiration-books-will-make-money/ to get more detail and links to them!
I would love to hear what books you love and why? I am sure you have thoughts and comments on this subject. Comment below and share if you have developed a strategy or system that has helped you grow your business!
To learn more about this and other topics on Internet Marketing, visit our podcast website at http://www.baconpodcast.com/podcasts/
