Business Books I Have Read

Since I started working on my business full-time, I have been determined to educate myself in some of the area where I’m ignorant. Part of that is reading books. Here’s my list of business books I’ve read so far, in no particular order. Some are good reads, some are drier and more technically focused, but all of them have at least 1-2 ideas that I can benefit from.
Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Horowitz, Ben

Who  Smart, Geoff

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It Gerber, Michael E.

Making Money Is Killing Your Business, How to Build a Business You’ll Love and Have a Life, Too Chuck Blakeman

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) Harnish, Verne

Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You Warrillow, John

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition Robert B. Cialdini

Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street Brooks, John

On deck, purchased but not read:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Covey, Stephen R.

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses Ries, Eric

In progress:

The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies Holmes, Chet

These ones are more focused on personal development, tangentially business related:

Charisma On Command: Inspire, Impress, and Energize Everyone You Meet Houpert, Charlie

The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism Cabane, Olivia Fox

The 48 Laws of Power Greene, Robert
How To Win Friends and Influence People Carnegie, Dale

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Getting a fax number for your startup or small business

It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally someone will prefer to send us a fax rather than an e-mail. Rather than dealing with the hassle of owning a fax machine, filling it with supplies, and keeping it hooked up to a dedicated phone line, I use  MaxEmail. MaxEmail is a great choice for a startup or small businesses that needs basic fax service. It looks more professional for most businesses to have a fax number on their website or marketing literature  and you won’t be caught out the next time a customer asks for your fax number.

When a customer sends a fax to our MaxEmail number, it ends up as a PDF in my email inbox. I can also view my faxes through their management console.

I use MaxEmail’s “lite” service, which is only $2 a month. You don’t get your choice of phone number or even area code with that level, but does anyone really pay that much attention to area codes on a fax number anyway?

At that price, it’s worth it for my business to have a fax number. The truth is, though, that most of the faxes we receive are spam.

Still, if you need basic fax service, I highly recommend MaxEmail.