Small businesses have a weird relationship with money. We see it as the only prize we’re chasing, yet we don’t really do a huge amount to manage it.
Partly our education systems aren’t set up to teach us about money from a young age, but also a lot of people are scared about talking about money.
If you want to get better at handling your finances, becoming wealthier and being better with money, read these 6 books.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad, Poor Dad talks about the difference between being rich and being poor. Why some people are rich and why some people never make money.
At it’s core, it talks about paying yourself first. Pay your own future and investments first then pay your suppliers.
It’s easy to read, well written and completely changed my view on money. It sent me on a journey of money discovery, liking to talk about money and understanding what money really is.
Principles
Ray Dalio
I’m a huge fan of “values” or principles to work and live by, and Ray Dalio’s book Principles takes a look (sometimes not a pretty view) at his business, past and his principles that helped him get where he is.
Recently I think Ray and Bridgewater have made some bad choices. But that’s kind of the point of the book. He’s open to the fact that he has made bad decisions in the past and those are often what inform new principles.
Beyond just money management, this book is super easy to read even though it talks about pretty difficult topics.
4 Hour Work Week
Timothy Ferriss
While not strictly a money management book, 4 Hour Work Week does cover a lot about spending and being smart with money as a resource.
It talks about taking what you have and making it go much further than you realise. For example, buying and owning stuff isn’t really what you want. Thinking about what you want to experience is usually cheaper and better for you.
It also talks about making money without working standard operations. 9-5 or pay per hour, isn’t a way to wealth. It teaches how to find a source of revenue which you can control and grow without working day in, day out.
Profit First
Mike Michalowicz
Buy this book. Every book on this list has genuinely changed my life. But Profit First should be mandatory reading for all businesses.
It changed my business over night, from money drain to profitable. It’s full of resources, worksheets and examples to help you turn your business around financially.
Well written, very funny and easy to read, it’s worth picking up right now.
The Richest Man In Babylon
George S. Clason
This was one of the first books on money I ever read. It’s somewhat the Godfather of modern money management. Take 10% of everything you earn and keep it. That’s about the core.
It’s almost a series of biblical stories, or fables, tied together with money at the core. Written in the 1920’s, The Richest Man In Babylon uses stories to explain what happens with money and how to turn your situation around.
Think And Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill
Think And Grow Rich is fast becoming my favourite book. Written in the 1930’s, it’s another Godfather of modern business books.
It’s not a book about money management per se, but it does explain the fundamentals of finding and earning money. That money is like anything else in the world and that if you desire it, it will come.
Have I missed your favourite money management book off my list? Let me know in the comments below.
