Category: business and finance

By Ben Horowitz

A lot of people talk about how great it is to start a business, but only Ben Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run one.

In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology companies to offer essential advice and practical wisdom for navigating the toughest problems business schools don't cover. His blog has garnered a devoted following of millions of readers who have come to rely on him to help them run their businesses. A lifelong rap fan, Horowitz amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs and tells it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, from cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in.

His advice is grounded in anecdotes from his own hard-earned rise—from cofounding the early cloud service provider Loudcloud to building the phenomenally successful Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm, both with fellow tech superstar Marc Andreessen (inventor of Mosaic, the Internet's first popular Web browser). This is no polished victory lap; he analyzes issues with no easy answers through his trials, including demoting (or firing) a loyal friend; whether you should incorporate titles and promotions, and how to handle them; if it's OK to hire people from your friend's company; how to manage your own psychology, while the whole company is relying on you; what to do when smart people are bad employees; why Andreessen Horowitz prefers founder CEOs, and how to become one; whether you should sell your company, and how to do it. Filled with Horowitz's trademark humor and straight talk, and drawing from his personal and often humbling experiences, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures.

By Benjamin Graham (Author), Jason Zweig (Author), Warren E. Buffett (Collaborator)

“By far the best book on investing ever written.” — Warren Buffett

The classic text of Benjamin Graham’s seminal The Intelligent Investor has now been revised and annotated to update the timeless wisdom for today’s market conditions.

The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham, taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing"—which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies—has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.

Over the years, market developments have proven the wisdom of Graham's strategies. While preserving the integrity of Graham's original text, this revised edition includes updated commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, whose perspective incorporates the realities of today's market, draws parallels between Graham's examples and today's financial headlines, and gives readers a more thorough understanding of how to apply Graham's principles.

Vital and indispensable, this revised edition of The Intelligent Investor is the most important book you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals.

By Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko

The incredible national bestseller that is changing people's lives -- and increasing their net worth!

CAN YOU SPOT THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR?

Who are the rich in this country?

What do they do?

Where do they shop?

What do they drive?

How do they invest?

Where did their ancestors come from?

How did they get rich?

Can I ever become one of them?

Get the answers in The Millionaire Next Door, the never-before-told story about wealth in America. You'll be surprised at what you find out....

Top MBA programs reject more than 80 percent of the applicants.

When trying to beat the tough business school competition, how do you know what will get you fast-tracked to the "yes" pile (or the dreaded "no" pile)?

No insider is better suited to set you on the right track than Chioma Isiadinso, a former Harvard Business School MBA Admissions Board Member and the founder of Expartus, an admissions consulting firm specializing in helping candidates get into the top MBA programs. The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets is the ultimate collection of insider advice, direct from one of the country's toughest admissions boardrooms.

Centered around the concept of branding yourself, Isiadinso covers all the essential topics you need to master to stay ahead, including:

Understanding the admissions criteria
Essay essentials
Resumes and professional records
How to nail the interview
Critical mistakes to avoid
And much more

No other business school admissions advice guide can claim this level of authority. The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets is sure to give you the edge you need to shine in the eyes of admissions boards everywhere.

By Josh Kaufman

If you want to master the art of business, you don’t need to go to business school. You do need to learn the fundamentals of modern business practice:

How to make good business decisions.
How to maximize your personal productivity.
How to manage uncertainty and ambiguity.
How to conduct intelligent experiments to improve your results.

The Personal MBA is designed to help learn the art of business on your own terms. Instead of mortgaging your life to go to business school, it’s possible to dramatically increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with little cost – without setting foot inside a classroom.

With a little time and effort, you can easily learn these skills on your own, without eye-popping tuition and student loans.

Understanding the fundamental principles of business will give you essential tools you can rely on to make good decisions. If you learn these critical concepts, you’ll be in the top 0.01% of the human population when it comes to knowing:

How businesses actually work – in practice, not theory.
How to evaluate new business ideas: what really matters, and what doesn’t.
How to start a new business from scratch.
How to improve any existing business, whether it’s a solo venture or a Fortune 500 corporation.
How to use business-related skills to accomplish your personal goals.

The Personal MBA explains fundamental, universal business concepts like:

The Iron Law of the Market: Why every business is limited by the size and quality of the market it attempts to serve – and how to find hungry markets just waiting to be served...
10 Ways to Evaluate a Market: Some business ideas are better than others. Before you quit your job and invest your life savings, you should know how to evaluate new business ideas before you begin. There are ten critical factors you need to consider...
The 12 Standard Forms of Value: There’s more to business than products and services. There are actually twelve different ways to create value for your customers. The most successful businesses combine several...
The Pricing Uncertainty Principle: All prices are malleable. Raising your prices is the best way to dramatically increase your business’ profitability - if you know how to support the price you’re asking...
4 Methods to Increase Revenue: There are only four ways for a business to bring in more money. Do you know what they are?

True leaders aren’t made by business schools — they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to succeed.

Read The Personal MBA, and you’ll learn the principles it takes most business professionals a lifetime of trial and error to master.

By Darren Hardy

No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, presents The Compound Effect, a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.

By George S. Clason

Beloved by millions, this timeless classic holds the key to all you desire and everything you wish to accomplish. This is the book that reveals the secret to personal wealth.

The Success Secrets of the Ancients— An Assured Road to Happiness and Prosperity

Countless readers have been helped by the famous “Babylonian parables,” hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth. In language as simple as that found in the Bible, these fascinating and informative stories set you on a sure path to prosperity and its accompanying joys. Acclaimed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of—and a solution to—your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime. This is the book that holds the secrets to keeping your money—and making more.

The Richest Man in Babylon Read it and recommend it to loved ones— and get on the road to riches.

MORE THAN TWO MILLION BOOKS SOLD

By Robert T. Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert's story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his "rich dad" — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.

By Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is a guide to success by Napoleon Hill, which was first published in 1937 following the Great Depression. It was immediately welcomed as an antidote to hard times and remained a bestseller for decades. Many people still find its philosophy of positive thinking and its specific steps for achieving wealth both relevant and life-changing. Hill contends that our thoughts become our reality, and offers a plan and principles for transforming thoughts into riches, including visualization, affirmation, creating a Master Mind group, defining a goal, and planning.