Regardless of what stage you’re at with your business, sometimes all it takes is a bit of inspiration, motivation or actionable advice to help you take it to the next level.
Throughout the years, I’ve regularly listened to audiobooks to help me overcome certain obstacles or to help me achieve my goals. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy books, but you can’t beat the convenience of an audiobook to help you continue learning while at the gym or even while doing chores around the house.
In no particular order, here is my list of the 11 best audiobooks that all current and aspiring entrepreneurs should check out.
1. Crushing It! – Gary Vaynerchuk
How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, with Crushing It! being his fifth major book release.
In this audiobook, Gary provides important insights into how to master current major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat to help you build your personal brand. The audiobook provides helpful examples of influencers and entrepreneurs who have mastered these platforms to build profitable and thriving businesses.
While Crushing It! Provides a roadmap to professional and financial success, Gary cautions that the sole purpose of this book is not about getting rich, it is about providing the steps to help you live life on your terms.
I really enjoyed Gary’s no-BS approach to his writing. If you want to build your social media presence to boost your online business, this is one of the best audiobooks to help you do it.
2. 24 Assets – Daniel Priestley
Create a Digital, Scalable, Valuable and Fun Business That Will Thrive in a Fast Changing World.
Daniel Priestley is a successful entrepreneur with experience building, growing, and selling businesses throughout the world.
Daniel builds on his experience in this audiobook to show you the 24 different assets that each business needs to be scalable, profitable and a fun place to work over the long-term.
This audiobook taught me the importance of spending time, money and effort building assets in my own online business that will provide value for years to come while helping strengthen my brand.
I can’t recommend 24 Assets enough – it’s very close to the top of my list of the best business audiobooks available.
3. Content Machine – Dan Norris
Use Content Marketing to Build a 7-Figure Business with Zero Advertising.
In Content Machine, Dan Norris provides a strategy for building a 7- figure business with little to no advertising spend (Dan grew his own WordPress support business from zero to $1m AUD per year in just two years, with total advertising spend of only $181.23).
If like me, you’re interested in leveraging the power of content marketing to help grow your business, this audiobook will teach you not only the steps you need to take, but it will also provide you with helpful frameworks and downloads to guide you through the process of creating content which will resonate with your customers and help you stand out from your competition.
4. Unscripted – MJ DeMarco
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship.
In Unscripted, MJ DeMarco builds on his experience of being a successful entrepreneur to show you that a better life can exist. Dream house? Check. Saying goodbye to an annoying boss? Check. Earning more while you sleep than you did in an entire week at your last job? Check.
DeMarco argues that you were not born to be a wage slave, trading your best years for the promise of future freedom (retirement) which may never arrive, and he shows you how to say no to what he calls ‘scripted’ reality. You’ll learn why conventional thinking is such a problem in the pursuit of success; what lies you’ve been told which serve to keep you questioning your mediocre existence, and what is truly possible when you open your eyes and see things for how they really are.
My favorite part of Unscripted is the detailed framework which MJ DeMarco lays out which will help you build a business that will truly earn you freedom, both in terms of time and money.
Unscripted is one of the most motivational audiobooks that I’ve ever listened to. I don’t just view it as one of the best business audiobooks available, but rather one of the best audiobooks full stop.
5. The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses.
The Lean Startup audiobook outlines a scientific approach to starting and running a business in a bid to help reduce the large proportion of new businesses which fail.
Instead of worrying about business plans, Eric Ries recommends a strategy which favors testing various approaches and assumptions to help minimize the risk of a founder’s next steps in a business being their last.
The Lean Startup audiobook is packed full of practical advice which I’m in the process of implementing in my online business. Eric uses plenty of stories and examples to get his point across which I particularly enjoyed.
6. The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.
Did you know that more than 80% of businesses fail within the first five years? Author Michael Gerber puts this down to some common myths while people believe when it comes to entrepreneurship – for example, that because you are great at a particular technical skill, then you’ll also be great at running a business that revolves around that skill.
Michael argues that believing in these myths will negatively impact how successful you or your business will become.
Although it is based on an older book (first written in 1986 and then revised in 1995), I found this audiobook hugely valuable because the lessons inside are still so profound today. The E-Myth Revisited covers each of the steps from starting a business to ultimately making it succeed, and teaches us that the core ingredient is systemizing the business to ensure it is not so reliant on you or your staff.
If you’re looking for one of the best business audiobooks available, one that will help you build a stronger business in the long-term as a result of making smarter decisions, then you can’t go wrong with The E-Myth Revisited.
7. The 10 Pillars of Wealth – Alex Becker
Mind-Sets of the World’s Richest People.
This audiobook is packed full of actionable advice for current and aspiring online entrepreneurs. The 10 Pillars of Wealth outlines the core beliefs and thought processes that will boost your wealth regardless of what stage your life is currently at, and it tells you how to start implementing these beginning today. The core message behind this audiobook is that if you want to leave the 9-5, you need to start thinking how a multimillionaire thinks.
Pillar 8 was my favorite (‘focusing solely on what gets you paid’), and it has already impacted how I run my online business by helping me prioritize what matters through all the day-to-day noise.
I also really enjoyed Alex’s thinking in the bonus section on how to start your business the right way. Alex recommends starting a cashflow business before starting and investing in businesses which require a larger team and a greater cash injection. This has helped me plan out my entrepreneurial journey more realistically and logically.
8. Key Person of Influence – Daniel Priestley
The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry.
My second recommendation from Daniel Priestley is Key Person of Influence.
If like me, you’re in the process of growing an online business then you should never underestimate the importance of building your personal brand. Key Person of Influence will teach you the exact steps that you need to take to attract more opportunities, earn more money and be more respected in your industry through a logical and committed approach to boost your brand.
The fact that I’ve recommended two offerings in this list from Daniel Priestley is a testament to how valuable his books are. As with 24 Assets, this book is a must for all aspiring online entrepreneurs.
9. She Means Business – Carrie Green
Turn Your Ideas into Reality and Become a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur.
In this audiobook, Carrie Green covers the steps you need to take to turn an idea into a hugely successful business.
Building on her experience of starting an online business at 20 years old, Carries provides awesome actionable advice to help you get to grips with each of the various aspects of growing an online business, including how to be clear on what you want to achieve; how to develop your idea and business plan; how to research what your audience really wants; how to communicate effectively with your audience and potential customers; and how to stay sane throughout!
She Means Business is hugely inspiring and it has helped me shift my mindset and thinking to where it needs to be while building and growing my online business. I recommend this audiobook to everyone, but especially aspiring female entrepreneurs who will appreciate the more feminine style of She Means Business versus other business books.
10. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.
In this audiobook, Stephen Covey outlines what he refers to as the ‘natural laws’ that affect how successful a person becomes in lifeand business. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People audiobook builds around the seven key requirements which covey studied and refined over almost three decades, and it teaches us how we can increase our productivity, effectiveness, and even happiness in the pursuit of achieving our goals.
I’ve learned some really valuable things from this audiobook. First, the importance of adapting how I view and interpret things in the world around me before I try to make positive changes to my behaviors. Second, I better understand that my daily habits compound to form my overall character and that by focusing on changing certain practices, I can better align myself with the personality and work ethic that is required to achieve my goals.
11. How to Be F*cking Awesome – Dan Meredith
Are you struggling to find the motivation you need to start that business or achieve that goal that you’ve always dreamed of? If you answered yes, this is the audiobook for you.
Dan Meredith spent years researching why some people become successful while others seem to lead lives of continual struggle. This audiobook is the sum of his experiences studying and implementing all the advice he could find on how to be successful.
How To Be F*cking Awesome includes the 11 personality traits that you need to work on to help increase the level of success you’re enjoying and to help you start living life on your terms. What made it stand out from versus all the other examples in Audible’s selection of the best motivational audiobooks is the fact that Dan doesn’t sugarcoat his ideas. He certainly doesn’t hold back on the colorful language either (which I think actually increases the motivational impact of what he’s saying), and he adds more than enough humor throughout to keep this audiobook thoroughly entertaining.
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I hope you get tons of value and benefit from these audiobooks.
Let me know in the comments which is your favorite, and I’d appreciate if you could tell me about any other books or audiobooks that you’ve found helpful and inspiring so I can check these out.
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About the Author
Sally McKinstry is a content creator at Taz & Jay. From gifts for sloth lovers to gifts for a man’s 30th birthday, Sally spends most of her time collating the best gift ideas for friends and loved ones. When not working at Taz & Jay, Sally can usually be found with her nose in a novel, cooking Italian food, or running.