March 1, 2019 6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Starting a new business is no small undertaking. There are many factors to be considered, and it is important to do your research and prepare yourself as much as possible, with some 50 percent of new businesses failing within the five years, according to the Small Business Administration.
Over the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity to be the founder or co-founder of three companies in three different industries. As part of this journey, my teams and I have done a lot of things right — and a lot of things wrong. Building a business is a daunting task — from originally creating the idea, then planning and validating that idea to fund-raising, staffing and achieving profitability. There are many pitfalls in the journey that could easily completely destroy your business.
Luckily, I have help — from writers. In fact, I’ve always been an avid reader. From my very first business read, Og Mandino’s 1968 classic, The Greatest Salesman In the World, I developed a hunger for learning. I satisfied that hunger by devouring more than (what I estimate to be) 1,500 books on business, leadership, startups, business finance, culture creation and many more business-related topics.
I am convinced that it was the information I absorbed in these books and the validation I felt I was getting from these author-mentors that have helped me to avoid a bunch of potholes along the road to success in business.
Related: The Entrepreneur’s Ultimate List of 8 Must-Read Books
