10 books with business ideas

[Brother]

Salute, today you will learn about 10 interesting books with business ideas

1) James Adams. Unblock your mind. The technique of finding original solutions to complex problems and generating brilliant ideas.

2) Michael Mikalko. Encyclopedia of Business Ideas. Creativity training.

3) Alxandr Orlov. How to make money on ideas

4) Iiri Sherer. Techniques of creativity. How to find, evaluate and implement an idea.

5) N. Fedosenko. 500 home business ideas

6) Yuri Moroz. 1000 and 1 idea for your business

7) Brian Hill, Dee Power. Business angels. How to attract their money and experience for the implementation of your business ideas.

8) Stephen Strauss. Big idea, or how business inventors turned their ideas into a profitable product.

9) Thomas Knight. Will it fly? How to know if your business idea has wings before you jump.

10) Oleg Allin Veniamin Zaitsev. Business by and against the rules - 225 business ideas, 455 case studies.

 

[chushpan]

Here is a fully expanded, comprehensive guide to books on business ideas, designed not just to list books, but to provide a framework for how to use them to find, validate, and build a successful business.

The Ultimate Guide to Books on Business Ideas: From Spark to Scale​

Finding a viable business idea is less about a single "Eureka!" moment and more about a process of discovery, validation, and execution. The books below are categorized to guide you through this exact journey, from generating raw ideas to building a resilient company.

Phase 1: Ideation & Inspiration — Sparking the Initial Concept​

This phase is about opening your mind to possibilities. The goal here is quantity and diversity of thought, breaking you out of your routine to see problems as opportunities.

1. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau​

• Core Thesis: You don't need a massive loan, a revolutionary invention, or a tech background. You can build a freedom-focused business by combining your passion & knowledge with a skill that other people value.
• Key Concepts:
  • Convergence: The sweet spot where what you love to do overlaps with what people are willing to pay for.
  • Value for Value: The core of any transaction is providing value in exchange for payment. Focus on the benefit to the customer.
  • Micro-businesses: Case studies of individuals earning $50,000+ from small, often one-person, operations like niche publishing, specialized tours, or online services.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It’s packed with 50+ detailed case studies of real businesses that started with minimal funds. It proves that business ideas are everywhere and demystifies the startup process.
• Best For: The aspiring entrepreneur who feels paralyzed by a lack of capital or a "big enough" idea.

2. The 100 Best Side Hustles by Sam Parr & Nick Loper (Side Hustle Nation)​

• Core Thesis: There is a proven menu of business models that work. Your job is to pick one that fits your skills and interests and execute on it.
• Key Concepts: The book categorizes ideas by effort, skill required, and earning potential. It covers:
  • Online Hustles: Affiliate marketing, selling digital products, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service).
  • Real-World Hustles: Mobile services (car detailing, pet grooming), vending machines, local tours.
  • Creative Hustles: Selling on Etsy, freelance design, photography.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It's the most direct "idea menu" available. It saves you the initial brainstorming and lets you evaluate concrete options.
• Best For: Someone who wants a practical, no-nonsense list to choose from and get started immediately.

3. Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne​

• Core Thesis: Stop competing in bloody, shark-infested "Red Oceans." Instead, create untapped "Blue Oceans" of new market space where competition is irrelevant.
• Key Concepts:
  • The Strategy Canvas: A diagnostic tool to plot your industry's current competitive factors, allowing you to see which ones can be Eliminated, Reduced, Raised, or Created.
  • The Four Actions Framework (ERRC): The practical tool for reconstructing market boundaries.
    • Eliminate: Which factors that the industry takes for granted can be eliminated?
    • Reduce: Which factors can be reduced well below the industry's standard?
    • Raise: Which factors can be raised well above the industry's standard?
    • Create: Which factors can be created that the industry has never offered?
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It provides a systematic framework for innovation. Instead of just thinking of a product, you learn to think of a new business model. Examples like [yellow tail] wine and Cirque du Soleil show how this works in practice.
• Best For: The strategic thinker who wants to build a unique, defensible business rather than a slightly better me-too product.

Phase 2: Validation & Framing — Testing If Your Idea Has Legs​

An idea is worthless until it's validated. This phase is about moving from "I think this is cool" to "I have evidence that people will pay for this."

1. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick​

• Core Thesis: You should never ask anyone, "Do you think my business idea is good?" (Not even your mom). Instead, you must learn to ask questions that expose their real-life problems and behaviors.
• Key Concepts:
  • The "Mom Test": A set of rules for talking to customers without biasing them. Talk about their life, not your idea. Focus on past behaviors and specific details, not hypothetical futures or generic praise.
  • Bad Questions: "Do you like my idea?" "Would you use this?" (They will lie to be nice).
  • Good Questions: "Tell me about the last time you faced this problem." "What have you tried to solve it?" "How much does this problem currently cost you?"
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: This is the single most important skill for early-stage ideation. It prevents you from wasting months building something based on flawed, polite feedback.
• Best For: Every single person with a business idea. Read this before you write a line of code or design a logo.

2. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries​

• Core Thesis: A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Its goal is to learn how to build a sustainable business, not to execute a pre-conceived plan.
• Key Concepts:
  • Build-Measure-Learn: The core feedback loop. Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), measure how customers use it, and learn whether to pivot or persevere.
  • Minimum Viable Product (MVP): The version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
  • Validated Learning: The process of demonstrating that a team has discovered valuable truths about a startup’s present and future business prospects.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It provides the operational playbook for testing your business hypotheses. It turns your idea from a static concept into a dynamic set of experiments.
• Best For: Anyone building a product or service in a new or uncertain market, especially in tech.

3. Zero to One by Peter Thiel​

• Core Thesis: True progress comes from monopolies (going from 0 to 1 — creating something new), not from competition (going from 1 to n — copying what works). Your business idea should aim to create a unique, defensible monopoly in a small market.
• Key Concepts:
  • The Power of Secrets: The best businesses are built around secrets — important truths that most people don't agree with or are unaware of.
  • The Monopoly Question: What valuable company is nobody building?
  • Characteristics of a Monopoly: Proprietary technology, network effects, economies of scale, and branding.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It forces you to think bigger and more defensibly. It pushes you to ask not just "Is this a good idea?" but "Is this a unique and valuable idea that can dominate a market?"
• Best For: Visionaries and entrepreneurs aiming to build transformative, world-changing companies.

Phase 3: Foundation & Mindset — Building the Business, Not Just a Job​

Once an idea is validated, the challenge is building a system that works without you burning out. This phase is about the architecture of a real business.

1. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber​

• Core Thesis: Most small businesses are started by "Technicians" (people who are skilled at a trade) who end up owning a job, not a business. To succeed, you must work on your business, not just in it.
• Key Concepts:
  • The Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician: The three roles in every business owner. You must balance all three.
  • Systematization: The key to a successful business is creating systems that produce results predictably, regardless of who is performing the task.
  • The Franchise Prototype: You should build your business as if you were going to franchise it, even if you never plan to. This forces you to create turnkey systems.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It fundamentally changes your perspective. It ensures the business you build from your idea is scalable and sustainable, freeing you from being the chief (and only) employee.
• Best For: Anyone who has a skill (baker, programmer, consultant) and wants to turn it into a real, sellable enterprise.

2. So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport​

• Core Thesis: "Follow your passion" is dangerous advice. Instead, passion is a side effect of mastery and autonomy. You should focus on building "career capital" (rare and valuable skills) and then use that capital to gain control over your work.
• Key Concepts:
  • The Passion Hypothesis: The flawed idea that you must first find your passion and then match a job to it.
  • Career Capital: Skills that are both rare and valuable. You acquire them by adopting a "craftsman mindset" — focusing on becoming excellent at what you do.
  • The Law of Financial Viability: When deciding whether to follow an appealing trait (like autonomy), ask, "Does anyone care enough about what I can do with this trait to pay me for it?"
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It grounds your business ideation in reality. Instead of searching for a pre-existing passion, it encourages you to build a business around a skill you have developed or are willing to develop to world-class levels.
• Best For: People who feel lost or pressured to "find their passion" and want a more practical, evidence-based approach.

3. Start with Why by Simon Sinek​

• Core Thesis: People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. All inspiring leaders and organizations, from Apple to Martin Luther King Jr., think, act, and communicate from the inside out of "The Golden Circle."
• Key Concepts:
  • The Golden Circle: WHY -> HOW -> WHAT.
    • WHY: Your purpose, cause, or belief. What is your company's reason for existing beyond making money?
    • HOW: The specific actions you take to realize your WHY. Your differentiating values.
    • WHAT: The products or services you sell. This is the result of your WHY and HOW.
• Why It's Essential for Ideas: It helps you build a brand and a story around your business idea. A strong "Why" attracts loyal customers and employees, creating a moat that competitors can't easily copy. It transforms a commodity into a cause.
• Best For: Building a mission-driven business and creating a loyal community around your product or service.

A Strategic Reading Pathway: Your Personal Plan​

Don't read randomly. Follow this progression based on your current stage:

Step 1: If you have NO IDEA...

1. Read The $100 Startup or The 100 Best Side Hustles for inspiration.
2. Then, read So Good They Can't Ignore You to ground your search in your own skills.

Step 2: Once you have a FEW IDEAS...

1. IMMEDIATELY read The Mom Test. This is non-negotiable.
2. Then, apply the principles of The Lean Startup to build a simple MVP and test your riskiest assumptions.

Step 3: When an idea is VALIDATED...

1. Read The E-Myth Revisited to design a business that won't enslave you.
2. Read Blue Ocean Strategy or Zero to One to strategize how you will dominate your niche and build a lasting company.
3. Read Start with Why to craft the compelling story that will become your brand.

By approaching books on business ideas through this phased lens, you transform reading from a passive activity into an active, strategic process for building a real, viable business.