Essential reading for budding creative entrepreneurs

If you want to start a business, you’ll need advice on where to start, what pitfalls to anticipate, and how best to spend your time and money to get your idea off the ground. There are tons of books out there with this kind of advice, but we’ve curated our favourites for you. Whether you’re an aspiring fashion designer or an artisan looking to sell your work, these are some of the most insightful books to help you grow your business.

 

Steal Like an Artist Steal like an artist; Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things; Write the book you want to read; Use your hands; Side projects are important; Do good work and put it where people can see it; Geography is no longer our master; Be nice (the world is a small town.); Be boring (it’s the only way to get work done.); and, Creativity is subtraction.’ Just some of the tips in this best seller – Buy it here 

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All A powerful and inspiring book from the founders of IDEO, the award-winning design firm, on unleashing the creativity that lies within each and every one of us. Purchase a copy here

Atomic Habits People think that when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions: doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call. Try out this bestseller here 

Introducing the creative industries from theory to practice This is your complete guide to studying and succeeding in the creative industries. This book takes you through the history, trends, products, and markets of the creative industries, showing how success depends on a mix of ideas, tactics, and talent. Available here 

Hype Yourself! Lucy Werner is a PR expert and author. She is the founder of The Wern, an award-winning PR & design consultancy. She also consults for innovation, marketing, and other public relation agencies on their go-to-market strategies, raising CEO profiles, and developing thought leadership. Her first book is jam-packed full of strategies to help new businesses and founders PR themselves – Essential reading 

This is Marketing shows you how to do work you’re proud of, whether you’re a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or part of a large corporation. No matter what your product or service, this book will help you reframe how it’s presented to the world, in order to meaningfully connect with people who want it. 

Do protect, Legal advice for start-ups The best companies are formed around a simple but great idea. As this idea develops and is introduced to the world, it needs to be nurtured and protected. Do Protect offers clear and accessible legal advice and explanations on all aspects of setting up, running, and growing your own business, get it here 

Company of One A refreshing approach to entrepreneurship centered on staying small and avoiding growth – maximizing happiness, sustainability, and profitability. Does a more independent life free of co-workers sound like a bit of you? then check out Paul Jarvis’s book here 

Starting up on your own Are you thinking of starting up on your own and working for yourself? Do you need to know the nuts and bolts of setting up, marketing yourself, prospecting for new business, and keeping things running on a day-to-day basis? Have you already leapt and want to get more work, new clients, higher fees? This practical, no-nonsense book pulls no punches and gives you all the guidance you need to set yourself up.

The FT Essential guide to developing a business strategy Want to take your company to the next level?  You need a roadmap, a strategy.  Preferably one that is simple, workable, and saleable.  This book provides you with just that.  It sets out a straightforward strategy development process, the ‘Strategy Pyramid’, and guides you through it. 

Simple Tips, Smart Ideas  – Expect smart thinking, real case studies, simple advice, and quick tips for any micro & small companies, self-employed & freelance, everyone or anyone with a side hustle. 

Failed it! celebrates the power of mistakes and shows how they can enrich the creative process. This is part photobook and part guide to loosening up and making mistakes to take the fear out of failure and encourage experimentation. It showcases the best and most hilarious examples of imperfection and failure across a broad range of creative forms, including art, design, photography, architecture, and product design, to inspire and encourage creatives to embrace and celebrate their mistakes.

Marketing in the Creative Industries: Value, Experience, and Creativity This book addresses the specific challenges of marketing in the creative industries, whilst applying classic marketing theory to a range of international examples. It combines a comprehensive and innovative perspective on customer value theory with practical marketing strategies and detailed case studies. Get it here