Books
While the Neeley Entrepreneurship Program Library offers each of the below books to be checked out by students, consider purchasing these books for yourself as every entrepreneur needs a business library. All underlined titles below will link you to Amazon.com to purchase the book online.
Buying these books also allows you to take notes and highlight sections that you would like to refer to in the future.
The value of books over podcasts and websites is that they allow you to read the in-depth stories and visualize for yourself how the experiences of the entrepreneurs profiled can be related to your own endeavors. Begin reading these books as early in your college career as possible as the lessons learned will assist you in all that you do in the business school.
- Branson, Richard. Losing My Virginity. This biography discusses how a young entrepreneur developed the Virgin empire of airlines, music companies, and other enterprises with the launch of a newspaper called "STUDENT."
- DeGeorge, Gail. The Making of a Blockbuster: How Wayne Huizenga Built a Sports and Entertainment Empire from Trash, Grit, and Videotape. This biography profiles the lifelong entrepreneurial experiences of Huizenga as he built Waste Management and Blockbuster Video.
- Lowenstein, Roger. Buffett, The Making of an American Capitalist. Warren Buffett is the most successful long term investor in the United States and owner of two major Fort Worth companies, Acme Brick and Justin Boots. Read this profile of the entrepreneurial and financial challenges he overcame in creating Berkshire Hathaway.
- Marcus, Stanley. The Viewpoints of Stanley Marcus: A Ten-Year Perspective. This biography details the launch of Neiman Marcus stores, now owned by Fort Worth investment group, Texas Pacific.
- Schultz, Howard. Pour Your Heart Into It. This biography profiles the rise of Starbucks from one store in Seattle to more than 3,000 around the world.
- Welch, Jack. Straight From The Gut. As much a operations book as a biography, there is a reason that many companies have made this "required" reading by all members of management. Jack Welch is the former Chairman of General Electric.
- Young, Jeffrey S. iCon, Steve Jobs The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business. For all students toting an iPod around campus, read this story about the man behind Apple.
Finance
- Rickersten, Rick. BUYOUT, The Insider's Guide to Buying Your Own Company.
Management
- Bossidy, Larry and Charan, Ram. EXECUTION, The Discipline of Getting Things Done.
Organization and Time Management
- Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
