Why Small Business Owners Need College Textbooks

When I worked as a business consultant, one piece of advice that I shared with all of my clients is my belief that all small business owners should own at least some college business textbooks. A small business owner can learn more in a few short months using college textbooks than he or she might after years of owning a business. Plus, many of the answers that he or she was afraid to ask will be answered.

Why College Textbooks

College textbooks are usually put together by a team of people that share decades of experience. They have seen the ups and downs of business, and have made it through. They will usually come to a consensus of what the most important lessons are that need to be learned about a specific topic, and will explain some complex areas of the topic that might take weeks to research on your own. You will be exposed to a plethora of tips that can help to take your business to the next level, and beyond. Plus, just buying the books is much less expensive than taking the class.

Which Basic Textbooks to Get

College business textbooks that focus primarily on general business, entrepreneurship, accounting, management and marketing are a must. I would suggest getting the 101 or intro books in all of these areas as they will be designed to take your through step by step. It would not be worth purchasing the advances lesson books as they will cover topics and terms that you would have missed out on already. If you want to purchase those down the road, that might benefit you at that phase.

Specialized College Textbooks

If your business is in a specialized area, it might behoove you to purchase textbooks in that area. I once had a client who had a product that was mostly used by marine biologists. He knew very little about the topic, so I suggested that he pick up a few textbooks about marine biology so that he could have something in his customer's field to discuss when making a sale. To this day, he believes that his study at home of marine biology was one of the reasons why his business expanded.

For Those with International Customers

If your customer base is outside of the country, it might be good to purchase international business books, and maybe a cultural textbook that deals with the countries that you do business with. Just like the owner with the marine biology books, you will have something to discuss with your customers or clients. At the same time, you might be able to figure out how to suit your customer better through knowledge of the culture. A basic foreign language textbook might help as well.

Where to Buy and How Much to Spend

Most colleges and universities will have used textbook stores located near campus. They will sell used textbooks at a reduced rate. These are only going to have the latest versions and volumes of the textbooks that are currently being used at the locals schools of higher learning. If you are in a specialized field, and need to know the most recent knowledge, I would suggest going here for these types of books first.

Most of the textbooks that I would suggest buying, though, do not have to have come out in the last year or two. Very few of the principles of business, marketing, and management have changed over the years. In most cases, you can be safe purchasing older copies that can be found on Amazon. I have seen general business textbooks from the 1990s for sale for as low as a dollar plus shipping. This is one of those areas in business where you can attempt to save tons of money and still get the same quality.

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