(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best small business & entrepreneurship books

There's two sides to the Game Designer coin: One is developing a good set of rules which are enjoyable, stable, and of appropriate complexity, while the other is creating a good physical prototype which can reasonably be used for heavy playtesting.

Developing a good set of rules is a vague and nebulous thing, and counterexamples can be found for virtually any advice someone gives you. There are a few constants, however:

• Make sure your game doesn't contain any false choices: If a player is given a choice, there should be strategic value in all possible options. Cake or death? It's not really a choice at all, is it? Similarly, if moving Admiral Reinhardt from his starting position overwhelmingly leads to his demise, there's not really a reason to move him at all, is there?
  
  
• Study some Game Theory, but don't get lost in its ivory towers. Game Theory can quickly transition from discussion of the interaction of game mechanisms and various game types into purely abstract mathematical concepts indistinguishable from a college-level Calculus class.
  
  
• Dabble in computer programming. This may seem completely unrelated, but a games rules are actually a system of logical instructions, and one of the most common problems with amateur game designers is that their game will literally "crash" with unhandled exceptions or edge cases. If you understand how computer programs work, this will help you create a stable ruleset, which you should strive for before you...
  
  
• Playtest. Repeatedly, often, and with a wide variety of people who do not know you personally. Take notes. Try to keep in mind who your target audience is: People who are primarily Monopoly fans aren't going to have favorable things to say about Puerto Rico or Agricola. Listen to your target audience, but do not feel compelled to change your game for every complaint. Try to be objective towards your own ideas.
  
  
• Revise. Playtesting will always highlight problems, from the minor to the game-breaking. Sometimes you can fix things with just a new line of text in the rulebook, the addition or subtraction of some tokens, or changing the specific effect of a card or board space. Sometimes you will have to take the whole thing apart and start from scratch. Try to cast your net as wide as possible: A single rule which catches 12 problems is better than 12 smaller rules that catch 1 problem each.
  
  Keep bouncing back and forth between the playtest and revise stages until your target audience is pleased with the game.
  
  On the physical prototype side of things:
  
  
• Pawns - Don't be afraid to cannibalize existing games, or use off-the-shelf materials from Dollar Tree or similar stores. Shaped erasers, beads, or just cheapo chess pieces colored with magic marker can work fine for virtually any kind of pawn in a prototype.
  
  
• Cards - Thanks to places like ArtsCow, these are now the easiest part to get at factory quality. Failing that, print your cards on standard 8.5"x11" paper, cut to size, and place in a protective card sleeve with a regular playing card to add stiffness.
  
  
• Non-Modular Boards - Typically, boards don't actually require much thickness in order to be functionally playable. I tend to print on multiple 110lb cardstock sheets, trim to size, then use Post-it notes on the underside to hold it together while playing.
  
  
• Modular boards and tiles - This is perhaps the most tedious part, and it gets harder the more complicated your tile shapes are. The quickest way is to print on standard paper, glue to foamcore or chipboard, and trim to shape. For something closer to factory quality, print on 110lb cardstock, then glue the printed cardstock on top of 5 other sheets of cardstock. This will create a tile roughly the thickness of Settlers of Catan tiles. For higher print quality, you can print your graphics through a photo printing service (such as through your local Walgreens or Rite Aid), and use that as the top layer. If you're feeling particularly ambitious, purchase a Xyron Wishblade, and use it to cut shapes out of cardstock. It won't cut things much thicker than 110lb, though, so you'll still have to glue layers together for thicker tiles.
  
  
• Boxes - Strictly speaking, as a game designer, your prototype's box should be purely functional - Large enough to contain the game, and with enough marking to clearly identify the game within your collection. Tackle boxes and bead craft storage boxes are often good candidates for game prototype storage. If you have lots of playing cards, check the sports cards/collectible cards section of your local Wal-Mart type store: They should have multi-compartment card storage cases.
  
  As for actually getting your game published, that's a whole other matter.
  
  Some recommended reading: Sid Sackson's A Gamut of Games is not only a good collection of simple games designed by one of America's most innovative game designers, but also a fascinating look into the thoughts and methods behind the creation of those games. The Game Inventor's Guidebook is also good reading, and contains interviews with industry people - it's not completely up to date, however, and some of the interviews are more about a game as a product (A fast-selling game is "better" than a slow selling game), rather than concepts regarding balance, strategy, complexity, or innovation. Similarly, Paid to Play: The Business of Game Design gives some good insight into the industry in general.

Questions|Answers

--|:--
What exactly is erotic hypnosis? |The answer is going to seem rather sarcastic but basically hypnosis used to create an erotic context.
|To expand a tiny bit its using hypnosis to open up the mind and open up alternative sexual areas. This can be anything from BDSM-esq control to more intriguing things like living out fantasies like a dream so they feel real in every way.
|I hope that covers it, it is a rather wide question, I mean everyone has their own detailed definition dependent on their own methods/wants and other stuff.
So it's live ASMR porn.|I guess so!
|I would say there is a lot more to it than that but it is a good way of looking at it.
|I mean hypnosis is a means to an end, the actual fun comes once they are under and you get to fiddle in their heads.
So instead of putting them to sleep you control them? I can see that, your voice, although male, was pretty strong |For some clients it is about control and hypnosis is a fantastic tool for controlling someone in a consensual way and helping create a feeling of powerlessness.
|And thank you, its odd I don't see my own voice as strong, maybe its just because I am used to it.
Unrelated question,how does someone learn your skills?are there any books out there on how to talk to people like that?|Not really, I mean I have a background in theater and Improv which is very handy as it teaches you to think on your feet and convey emotion via the voice.
|I bet there is a book somewhere on talking dirty or how to be a PSO but I have never read it, nor do I think it would be that useful, each client is different and you have to just fly by the seat of your pants.
|However, you have me curious and for "Phone Sex Guide" Amazon has this I have no idea if it is any good but might be worth a shot if you are desperate.

View the full table on /r/tabled! | Last updated: 2013-05-23 01:30 UTC

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u/CosmicTransmutation - I agree with most folks here - you should get a CPA - but you should also increase your own level of knowledge so you're not 100% reliant on your tax professional.

For that, I recommend "The Confident Indie - A Simple Guide to Deductions, Income and Taxes for The Creatively Self-Employed" by CPA June Walker.

June advises self-employed "creatives" on taxes and how not to cheat themselves on deductions.

Great interview with her here.

You can get her book right now for $9.99 on Kindle.

I also recommend you get some kind of organizer for your paper records. I use this $9.49 spiral bound notebook with categorized and labeled pockets for just about every category [Referrals].

Hope this is helpful and good luck!

VijayAnna, I don't know what stage the startup you're joining is at, but be very careful when choosing what type of content to read. Startup Marketing strategy (Growth Hacking) is nowhere near the same as Corporate Marketing strategy.

As a preface, I'd recommend reading Full-Scale which will give you a good idea of some of the challenges/differences between the two worlds and how to successfully scale a startup using the right data.

Here are three blogs I wrote at my previous company that I tend to share when people want a good foundation to start doing social media marketing:
The Ultimate Guide To Content Curation

How to Use Buffer to Share Like a Social Media BOSS

Three MUST-USE Tools to Optimally Time Your Social Media Posts

Some of my other posts on that blog will also be beneficial when you want to dive deeper into the nuances and "tricks" of individual social networks.

Disclaimer: My previous startup offers digital marketing courses online. I managed their internal profiles and trained/consulted external clients on their behalf. They offer individual courses for FB, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc that cover everything from beginner concepts (how to set up a profile) to the more advanced concepts (interest-based ad targeting). Check them out at SMMU.com and if any of the courses catches your eye, lmk and I'll see what I can do to get you a promo offer (or better).

I was a solo consultant from 2005-2007 and supported my family of four during that time.

I suggest working to become recognized for your expertise before you go solo.

I prepared by blogging, writing many articles and two books, presenting at conferences, and teaching classes. Additionally I was a consultant for a security company for several years, which meant I had a lot of contacts who might hire me for work as an independent. When I was considering going solo, I emailed many of them to let them know I was considering an independent path.

I decided to make the leap when a prospect said they had months of work for me to do. I left my job, but that prospect was all talk! Fortunately I found plenty of other work to compensate.

I paid my bills by scheduling and teaching independent classes. Above that I consulted, which was "bonus" at that point.

I read this book back then. It's from 2000 but the overall message is still relevant:

https://www.amazon.com/Serf-Surfer-Becoming-Network-Consultant/dp/0782126618

Be sure you take care of the "infrastructure" issues early -- taxes, business bank accounts and credit cards, insurance if you need it, etc.

Finally, it's best to decide right away if you intend to be a solo consultant, or if you are starting a business that would employ others. The latter is more complicated, obviously.

It's extremely hard work and the pressure is enormous. Two years was plenty for me but I'm glad I did it. Good luck!

I strongly recommend Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet. It's become the de facto textbook on entrepreneurship at MIT, I think for good reason.

It breaks the process of validating a business down to 24 specific steps which each have concrete deliverables. Some steps require you to go back to previous ones if your prior assumptions turn out to be incorrect. The book itself is a quick read, but the legwork it asks you to do can seem a little daunting. I think that makes sense, though, because successfully starting a business is hard and this become is trying to take the guesswork out of it. If you follow the steps, then before you even build product, you will have validated:

• That customers really want what you've got.
  
• That they've got the money to pay for it.
  
• That your cost of acquiring a customer works out with your customer lifetime value to produce a financially sustainable business.
  
• That you know your ideal user/customer well enough to understand their motivations and whether you're appealing correctly to their needs.
  
• That you know where to find more of "your customer".
  
• That you're starting in the optimal industry for your idea.
  
• And more...
  
  All in all, it's a great way to double check your business idea and make sure it's airtight before throwing serious time or capital at it.

I really liked the Built to Sell and All In Startup. They're both set up as narratives, so they're very easy to read. I actually like the E-Myth as well--at least the first half of it. The Compound Effect had an impact on me and my thinking, but YMMV there.

I've been fortunate to read a lot of books that have helped me and guided my thinking when I was at an impasse. Reading books is like having a mentor, someone who has gone before you and who has taken the time to outline his/her real thoughts and strategies on what worked and didn't work in his/her experience

Contrary to the (somewhat surprising) sentiment of some in this thread, books can be VERY helpful in creating shortcuts and building a plan of your own.

Oh, I might also check out Crush It if I were you. I think Vaynerchuk is a kind of polarizing character, but I do think he's genuine, and for a book that's five years old, it has a lot of resonance and validity in our present climate.

The Work-At-Home Military Wife: A quickstart guide to creating a pack-and-carry career and work-from-home lifestyle on the move

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NQLHJ5R

FREE until February 22nd

> Are you a military spouse on the move, who craves to create a work-from-home career, while moving from one military base to another?

>The Work-At-Home Military Wife is all about empowering military wives to take those baby steps to create meaningful work for themselves that they can pack-and-carry as they move from one base to another. With meager job opportunities at back-of-beyond places, erratic Internet connection and military spouse commitments to attend to, nurturing your own professional ambitions does seem like a huge challenge. Add to that frequent sole parenting gigs when your spouse is deployed, and you’ve got your days fully booked.

A few books that, while more geared towards finding a publisher than what you need to do to publish games yourself, probably still have some good information about the business for you, especially the first one:

• The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook
  
  
• Paid to Play: The Business of Game Design
  
  
• The Game Inventor's Guidebook
  
  You could also try contacting someone who had a successful and shipped Kickstarter. They're probably more approachable than a major company, and they probably do things on a more budget-conscious level than some of the larger companies, which should make their advice pretty valuable for you.
  
  Good luck!

Just to build on this:

I couldn't make up my mind either, so I searched for these on the Amazon US site since I don't use Goodreads to see how reviews looked, etc. The resulting links, with the smile. prefix for charity aspect in case you make a purchase, are below. YMMV.


The Other F Word: 3.4

Business Development for Dummies: 3.5

Startup Mixology: 4.27

Starting a Tech Business: 2.67

The 4 Lenses of Innovation: 3.62

StartupLand: 4.01

All in Startup: 4.18

The Customer Funded Business: 3.73

Trend Driven Innovation: 4.38

Monetizing Innovation: 4.20

The Ways to New: 3.84

Startup Checklist: 4.10

The Art of Startup Fundraising: 4.11

Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 4.26

.

Not in the original list:

The Art of Opportunity: How to Build Growth and Ventures Through Strategic Innovation and Visual Thinking

>Could you define "business"? It seems like a pretty ultra-broad subject to me.

OK then. If you know absolutely zippo about business (that is, no knowledge of what these terms mean: double-entry accounting, profit margin, loaded cost, unloaded cost, COGS, etc., get this book and don't be insulted.

>What markets are good for reselling for a beginner in the counter-economy

Drugs.

Kidding.

Anything that can be bought over the counter with no paperwork for cash. Tools and computer equipment are a good one. Cars probably not. However, the reseller market has very thin profit margins. It's not a good place to make a lot of money due to the Internet empowering buyers.

Here's a good book. Here's another.

Building on what you've said, runvnc, I want to add that people have an enduring but likely incorrect idea that humans will reject robots with the artful appearance of human-like intelligence and emotion, let alone the supposedly genuine intelligence and emotions speculated about in character-types like Kara here. Humans have loved artificial objects on much, much less humanization than this character.

MIT already studies robot/human interaction, and their research finds that people almost compulsively personify their robots as having human feelings and characteristics, and from there, they give them names, hats, and clothes. (It's not unlike how we interact with our pets honestly.) Elderly people living with prototype robot caretakers consider the robots their friends---when they don't have anywhere near this level of humanized features. (This book here details some more of these and other studies if anyone's interested.)

From there, I'm gonna argue that this video is an unintentional demonstration of that compulsion to personify. People would be much more uncomfortable if she really had no emotion or humanity. A robot who shows this level of human-like emotion but does not resist deconstruction would be much more strange and surreal. Kara appears human because we're more comfortable with that.

TL;DR: Robots aren't going to be oppressed for being 'too human'. People are going to love their robots like they love their dogs.

Regulations can definitely be tricky. And then setting up a business account, registering as an LLC, filing taxes, etc... There is certainly a lot that goes into opening your own business, especially one that deals with food. An earlier comment recommended this book and there are tons out there like it that focus on specifically the business part of it. You know the baking part, so that's easy at least lol. But I, like you, am not quite at this point yet, so I try not to worry about it too much. I will cross that bridge when I get to it, and worrying about it now will only potentially prevent me from reaching that bridge, because I might get too intimidated to start. There are so many resources out there that can help guide you through the business and legal aspects. Good luck to you as well!

As always, the best advice is to consult a lawyer and CPA. I am neither, but I can share my personal experience.

As a solo-founder, setting up an LLC will involve less paperwork up front, less paperwork annually (C Corps have extra requirements, such as quarterly meetings/filings), and less cost. It also makes taxes much simpler, as in an LLC you can do owner withdrawals with passthrough taxation (i.e., you just do your personal taxes with a Schedule C) instead of dealing with salaries, W2s, dividends, double taxation, etc in a C Corp (which has to file its own taxes). If you find a co-founder, you can easily amend your LLC documents to give them part ownership. The C Corp only becomes advantageous when you want to hand out ownership of the company to non-founders. That is, if you want to raise money from investors, take on a board of directors, or give employees equity, then you can convert your LLC to a C Corp. For a good intro to these topics, check out The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law.

Banks are more business friendly in my experience.

Find a good LOCAL bank for the business.

And get a separate savings account at a credit union.

Use the separate credit union account as your PROFIT account.


Oh, and get the book “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz

Profit First: A Simple System to Transform Any Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981808298/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HPTZzb8X0N2BA

> I'm starting to think sound and/or image processing will come out on top though.

Oddly, that is what my day job is too. DSP for vibrational analysis, just no imaging or AI.

ML = machine learning, yes.

I based my ideas on original research done by Rosalind Picard at the MIT Media Lab. Her work was covered in a few pages in the book The Sorcerer's and their Apprentices, where they discuss later versions of the original device. My plan is to take this basic idea and roll it into a usable product, based on Android OS.

I'd been blogging about this for a few years, but nobody ever seemed interested. I'm currently thinking about going public with my project via an alternative route: a podcast for people on the autism spectrum where we discuss the fun parts about who we are, our special interests, etc. I'm in the pre-production stage and plan to have this out within a few months, and I'll post the info on it to Reddit when it's live.

I actually paid for the hardcover version of this book (due to the bulk of positive reviews (I should have read the one-star blurbs) and found it almost entirely without value for me, and overloaded with cheerleading BS and vague but obvious platitudes. This may be due to my own cynical nature and not due to SEO and hype, so in order to let you evaluate it, here's the TL:DR.

Part 1. Beliefs - Stop making excuses and engaging in self-defeating behavior; figure out what you want to do and do it. (This covers the first three chapters and 48 pages, and includes gems like "I thrive in making, building and participating in clear win-win situations because that is my internal rule.")

Part 2. The TPE Focus - Focus, innovate on the basis of quality, price, or convenience, know your customer, and apply consistent efforts, goals and metrics. (This covers 2 chapters and 44 pages and includes such gems as "The TP Entrepreneur is always ready to manage when challenges come up, as they inevitably do.")

Part 3. Action - Get started, say no to things that won't help you, and get the important things done. (This chapter covers 2 chapters and 29 pages and includes such gems as "Moving forward is not based on your past; your future is exclusively determined by the decisions you make now, in this moment.")

Part 4. Money & Equity - Hustle, borrow, trade, avoid giving personal guarantees, and don't give equity to other people. (This covers 3 chapters and 33 pages and includes such gems as "Cash is the lifeflow of your business. I think it's hard to argue otherwise.")

There's more, but those are the essentials. (There aren't many more details, just lots more gems like those quoted above.)

The few hours spent reading this book would be better spent on your business.

TL:DR of the TL:DR - Skip the book, start your business, don't do dumb things or associate with bad people.

Here is one problem I see with every game store I walk into (and all but a few are no closed in our area). It's how do you get people to buy merchandise to keep the business running. I have been to many a game store that are PACKED on a Friday night with kids playing games. Problem is they aren't buying that much merchandise, especially if their parents aren't there.

The last one I grew familiar with (which is now closed) used to bring in 30 or so people for Friday nights. Say that each one comes in with $5, and you sell packs of Magic for $3.99, and have a good assortment of snacks for under a back. You have a total sales for the night of $150, your net on that is going to be roughly $1.50 meaning you will be netting $45 (not even including rent, staff, and taxes yet). And this is on your BEST night!

I don't want to dissuade you from doing this, but you need to have a REALLY good hook in order to get people to both come, and drop cash!

Also not sure of the size of your town, but 3 gaming stores sound like A LOT. Are you ready to get into a price war (meaning you are cutting your margins which are thin already).

Again, not saying this to sound mean. I started my own business not too long ago and these are all things I had to think of before I signed the dotted line on the incorporation paperwork. You need to study the business you are getting into, see the weakness that you can fill or do better, then build your business around that point. A lot of things I can't see about your plan from this point.

If you want some good advice about whether you should start a business, before spending a lot of cash on classes start with a book. Here is the first one I read before I started my company and it helped a lot!

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Business-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118083725/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BSSTE4Y08KSAC4B1QQR

Honestly the best book on this stuff is a textbook if you're interested.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/0538466464

You don't need to have a lot of money to start your business. What you need as was already mentioned is the right mindset and a solution to a problem that people are willing to pay for. I love some of these websites and books and recommend giving them a look.

Smart Passive Income

Tropical MBA

The Lean Startup

Tim Ferriss' 4-hour Work Week

The Suitcase Entrepreneur

$100 Startup

The book is still available for download for free at

https://www.amazon.com/FULL-SCALE-Grow-Startup-Without-Plan-ebook/dp/B00NTC5G28

You are welcome :)

I've read a lot of business books in the past year. These include:

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Think and Grow Rich

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Secrets of Closing the Sale

How to Master the Art of Selling

The E-Myth Revisited

The Compound Effect

The Slight Edge

The $100 Startup

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

I have 4HWW waiting to be read, in addition to about 15 other books that are sitting there, waiting to be read.

The $100 Startup is very inspiring, especially for people who have no chance at securing a "normal" job (I dropped out of college). The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is also very informative. But out of this list, by far, my two favorite books are The Compound Effect and The Slight Edge. #1 going to The Slight Edge. Read this book. Maybe it won't apply to everyone as much as it did to me, but it totally changed my attitude towards life.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Could you help me review these two kindle books -- on business -- Free till Saturday the 24th.
Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Business-Starters-Guide-Experience-ebook/dp/B01LR7MNV8

https://www.amazon.com/Fast-Track-Your-Business-Management-ebook/dp/B01LT9GV2Q

You should be passionate about your ideas and opportunities - just not hostile.

Let me give you the only advice I needed to here when I was flailing around trying to get started.

Read.

The three books that helped me a ton are

1). Content Inc
2). Profit First
3). 7 Day Startup

These aren't lifestyle books like 10x rule (which is also a good one) nor are they sales books - they will give you ideas and the information to solve your own problems.

(I'd also advise you read them in that order)

Not really, I mean I have a background in theater and Improv which is very handy as it teaches you to think on your feet and convey emotion via the voice.

I bet there is a book somewhere on talking dirty or how to be a PSO but I have never read it, nor do I think it would be that useful, each client is different and you have to just fly by the seat of your pants.

However, you have me curious and for "Phone Sex Guide" Amazon has this I have no idea if it is any good but might be worth a shot if you are desperate.

Sole proprietor here. You do not have to pay any extra taxes for having a DBA. As far as the IRS is concerned, they don't care what your business name is. Unless you are starting an LLC or something like that, you will be a sole proprietor and pay taxes under your name and SSN. You'll use Schedule C.

Check out this book for some good advice: The Confident Indie by June Walker

along with what /r/MuncherofMuffins suggested, this book - Homemade For Sale, has been a wealth of information that really helped me get it off the ground. They talk a lot about cottage food laws and the business/accounting/marketing aspects of having a home baking operation. And honestly just know that so much of it is learning as you go and just doing what you can with what you have right now!

[BLOG] Starting a Successful Blog: Share Your Passion and Turn It into a Business

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L4ZDF4R

FREE until July 10th

> WordPress blog is the best blogging platform. If you’ve never blogged before and don’t know where to start, this easy guide will provide all the information needed for a beginner blogger.

>Website design can be intimidating if you’re not a techie, but this book lays out a simple guide to starting your own business website or blog. If you’re looking to start or grow your business, either online or offline, consider building a website with the very affordable WordPress.

I couldn't agree more. I even wrote a book a little while ago that talks about improving selling skills on Craigslist (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BV5P4WN in case you want to check it out.) One of the only downsides I've found with trying to improve selling skills on Craigslist is there aren't many options to market your product. Most collectors online aren't living near me in order to pick up the product. Which is why I have also started to flip on eBay, at least there the product is in front of a global audience. I can also market on various forums and websites to get the product in front of high paying collectors who will then just have the product shipped to them.

I am new to this, but here is one book that has been very helpful so far - The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law.

I would recommend reading "From Serf to Surfer: Becoming a Network Consultant" for answers to your questions and more:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0782126618/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZNpZDbB33D5SM

The book is pretty old but the business concepts are still highly applicable.

https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law-4th/dp/0538466464

I'm an attorney. This book is incredible.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/0538466464

I second all four of these recommendations. Especially the personal MBA for aspiring business owners. I would also add a few more: Profit First, Lean Startup, and Will it fly?

From Serf to Surfer

[https://www.amazon.com/FULL-SCALE-Grow-Startup-Without-Plan-ebook/dp/B00NTC5G28]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0981808298/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520524448&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=profits+first&dpPl=1&dpID=41dpPGpXR9L&ref=plSrch

Read this book.