Business Books & Profitability

I recently had dinner with a friend who also runs a small business and she mentioned that this year, three years after starting up her business, she is finally at breakeven. Notice I didn't say profitable but breakeven. That got me wondering about what the average time is for small businesses to breakeven. Obviously there is a lot of variability given that investment amounts differ for every industry, but I was wondering if three years was the so-called norm or whether that was ahead/behind the curve.

Unfortunately my search (granted, it wasn't an extensive search) of the internet didn't reveal a whole lot other than plenty of books about entrepreneurship. I will continue searching for my answer to the average breakeven number and let you know if/when I find it, but looking through these books got me thinking about my favorite books on entrepreneurship. With the holidays just around the corner, I thought someone may want to add these reads to their holiday list. And if you have any particular favorites please let me know as I'm always interested in reading more about successful entrepreneurs or successful entrepreneurship practices.

Pour Your Heart Into It: Written by Charles Schultz (founder of Starbucks), it not only talks about how he started up the company but how he incorporated his values into the company while also managing to change consumers' minds about what a cup of coffee should be (going from the 5cent cup a'joe to a $3.45 tall skim vanilla latte). I really enjoyed his book and hope that when I start hiring full-time employees I can offer them a range of benefits that suites their needs.

Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion In Life and Business: by the founder of Cliff Bar, Gary Erickson, an entrepreneur who basically went up against a giant (Power Bar) and last I hear was winning the battle. Erickson is also committed to doing what he can for his community and the environment which I find an inspiring way to look at business as opposed to simply measuring bottom line profits (that being said, I understand that the profits have to be there first).

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech to Stanford: Ok, this one isn't a book but if you haven't yet read it follow this link immediately (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html).
Book mark this speech and then print it out and carry it everywhere with you. His comments are so powerful and just what’s needed on those days when you wonder if you’ve been making the right decisions all along.