I often get asked my opinion on what books to read by people who are either starting or building a business. The truth is that there are a plethora of amazing books that are available, the difficulty is finding the ones that offer a solution to your problems. The even bigger challenge is actually knowing what your business or personal problems are.

Here are some recommendations that have truly helped and inspired me:

• I was struggling to find experiences on how passion and love could be commercialized – Pour your Heart Into it by Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks solved that problem.

• How often does it happen when somebody shows you the work that they have produced and you approve it because it’s “good enough”? Purple Cow by Seth Godin taught me how “good enough” is simply not good enough. The companies that consistently succeed strive for excellence, or how Seth Godin puts it – companies that are remarkable.

• Those of you that know me and have had experience with Demographica will know what a huge believer I am in a strong company culture. In my opinion, the Demographica culture is our single biggest competitive advantage and we continue to invest significantly in preserving and enhancing our culture. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, delivers the worlds greatest case study on how a superb company culture built a billion dollar business.

Enjoy and good luck.