recommended reading

Top 5 must read books:

• Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco (and the Craft Inc. Business Planner)
• Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Entrepreneurship & Small Business

• Small Business Survival Book by Barbara Weltman & Jerry Silberman

Product Design & Development

• Emotional Design by Donald A. Norman
• Making It: Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design by Chris Lefteri

Sales & Retailing

• Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill
• The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

Marketing & Branding

• D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself by Ellen Lupton

Social Media

• Groundswell by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff
• ProBlogger by Darren Rowse & Chris Garrett

Intellectual Property

• The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets & Licensing by Jill Gilbert
• Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name by Stephen Elias
• Patenting Art & Entertainment by Gregory Aharonian

Sustainability

• Business and the Buddha by Lloyd Field
• Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
• Sustainable Fashion and Textiles by Kate Fletcher

Lifestyle & Encouragement

• Life Entrepreneurs by Christopher Gergen & Gregg Vanourek
• The Dip by Seth Godin

Women & Business

• The Anti 9-to-5 Guide by Michelle Goodman
• The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business by Caitlin Friedman & Kimberly Yorio

Business Ideas

• The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
• Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
• The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael H. Shuman
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Craft Thinking

• Thinking Through Craft by Glenn Adamson

Need a little encouragement? Join the CMBA Book Club for structured reading, discussion, and guidance on how to apply concepts in these books to your own business and studio practice.

Note: Crafting an MBA is an Amazon.com Associate.  When you buy a book through one of our affiliate links, you won’t pay more, but we receive a small percentage.  Its a great way to help grow your business and support this site.  Win-win.