Great simple introductory books on owning a business

[WolfOfMainStreet]

Hey all,

 

A good friend of mine is looking to open a business but he has no knowledge of finance/accounting. I convinced him to take the time to read a few books to at least get a basic working knowledge of business before any money leaves his pocket. Does anybody know a good book for beginning business owners that has lots of practical accounting and financial knowledge? Looking for something that's not too long written in plain simple to understand English. The book doesn't have to be elaborate, just very practical. I will fill in any of the gaps if he has specific questions but I don't want to teach him everything from assets to managing cash flows.

 

Thanks

[peter1234]

Why Stocks Go Up and Dow

 

Explains accounting from the ground up.

 

Not about how to build a business but how the accounting works.

 

You can look inside and decide whether you like it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Stocks-Go-Up-Down/dp/0989298205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246645&sr=1-1&keywords=why+stocks+go+up+and+down

[giofranchi]

[amazonsearch]How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers[/amazonsearch] by John A. Tracy

 

Cheers,

 

Gio

[cubsfan]

Might tell him to watch this a couple of times.

 

 

I think the first 20 minutes is helpful in terms of understanding

you need to withstand losses after you have laid out your capital

and can get to scale.

 

For people unfamiliar with accounting, it pulls in some of the concepts.

[WolfOfMainStreet]

Gio and cubs thanks this is exactly what I was looking for! Any other input is greatly appreciated.

[augustabound]

I know you asked for books but there's also Coursera's Introduction to Financial Accounting from the Wharton School.

It's free and just started this week.

 

https://www.coursera.org/course/accounting

[netnet]

Here are two The Art of Profitability and Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand.  These two teach via a narrative format, which is easier for most people to digest.  The $100 Startup is good too.

 

Oh, and ideally if he has not worked in the industry he should.

[giofranchi]

I would also mention [amazonsearch]Building a small business that Warren Buffett would love[/amazonsearch]

 

I think it is well written and easy to understand.

 

Gio