1 Thing Small Business Owners Do Not Know About Reading Books Revealed
A common reason small business owners give for not reading more books is “not enough time”. But what if you could get a return on your reading time investment, would you make time for reading? I can see you nodding your head. There is a concept I coined called profit reading. It means that if you read the right books, then apply the ideas, you can take your small business to the next level. The 1 thing that small business owners do not know about reading books, is how to read a book the right way.
I can hear you telling your colleagues that Avil is nuts. After all, you’ve been reading for many years. I don’t mean to insult your intelligence. But before you stop reading this article, just listen to what I have to say first. After, if you see no value, then read no further.
Most books were not meant to be read cover-to-cover!
You heard me correctly. When most people take up a book to read, they start from the beginning and read sequentially. That’s how you first learned to read. That type of reading no longer serves your needs. As a small business owner, you’re busy running the company. You want hacks to get more done in less time, without compromising effectiveness and quality. It’s important to get a taste of the book before you consume it fully.
Have you read?
RESOURCES: How to Leverage Reading and Learning to Secure Authority
How to Get the Most Out of Reading Books
Take a book that you’ve been meaning to read. Preferably one that contains ideas to grow your business. Start to scan the book. This means that you read information about the author, to make sure he or she is qualified to write the book. In any field, there are certain terms and people, who are important. Look at the index to see if the terms and the names of the important people are present. If you don't see the key terms and important people who helped to shape the field, chances are the book stinks. The author is not as knowledgeable about the field because he or she hasn’t touched on certain topics.
Test your knowledge of the topic covered in the book. Write down what you think you know about it. It doesn’t matter if your knowledge is accurate because you’ll find out what’s accurate and what’s not. At this point, if the author passed the credibility and authority test, it’s time to read the preface and introduction to the book. This one act gives you a good understanding of what the book is about. You’ll get a feel for what the author has to say.
You’re now ready to read the table of contents. Every book has a core idea. By now you have a sense of what the core idea of the book is, but you can check what you think when reading the table of contents. Note which sections of the book interest you. After going through the table of contents, dip into the sections that interest you. It could be a few paragraphs, pages, or a chapter.
At this point, you’ll have a good feel for the contents of the book. Do you have all the ideas and concepts from the book, so you can apply them to your business? You may be feeling like you haven’t read the book. But what does it mean to read a book?
There are three reasons for reading any book. You read for entertainment, information, and to deepen your understanding of a topic. You wanted to read the book to apply the ideas to your business. In this instance, you were either reading for information or to deepen your understanding of a topic. If you got what you needed from a book in an hour, that’s great.
Test what you’ve learned in the hour using active recall. Pretend that you’re telling a real or imagined friend what the book is about. If you feel that there are gaps in your knowledge of the topic, you can dip into specific sections of the book. You can also use the book as a reference guide that you can always refer to.
1 Thing Small Business Owners Do Not Know About Reading Books is Powerful
This 1 thing small business owners do not know about reading is very powerful because it’ll save you a lot of time. If you apply this 1 thing to books that can speed up business growth and profitability, you’ll get a return on your reading time investment. Using this method, you’re applying the 80/20 Principle to reading. You read 20 percent of the book to understand 80 percent of it.
Final Thoughts on the 1 Thing Small Business Owners Do Not Know About Reading Books
I’ve shown you why it’s important to preview a book before you read it. I know that you’re busy. But do not skip the steps where to test your knowledge of the topic and the book. These steps help you to remember more of what you learn.
If you want to learn more about the 80/20 rule, read The 80/20 Principle: the Secret to Achieving More with Less
by Richard Koch. You’ll realize there is truth to getting what you need from a book without reading it cover-to-cover. When testing your knowledge, use the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer to 25 minutes then recall as much as you can about the book contents. How did you do?
Are you surprised about the 1 thing small business owners do not know about reading books?
The 1 Thing Reading List
- The 80/20 Principle: the Secret to Achieving More with Less
- The Pomodoro Technique: The Acclaimed Time-Management System That Has Transformed How We Work
If you click on the links to buy the books, Amazon will pay me a small commission!
