In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite recent books and blogs and tell us why they read them. For this installment, we corresponded with Luke van de Paverd, founder of eCommerce Economy, an ecommerce educational website.
Since 2004, van de Paverd has been involved in the ecommerce industry, both as an owner of ecommerce stores, and as a consultant — helping others set up online stores.
Luke van de Paverd’s Top Five Books
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
“The E-Myth Revisited is a book about how to create systems for your small business. The premise of the book is that all small businesses should learn from the most successful small business there is: McDonalds. Set up your business like a franchise that teenagers can run.
“I really liked The E-Myth Revisited because it taught me that having systems in your business is not only a good idea, it’s necessary if you want to be in charge of your business and life.”
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Purple Cow by Seth Godin
“The Purple Cow is about how the marketing world has changed. The recipe for success has changed from mass advertising towards having a product/service that is remarkable in some way.
“The Purple Cow inspires me to think of new ideas, and inspires me to look at the way I am marketing my businesses and ask myself, ‘Am I being remarkable enough?'”
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Rework by Jason Fried
“Rework is a collection of essays from the founders of 37signals, the provider of online collaboration tools. It talks about startups and software businesses, about employees, customers, managing a business. 37signals’ approach is that the simplest way to do things is the best way.
“I love Rework because it reminds me to focus on doing the important things. Don’t mess around with anything that isn’t your number one goal. ”
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Click by Ori Brafman
“Click is about how we meet people and engage with people. Have you ever met someone that you instantly get along with really well? Have you ever met someone you just can’t connect with? Click explores what the difference is between those relationships.
“I really loved Click because it explored some of the psychology behind relationships. It breaks down the complexities into about six different concepts, and covers case studies and examples for each of the concepts. I found it interesting and fascinating.”
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Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump
“This book is one of the first business books I ever read. I read about it as a teenager, and I still go back to it every now and then if I want some inspiration to think bigger. It’s Donald Trump talking about some of his deals, how he created them, what issues cropped up, and takes an inside look into his life as a real estate developer and businessman.
“I love The Art of the Deal because it inspires me to think big. He inspires me to go out and do what I want. He inspires me to be more forward and shameless.”
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Luke van de Paverd’s Top Five Blogs
“Quick Sprout is a blog by Neil Patel about entrepreneurship, start ups, business, SEO, blogging. He has the same effect on me as Donald Trump — he inspires me to think bigger.”
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“An entrepreneurship and venture capital blog, this one by Mark Suster. What I like about Both Sides of the Table is that Mark just tells it like he sees it. When I read his blog I get the feeling that I’m listening to a really, really smart and articulate guy that is coming up with all his posts the top of his head.
“While the rest of the Internet is spewing crap and publishing posts like ’10 tips for [insert mundane topic]’ with rehashed, researched content from someone who isn’t an expert, Mark’s posts come from a different place and I love it.”
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“A great website with a great community. The topics are mostly about entrepreneurship and software. Discussions on Hacker News are always really high quality and there are so many extremely smart people that are sharing from the depths of their knowledge.”
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“Blue Acorn is an ecommerce consultancy. They don’t update their blog very regularly but their posts are always really high quality and they’re always sharing an evidence-and-experience-based approach.”
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“A gem in an industry full of crap. Emphasis in holistic and high quality approach to SEO.”
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