Happy Saturday!

Entrepreneurship is hard. But getting STARTed as an entrepreneur is the hardest!

What is most important? What should I focus on? How should I price? Where do I hire?

All the things AI still doesn’t have all the answers for.

So, this week, I’m giving you the top 9 books EVERY entrepreneur should read, and why. As well as:

• How Claude Code just changed everything, and how to get started

• Podcast recaps

Before we start, give me some feedback so I can give you the content you want! (please)

The Books That Helped Me Survive Entrepreneurship 

A List of Must-Reads For Every First-Time Entrepreneur

I get asked about book recommendations constantly.

• "What should I read to become a better entrepreneur?"

• "Which books actually move the needle?"

• “Is there a book I could read to feel less alone?”

First, let me say that there is no substitute for DOING. No amount of books, courses, or videos will ever replace real experience.

Second, reading a book about success won’t magically resurrect your failing business. If you speed-read through and never apply what you learn, nothing will change.

The real value of these books is how they shift your mindset, make you feel empowered, and provide you with the tools to run a thriving business.

But, if I could give 9 books to every First-Time Entrepreneur, these would be them!

SO, don’t just zoom through the pages as fast as you can. Take notes to help you understand, ask yourself hard questions, and reflect on how each lesson applies to you or your business.

My Top Four Business Books 

For the First Time Entrepreneur Starting from Scratch:

$100M Offers by Alex Hormozi

Why? This book is AMAZING for entrepreneurs who are just starting, because it will not only help you understand how to create offers so valuable that starting a business is inevitable, but it will also provide you with the real, tactical techniques you need to get started.

For the Scaling Entrepreneur Trying to Clone Themselves:

Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

Why? This book is incredible for first-time entrepreneurs, especially those who do all the work themselves, because eventually you’re going to hit the dreaded wall of burnout. Buy Back Your Time outlines the importance of scaling yourself and hiring staff to do tasks that may not be your superpower. I know this feels impossible when you first start a business. However, over time, you want to focus on what you’re good at to save your sanity and your time.

For the First Time You Hire and Manage Employees:

Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni

Why? This book will help you understand how to manage a team. Throughout this book, you will understand the top three reasons people hate their jobs and how to make sure your team stays happy. I love this book because it taught me the importance of making my team feel seen and connected with what they are doing. This book also explains that the key to managing a successful office is helping them understand what success looks like.

Interpersonal Skills You Need to Win:

Leadership and Self-Deception by Arbinger Institute

Why? I think this book is a must-read for any human being, let alone an entrepreneur, because it teaches you that YOU are the problem. That is not to say that people don’t make mistakes, because they do. However, this book will teach you to look in the mirror and think internally when things go wrong because you have the power to control the outcome. It doesn’t matter if an employee messed up or if you did, what matters is that the problem is solved, and everyone learned something from it. If you go around assuming the worst, you will create a negative narrative that makes it impossible to be successful.

My Top Four Biographies

Entrepreneurship can feel so lonely. Especially in the early days.

You wake up at 2 AM thinking the world will end if you don't solve every problem RIGHT NOW. Nobody gets that pressure unless they've been there.

But here's the thing - biographies are underrated for this exact reason.

These books let you learn from people who made it through the trenches.

When you read how someone else survived their worst moments, you think: "Man, they did THAT? Okay, I can get through this."

You see their failures. Their comebacks. Their growth.

Sometimes you think "I want to be that guy." Other times you think "That guy's a prick."

Both reactions are valuable.

These four books will remind you that every successful entrepreneur has felt exactly like you do right now.

1. Amazon Unbound by Brad Stone

2. Shoe Dog (Nike’s Story) by Phil Knight

3. Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

4. How to Get Rich by Felix Dannis

Bonus: A Book Every Human Should Read

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss.

Why: I included this book as a bonus because I believe this is more than just a book for entrepreneurs, it is a book everyone should read. Life is a negotiation, whether you're working with an employee or you're trying to buy a business. This book teaches you the psychology of negotiating, and not in the typical “I win, you lose” fashion. It really tries to help you understand what is most important to the other person. You “win” when you both get what is important in a relationship.

AI Tip of The Week: 

Anthropic’s new Claude Code is INSANE!

Anyone can now create software with natural language. We’ve seen this with Lovable and Replit.

Claude Code takes it to the next level:

• It doesn’t regenerate the entire code when all you want is a simple fix (often causing more problems)

• It uses your local terminal and file system; leading to much more control and better outcomes

• It stays on track and has better debugging capabilities

Why it matters:

• Direct-to-desktop power: Claude Code runs from your terminal, letting you build projects locally. No importing/exporting headaches—just ask it in plain English.

• Planning mode: You can literally type “switch to planning mode,” and Claude will break your idea into a project plan, step by step. Think of it as a built-in project manager.

• Multi-step execution: Instead of failing on complex prompts, it now handles chained tasks (research → analyze → rank → output).

• Data wrangling made easy: My friend Liz showed how she fed Claude a 100,000-row CSV file. It cleaned the data, classified it, and spun up an interactive dashboard—without her writing code.

Pro tip: Start small. Even something as simple as “help me organize this CSV” can show you how powerful it is. Then layer in more complex tasks.

For a full breakdown on how to utilize this new feature. Check out this episode with Elizabeth Knopf

Listen Here → Apple / Spotify / YouTube

This Week on Nikonomics:

Every week, I dive deep with entrepreneurs who've cracked the code on building real businesses. Here's what you might have missed:

He Scaled C4 to $300M… Then Built an $18M Pool Empire

Guest: Malcolm Marshall

Malcolm went from finance VP at C4 (yes THAT C4—the preworkout you probably take!) to bootstrapping an $18M pool empire.

• As C4 Energy’s VP of Finance during hyper-growth, Malcolm saw firsthand what scaling chaos looks like, from $8M to $300M. That experience gave him a high-leverage mindset that he’d use to grow Poolology.

• He left a cushy, equity-backed role to start with one pool route, and made $18M happen from scratch. That transition forced him to learn margins, customer acq, and ops, rather than rely on backers.

• Pool construction isn’t sexy, but the margins and demand are real. Malcolm built his engine around what actually works, not what looks good on Instagram.

Listen Here → Apple / Spotify / YouTube

The $3M Business You Can Launch With Just $20K

Guest: Chris Koerner

This episode dives into real-world models that are printing cash… And the tactical Meta ad plays that could 2x them overnight. We discuss:

• One Florida company runs thousands of weddings a year on public beaches—with no venue overhead.

• Iconic brands like Lambert’s (Throwed Rolls) and Big Texan Steak Ranch have millions of visitors and zero online stores.

• There’s a business in the U.S. where you can drive tanks and shoot machine guns.

Watch Here → YouTube

From Employee to $50M CEO in 2.5 Years (Here’s How)

Guest: Garth Fasano

He bought a boring call center and paid off his SBA loan in 2 years. Now he’s building Rainmaker AI, an end-to-end sales machine that closes deals while you sleep. In this episode, we talk about how:

• Garth didn’t start from scratch. He bought an existing business with a team, cash flow, and reputation, and then added systems.

• His team built integrations with home service platforms to intercept inbound leads instantly, turning cold prospects into booked appointments within seconds.

• What started as a phone services business turned into Rainmaker AI, a platform that handles the full sales cycle using AI voice and text.

Listen Here → Apple / Spotify / YouTube

Ask Me Anything

How'd I Do Today?

Thank you for reading! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably pretty cool and pretty cool people like to help make things better so… Will you help me make this better? Just a quick survey on the direction I should take this newsletter/podcast here

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Nik Hulewsky