Do you have a business owner or budding entrepreneur on your gift list? With the holidays fast approaching, you may be struggling to find that perfect item. And if you are the owner/founder, you may be looking for inspiration as you close out 2009.

We're pleased to offer the following books that we believe should be on every business owner's reading list:

1. A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the World by Daniel H. Pink (2006). A reviewer on Amazon.com summarises the book this way: A Whole New Mind is written for those who are looking for a whole new way to see the world. The book starts with a historical narrative outlining four major "ages": 1. Agricultural Age (farmers) 2. Industrial Age (factory workers) 3. Information Age (knowledge workers) 4. Conceptual Age (creators and empathisers).

The fourth stage is where Pink focuses on how people and businesses can be successful. Pink references three prevailing trends pointing towards the future of business and the economy: Abundance (consumers have too many choices, nothing is scarce), Asia (everything that can be outsourced, is) and Automation (computerization, robots, technology, processes). Timely food for thought when globalisation continues to dominate.

2. The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky (2008). Norm Brodsky's advice can be extremely valuable to owners of start-up or private companies. His writing is atypical of the pundit or academic who provides ideas from a theoretical viewpoint. He expresses his ideas simply and clearly, avoiding the dreaded 'corporate-speak'. When exploring issues, he is not afraid to look at things from a personal perspective. This focus on the human element is what sets him apart.

In addition to The Knack, we recommend the archive of Norm's monthly column, Street Smarts, published in Inc. magazine (www.inc.com/magazine/columns/streetsmarts)

3. Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar & Co. by Gary Erickson. Gary Erickson's background is that of a wanderer on a prolonged 'walkabout' into his 30's - cycling in exotic locations, surviving and living on a shoestring budget, doing 'ridiculous things' like hiking mountains in dance shoes. His lack of formal business education and training is not what most of us would associate with a conventional success.

In the face of major competition from food giants Kraft and Nestle, Gary founded the nutrition bar company Clif Bar and battled his way through adversity to keep his company privately-owned. Raising the Bar tells his inspiring story and encourages entrepreneurs to keep going - no matter what they face. This is much more than a business book.

It speaks about life, exploring different paths, the importance of decisions on a human level, responsibility, and figuring out what is most personally important to us. It is ideal for the business owner or entrepreneur who has had their fill of spreadsheets, management recommendations, projections and the like.

4. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber. This is a "must-read" and a "must-keep-on-the-book-shelf-for-future-reference" book. Gerber helps business owners recognise and begin to work through the fact that we wear three hats: the technician, the manager and the owner. Further, we must work ON the business as well as IN the business.

5. Family Wealth - Keeping It in the Family: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual and Financial Assets for Generations by James E Hughes Jr. (2004). From the inside cover: "Every family, looking at the next generation, hopes to confer advantages that are more than just material and financial - to include character and leadership, to inspire creativity and enterprise, to help all family members find and follow their individual callings and to avoid the financial dependency and loss of initiative that can all too often be an unwanted consequence of financial success. Yet many families never succeed in realising that vision, much less sustaining it for three, four or five generations and beyond."

When you understand that you need to work on the business then you can make room to understand the three dimensions of family wealth that are addressed in this book.

This is another must read and must hold for future reference. This book is to be read in a place where you can take time to reflect and make notes as you read.

These five suggestions will not only make ideal gifts, but also provide the business owner in your life with valuable resources to help them succeed both in life and in business.