7 Business Books Every Female Entrepreneur Should Add to Her List This Year
Business Books for Female Entrepreneurs
Growing up, I thought books were for “nerds.” Now I am proudly one of those nerds.
Finding business books for my female entrepreneur mindset has been a lifeline to becoming the person I feel destined to grow into.
Finding little gems of wisdom inside the pages help fuel my ever-transforming thoughts and goals as a female entrepreneur.
A life goal of mine is to read one book each month. Along with a female entrepreneur community, reading keeps me grounded in seeking self-leadership and continual growth.
My reality is that between running two businesses and raising two humans with my husband, it doesn’t leave much time to sit down and pour through the pages of a book. That’s why I usually lean on Audible and Hoopla (a free audio resource we have access to through our local library).
Since starting my business, I can look back and pinpoint a handful of books that have made a big impact on my mindset and evolution as an entrepreneur.
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7 Business Books Every Female Entrepreneur Should Add to Her List This Year
Seven books that have made a big impact on my mindset and evolution as an entrepreneur are:
Prince Charming Isn’t Coming: How Women Get Smart About Money by Barbara Stanny
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Selling Sunshine: 75 Tips, Tools, and Tactics for Becoming a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur by Tony Hartl
10X is Easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Rock Star Millennials: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders by Kathryn Spitznagle
Now, I’m sharing all about these 7 Business Books Every Female Entrepreneur Should Add to Her List This Year. Whether you prefer to read page-turners under a snuggly blanket or turn on audio books on the go, add these wisdom-filled resources into your reading schedule this year to grow as a female entrepreneur.
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#1 Prince Charming Isn’t Coming: How Women Get Smart About Money by Barbara Stanny
If anyone were going to write a book about how to become financially independent, it would be Barbara Stanny. She was the daughter of financial giant H&R Block.
Despite this, she never got a seat at the financial table growing up because her father told her that she would be taken care of with her trust fund and that her some-day husband would take care of the finances. Years later, her husband squandered her trust fund and they divorced, leaving Barbara to figure it out herself.
In this book, Barbara encourages women to take ownership for becoming financially literate and making their own decisions to become financially responsible and build wealth. Provided inside are common financial challenges women face along with money management and wealth building strategies women can use.
I love and recommend this book because it teaches women to think differently about embracing the topic of finances to empower themselves. This is the first step to build an asset, not a paycheck, which also applies to our businesses.
#2 Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Most people never learn effective negotiating skills, but that’s especially true for women. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is one of my top recommended business books. It was written by an FBI hostage negotiator, with high stakes experience making him one of the best negotiators in the world. The book is filled with negotiating gems and examples about how to apply the principles.
This book challenges the conventional wisdom that negotiating is about meeting somewhere in the middle. Rather, the book dives into the reality that good negotiating is more deeply rooted in communicating effectively. The author also emphasizes the importance of showing empathy, active listening, and emotional intelligence during negotiations.
In entrepreneurship (and in life), everything is a negotiation. Having a few of these pointers in your back pocket will empower you to communicate effectively in your relationships as a female entrepreneur.
#3 Selling Sunshine: 75 Tips, Tools, and Tactics for Becoming a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur by Tony Hartl
This book is for you if you love a good self-improvement listicle!
I read the entire thing on a Florida vacation with my family a few years back and couldn’t put it down.
The wisdom inside overlaps between putting in hard work to start a business, how to build a motivated team, and entrepreneur mindset.
The main categories of business advice inside are:
People
Passion
Persistence
Process
Personality
Positivity
Promise
If you’re craving to become a better decision-maker for your business, this book is full of small pieces of guidance that will help you grow as an entrepreneur.
#4 10X is Easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
I’m such a fan of 10X is Easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy that it may become an annual read for me. The principles inside lit a fire within me to make actionable changes in my mindset about my business.
It also opened my eyes to the reality that you must first grow into the person capable of building the wildly successful business in your vision. The book tells exactly how to do it.
The sparkle inside this book is that it outlines the “how” behind the all-too-common phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” It emphasizes focus to adopt a mindset to achieve exponential results rather than incremental success.
#5 Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen
This is the book I wish I’d had when I started my very first business!
I wrote Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business as a roadmap for women seeking their own journey through entrepreneurship. Inside the book tailored specifically for the woman’s psyche and lifestyle are actionable steps, practical advice, and helpful examples women can apply to building their dream business.
The six phases I included to build a business are:
Clarify – with guidance on how to build a clear vision before taking any other steps
Research – with guidance on what to research and the important questions to ask
Build – with guidance on building the assets that will bring your idea to life
Launch – with guidance on how to build a message people will get excited about
Profit – with guidance on profit strategies to make more money and reduce costs
Scale – with guidance on how to make your business widely available without scaling your costs or resources to do it.
This book will bring clarity to the exact process successful entrepreneurs take to plan, build, launch, and grow a business. It will also help you navigate the complexities of starting a business and build a profitable business on your terms. Click to purchase a signed copy or pick up a copy from Amazon.
#6 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
There’s a good reason why this book makes so many “Top Business Books” lists. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki opened my eyes to how people build wealth through assets.
In the book, Robert Kiyosaki outlines how the rich think and behave versus typical behaviors of people whose thoughts and habits keep them struggling financially. More specifically, he outlines why and how people who build wealth focus on buying and creating assets. Contrastingly, those struggling financially tend to focus their energy into earning a paycheck.
We’re starting to hear more and more often that contributing to a 401K is not enough to retire comfortably anymore. This book helped me begin to gain a glimpse into two valuable takeaways: 1) that your business can become an asset and 2) the value of how to start the real estate journey as a natural byproduct of owning a business.
#7 Rock Star Millennials: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders by Kathryn Spitznagle
While Kathryn writes her book, Rock Star Millennials: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders, about Millennials, the leadership wisdom and examples inside are golden for anyone.
Kathryn had an incredible corporate career working in two of the nation’s most well-known companies, Purina and Caterpillar. There, she worked inside a culture of mentorship and career development.
Through practical guidance and real examples, Kathryn helps detail leadership development strategies that will help the next generation who want to navigate the complex landscape of leading others well.
Conclusion of ‘7 Business Books Every Female Entrepreneur Should Add to Her List This Year’
Reading is a transformative process that helps females grow into the entrepreneurs we’re destined to become! While it’s true life is busy, audio books on the go are the answer.
Even a quick 15-minute listen while driving to drop the kids off, squeezing in a workout, or cooking dinner in the kitchen can become a gateway into developing the decision-making skills we need to run the wildly successful businesses on our hearts.
The seven books I recommend to any entrepreneur are
Prince Charming Isn’t Coming: How Women Get Smart About Money by Barbara Stanny
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Selling Sunshine: 75 Tips, Tools, and Tactics for Becoming a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur by Tony Hartl
10X is Easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Rock Star Millennials: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders by Kathryn Spitznagle
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P.S. Here are some of my top favorite female small business resources:
Dream, Build, Grow Free Resource Suite - free business templates for your business plan, marketing plan, ideal client persona, financial statements, and more!
Founding Females Community - an online female mastermind space for entrepreneurs to connect, support, and get inspired
Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business - a guided handbook including everything you need to know from business idea to launch to profiting and scaling your business.
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