~by Haley Lynn Gray~
I asked the women in my Facebook group, the Women’s Entrepreneur Network, what their favourite business books were.
Here’s what they recommended, grouped by what each one is actually useful for — plus the one book that got seconded twice, which tells you something.
The one everybody agreed on
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, recommended by Juin Charnell and immediately endorsed by two others.
Tabby Dingler: I second this book. It’s amazing.
Barbara Nelson Wood: This book should be read by everyone. It’s the best book for a business person, and the best book for life in general.
It’s from 1936 and it’s still the most recommended book in the group. Worth noticing what that means: the thing people found most valuable wasn’t a strategy or a system. It was how to deal with other people.
Books that change how you run the business
Jaclynn Scribner: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz.
Kathy Miles Wheeler: The E-Myth by Michael Gerber — most people read the updated E-Myth Revisited — and The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.
Amanda Krom: EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. Just finished it and it was a great read.
Lauren Capehart: The Women’s Small Business Start-Up Kit by Peri Pakroo (Nolo).
These are the operational ones. Profit First and The E-Myth Revisited in particular tend to change what people actually do — one with how money moves through the business, the other with the realisation that you’ve built yourself a job rather than a company.
Selling, networking and people
Kristyne Campbell Dahl: The Law of Connection by Michael Losier.
Gill Fountain: Business Networking for Dummies by Stefan Thomas.
Marissa Frumento: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, and The Prosperous Coach — that one’s by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin.
Getting things done
Brooke Nicole: Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy.
Anisey Fernandez: Manage Your Day-to-Day from the 99U series. Not exactly a business book, but it’ll help any entrepreneur.
Patti Stevens: The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, and Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver.
Head and heart
Jenna Mathis: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero.
Brandi Lynn Huston Chrispen: I Am That Girl — not sure how business-related it is, but it’s a great read.
Cindy Woo: Brains, Boobs and Balls.
Lauren Capehart: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I doubt anyone would list it as a business book, but she’s self-employed as a writer and there’s a lot of useful material in it.
Books that just make you think better
Carrie White: What the Dog Saw, and really anything by Malcolm Gladwell. The Tipping Point probably fits the question better, but I like how he gets you thinking about things differently.
Tracey Scott: Anything with Jim Rohn attached to it.
Farha Syed: For interior design specifically, Business of Design by Kimberley Seldon.
MaryAnn Shank: Winnie-the-Pooh. Yes, it’s about life — but once we’ve got life conquered, we’ve got business conquered.
I laughed at that one and then thought about it for considerably longer than I expected to.
What the list tells you
Two things stand out reading it back.
The most-endorsed book is about relationships, not business. Three separate women named or seconded Carnegie. Nothing about marketing funnels or pricing strategy came close.
And a third of the list isn’t business books at all. Happiness, creative routines, self-belief, Winnie-the-Pooh. When you ask women running businesses what helped them most, a substantial proportion answer with something that helped them keep going rather than something that taught them a technique.
Which matches what happened when I asked the same group for advice. The practical knowledge is available everywhere. What’s scarce is whatever gets you through the part where it isn’t working yet.
My thanks to everyone who contributed.
About the author
Haley Lynn Gray is the founder of Leadership Girl, of In2itive Biz Solutions, and of the Women’s Entrepreneur Network — a community of more than 77,000 women in business.
She writes here about what happens when running a business starts demanding that you lead one. More about Haley →
