The Best Business & self development Books For Entrepreneurs
The business and self-development books that have shaped me and my business
In the early years of building my business I devoured business books, and I’ve taken some of my most comforting and useful nuggets of wisdom from them too.
Growing a business is one of the biggest adventures of self-discovery you’ll embark on, and books can offer a significant leg up on this rollercoaster of entrepreneurship.
In fact, self-development books in general can be one of the most effective ways to invest in your business in the early years.
I’ve learned so much from business books, and general self-development books over the last few years, so I wanted to share my favourites with you. Most of these are available on Audible as well as in print. Let’s go!
The best business books (IMHO)
Be a Free Range Human – Marianne Cantwell
This is the book that really got me thinking seriously about my business and also helped me uncover my strengths. It made me delve into what it was I really wanted to do with my life, not what I thought I should do. This book also got me excited about the possibilities and opportunities outside of working 9-5, 5-days a week and inspired me to seek more freedom in my lifestyle.
The Little Black Book - Otegha Uwagba
This book is known as the toolkit for working women but should also be named a reference guide for business owners as well. The first section on maximising your productivity has loads of useful tips and tools to experiment with and there’s also lots in here on money and charging your worth. It’s a short book packed with tips and tools that’s perfect for dipping into when you need a motivational pick me up.
Being Boss – Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon
I discovered this book through the Being Boss podcast. Emily and Kathleen are a pair of business bad asses who have lots of wisdom to share when it comes to building a successful and sustainable business based on their own experiences.
In this book they share the tools and strategies that they use in their own businesses and what they’ve learned from interviewing tons of other business owners and experts on their podcast Being Boss.
Style Your Brand - Fiona Humberstone
Not only is this book completely beautiful but it also demystifies the basic principles behind business branding. The book takes you through figuring out which season or seasons your business falls into, a really simple concept that helps to make all of the tricky brand stuff like picking fonts and colours for your brand style a whole load easier.
Self-development books about money
You Are a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero
We all have baggage and different stories we tell ourselves when it comes to money. This will help you change your mindset around money and give you renewed confidence to start charging your worth. With journaling exercises throughout, this book is full of practical exercises that can uncover your money blocks and get you thinking about money in a whole different way.
Get Rich Lucky Bitch - Denise Duffield-Thomas
An entertaining, fun book about money packed with exercises and quite a lot of ‘woo’ and law of attraction stuff. If you’re sceptical about the law of attraction, I recommend reading The Source first - see later down this list, which goes into the neuroscience behind how manifesting works. I found that knowledge really helped me see how the money exercises in this book work.
We should all be millionaires - by Rachel Rodgers
Reading Rachel's book feels like becoming part of a movement. Rachel believes every woman should be a millionaire (a mission I can get on board with). Her book is a no-nonsense guide to challenging your limiting beliefs around money, and turning your broke-ass beliefs and actions into millionaire mindset and millionaire actions.
We Need to Talk About Money - by Otegha Uwagba
This book is more money memoir than business money book but it covers A LOT of the money hurdles we have to overcome when growing a business.
Self-development books for creatives
Hashtag Authentic - Sara Tasker
If you’re feeling un-inspired by instagram (or to be honest anything creative) or stuck in a creative rut, this book is not only beautiful and will inspire you just with the images in the book, but also has practical exercises sprinkled throughout alongside Sara’s personal stories to help you take action and start feeling creative and inspired again.
Heart, Sass & Soul - Greta Solomon
If like me you find writing difficult - perhaps you never clicked with it at school and ever since you’ve believed you’re not really a writer, this is a wonderful book to help you start looking at writing in a more fun, creative way. Some of the exercises in this book have transformed how i approach writing my newsletters.
The Clapback: Your Guide to Calling out Racist Stereotypes - Elijah Lawal
This book was practical - lots in here to arm yourself with for those awkward conversations with family at christmas, or when you experience racism in everyday life.
But also this book was surprisingly hilarious, packed with funny metaphors, analogies and droll observations on our modern world.
Anti-racism books
Me & white supremacy - Layla Saad
Seeing as anti-racism and building inclusive spaces in my courses is a must for me, and because I wanted to challenge my own unconscious biases I picked up this book. It’s a brilliant place to start with your anti-racism work because it calls out all of those unconscious biases you may not have even noticed and challenges how you feel about anti-racism. I found this a really useful foundation to help me understand a lot of the issues surrounding race and a good jumping off point for some deeper learning.
Why I’m no Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge
As business owners we have a responsibility to consider inclusivity and diversity in the work that we do as well in how we live our lives. This book educated me massively on the issues around race, inclusivity and representation. This book got me thinking about how I can make inclusivity and representation more of a priority in my business.
Self-development books for busienss owners
Playing Big – Tara Mohr
This book is just the loveliest, and relevant for every female out there. Tara shares her coaching methods for helping women play bigger in their work and lives. There are so many wise words in here and lots of exercises that will help you understand where your fears are really coming from and how to approach them more objectively.
I also love the concept of finding your inner mentor that Tara talks through in the book. I’ve been referring to my inner mentor more and more recently, it’s such a powerful tool for finding the wisdom and answers you already have inside you.
The Comparison Cure - Lucy Sheridan
Don’t we all go through those phases when we’re comparing ourselves to other business owners on the internet, particularly on instagram. We know it’s not productive but we can’t seem to help it. This book explains why you do it (which I always find a useful first step in unpicking any behaviour) and then goes into lots of exercises to help you unpick and move past your comparison.
The Source - Dr Tara Swart
I LOVE this book because I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to needing to understand exactly how things work. This book explains the neuroscience behind how the law of attraction works and it’s incredibly enlightening. If you want to learn more about how the brain works and get your head around some of the ‘woo’ you keep hearing about this is a must read.
Untamed - Glennon Doyle
Is there any better feeling than finding a book that completely absorbs you from beginning to end? This was Untamed for me - a book I finished within 48 hours.
Unlike any other self-development books I’ve read, this book is a collection of different stories from Glennon’s life that helps you come to terms with your own story and where you can be letting go of the years of conditioning and rules around how you should behave that are still holding you back from being your own true self.
An Edited Life - Anna Newton
I LOVE this book. In a nutshell if you fancy getting your sh*t together in all areas of your life and getting more organised in general, get-this-book. My copy is stuffed with sticky notes and I have this book to thank for streamlining the domestic side of my life.
The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k - Sarah Knight
This book is such a goodie for business owners, after all when you’re growing a creative business and don’t have bags of time there’s an awful to start not giving a f**k about.
This book has some genuinely brilliant wisdom to share as well as being hilarious at the same time. I really recommend listening it on Audible as it’s read by the author and she’s absolutely hilarious.
The Year of Less – Cait Flanders
Ok this isn’t strictly a business book but it got me thinking about the benefits of simplicity when it comes to life and business. Whether it’s decluttering your wardrobe or reducing the number of services you offer/ products in your online shop, simplicity in all areas of our lives, including business can help to clear our minds create more focus.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle - Emily & Amelia Nagoski
This book is fas-cina-ting. Seriously, this book will blow your mind. For me it answered a lot of answers around my anxiety (hello breaking the stress cycle), the unbelievable truth about who’s behind the BMI (hello toxic diet industry) and how we can get comfortable with taking time to rest. Go buy it now!
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