Summer was fun and games but now it’s time to get back to work. With the kids back in school, hopefully that means more free time for momtrepreneurs like you to grow their business. School isn’t just for the kiddos, it’s the perfect time for you to hone your entrepreneurial skills and learn as well.
Finding time to read can be hard, but if you want to set a reading goal this fall, pick up a book to take while waiting at drop off or grab an audiobook to listen to in the car.
Lean In
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg launched an entire movement of motivated women ready to take their place at the table in a man’s world. It’s been 8 years since Sandberg’s TEDTalk that inspired the creation of this book, but the learnings are still applicable and pushing for more women in leadership will continue to be an importance quest to improve the world for a better tomorrow.
No matter what field you are in, the principles in Lean In can help inspire you to challenge the social systems that have lead to both the wage gap and fewer women in leadership roles.
Big Magic
Written by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love, the book Big Magic tells the story of how to find creativity in the everyday. The book breaks the creative process down into size sections: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, and Divinity. Throughout, Gilbert focuses on how to overcome self doubt and better apply oneself to a creative lifestyle.
A true self-help book, as you read you’ll explore the notion that creativity is not limited to artists but instead a choice to live “a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.”
Trust Agents
An older book, Trust Agents came out in 2009 but the principles remain equally important today for growing a business both on and offline. Co-authored by social media expert Chris Brogan, Trust Agents explores how to tap into online networks to humanize business relationships and create transparency. Through these tools, you can establish a positive reputation and as a result, trust that will grow your business for the long haul.
Leading Gracefully
As a woman, leadership looks different than it does for men. Navigating leadership roles and working to challenge gender norms must come differently as a result. In Leading Gracefully, Monique Tallon shares how women’s brains are wired for empathy and collaboration making them uniquely positioned to take on strong leadership roles in both their personal and business lives.
Throughout the book, you’ll learn exercises and tips to help propel forward in leadership and learn how to follow Tallon’s Feminine Leadership Model
View Leading Gracefully on Amazon.
Delivering Happiness
When Tony Hseih grew Zappos from an idea to a billion dollar company in less than 10 years, he learned a lot. Delivering Happiness shares those learnings and showcases how Zappos went from an online shoe store to a business mindset adopted by dozens of other companies in the last decade.
With an emphasis on how to focus your business on solving a customer’s problem, verses sell them something new, Zappos built a business model with unlimited potential for long term customers. In Delivering Happiness you’ll learn how the company grew and find takeways to providing outstanding customer service that you can apply to your own business
View Delivering Happiness on Amazon.
Give & Take
In a dog-eat-dog world, it’s easy to think that those who focus on themselves first are typically also the first to get ahead. Give and Take, by Adam Grant, examines this mentality and finds that the world can be broken down into those who Give verses those who Take. Takers often benefit in the short term while Givers are established for success in the long haul.
Throughout the book you’ll learn how to balance those contrasting styles and leadership and stories of great leaders who gave more than they took and won out in the long run.
Photo credits: Mae Digital, Pexels
