Reading Time: 5 minutes

There are a million business and professional books out there, so how do you choose? Let me help you. I’ve read a ton of business books and these are my favorites.

Truth: I don’t actually read a lot of books, I listen to them. Audible is my go-to for doing things on the go and for being more productive with my time.

I listen to books in the morning when I’m getting ready, when I go for a run, when I’m driving to and from meetings and sometimes, if they’re good, before I go to bed.

At my job before I started this company, I was driving all around Central Florida; from Kissimmee to Daytona. I couldn’t call anyone because they were all working during the day and it got boring just listening to the round-about songs that popped onto the radio. I started thinking, “There has to be something else I can do or listen to while I’m driving around…”

Then I found out about podcasts and then I found out about Audible. I remember I was on my way to Vero Beach to scout out a new location for an office there and I listened to Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow the whole way up and back and I was #Thrilled because I finished it during that time too.

Audible and podcasts got me through the driving and kept me interested. It would get to a point where I was in a good part of the book and I didn’t want to get out of the car. Sometimes, more recently, I’ll have pulled up in my driveway and I’m at a good part of the book and don’t want to get out because I won’t find out what happens in the story! My husband thinks I’m weird, LOL.

BUT what are those books that pull at your curiosity, that inspire you and that motivate you? Not to worry. I have a list because I’ve read them and can HIGHLY recommend them to you. Here they are:

 

If You Don’t Have Big Breasts Put Ribbons In Your Pigtails

Barbara Corcoran

This book was one of those books that you fly through. Barbara Corcoran paved her way through the real estate industry to be one of the leading ladies. But only after her first love, and business partner, told her he was marrying his secretary instead of her.

This book has gems of details about lessons her mom told her and that she implemented, the first one, is the title of the book itself. It’s down-to-earth and real and guess what… I could 100% relate to what she was going through throughout the book.

 

Sell It Like Serhant

Ryan Serhant

When I was done with this book, I bought it in physical form and bought it for Maddie to read too. Then, during my MasterMind meet-ups, I told my friends they NEEDED to read it too.

This book is a goldmine for selling, which is usually uncomfortable for most people. Ryan shares a crazy trip to Europe to pursue a first big buyer only to be stood up until the very last second.

He tells about how he wanted to be an actor and modeled a bit but that didn’t pay the bills. He gives you tips and tricks to help you with your selling and how he overcame obstacles. This book is a must-read for anyone who sells anything… which is everyone because at the end of the day, you’re always selling yourself.

 

Permission To Screw Up

Kristen Hadeed

This was one of the books that I listened to before I went to bed because I was so enthralled with the story. Kristen started a company called Student Maid. She thought she was doing fine, with her feet propped up eating a salad while her employees worked their way through a dirty, messy college apartment complex.

Then they quit. Over 40 of them. Her story is about how she had to wrangle them back, how she changed her management style and how she was able to pull it together, learning A LOT of lessons through it.

It was so relatable (I think she trusts people more than me!) and I could understand why she made mistakes while teaching myself to understand what she went through so I wouldn’t repeat it.

 

 

Quench Your Own Thirst

Jim Koch

If you’ve ever heard of a small company called Samual Adams, this is its story. Jim Koch is the owner and founder and he walks you through how he started, the items he messed up on and even… that he was nervous to bring his beers into bars to try to sell them.

When I read that, I said, “OMG this guy is a billionaire and still has issues cold calling too!”

I read this book after listening to his episode on How I Built This by NPR. He mentioned he had a book and I immediately grabbed it and devoured it. He talks about issues like I mentioned above and he talks about how he overcame PR messes and how he grew the company to beat his one competitor, Yuengling.

I highly recommend this book to a lot of people because it’s so casual you almost feel like you’re having a beer with him!

 

Never Split The Difference

Chris Voss

This book is very different. It’s written by an FBI negotiator and yes, he takes you through the jungle, to hostage situations and to bank robberies.

He talks about different hostage situations where he had to negotiate with them and tells you, from those experiences, what you can take with you into the business world.

When I was reading this I was getting on a plane to go on vacation. I don’t usually like thinking about work when I’m getting ready for vacation, but this book wouldn’t loosen its grip on my mind! I learned so much and I felt more confident when someone asked for a price reduction or anything regarding price after I read it because I now knew how to handle it better.

 

Shoe Dog

Phil Knight

If you’ve seen the ‘swoosh’ you know Nike. This is the story of how Phil Knight started the empire, Nike. I read this a year or two ago and even as I’m writing this now, I have goosebumps.

Phil’s story is incredible because it takes you back to day 1 and all the way through how they came up with the logo, what the company was almost named (it was pretty bad) and how long it took them to get this company off the ground.

This is a longer book BUT it’s full of details, events and great advice.

 

You Are A Badass

Jen Sincero

Everyone gets different things from books and when I read this one, I had one of those “V8” moments where I slapped my hand on my forehead and said, “OMG I don’t know why I didn’t think about that!”

“That thing” was a business coach and now I have one. This book walks you through obstacles, helps you talk to yourself and think of yourself in a better light. It tells you that you can do it and shows you how.

If you need a boost of positivity, this is a go-to!

 

 

 

Lost and Founder

Rand Fishkin

This book is geared towards the SEO industry because the author, Rand Fishkin, is the founder of Moz, an SEO website and tool. BUT that doesn’t mean if you’re not into SEO you can’t read it.

It’s full of behind-the-scenes happenings, how he and his mom went into deep debt to build Moz and how he ended up leaving. It’s an honest tale of how he started and how he left with a lot of stories and tips along the way.

I’ve read all of these books and they’ve kept me interested and taught me lessons along the way. There are a million other good ones and if you do know of one that impacted you, I want to know! Shoot me an email at [email protected] and tell me your favorite ones.