5 inspirational books for building your business: Part 1
The business book club
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The business book club 〰️
Business leaders have always inspired me. My dad was the first one. Right up from when I was in school, I would LOVE listening to his stories about working with clients, the ups and downs of creating his printing business and how he went from one stage to the next.
His stories always felt exhilarating, exciting and like there was something new to look forward to every day.
My first venture was editing wedding videos.
This small business venture started way back in 2007 when I was still a student at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, learning film editing.
Rummaging through the Yellow Pages (yes, I used that!) led to cold calling wedding vendors, which led to some editing work.
It was terrific, and I still recall the pure thrill running through me when I first wrote my first invoice.
It's been a long journey from creating wedding content to being an experienced content creator, having worked with several businesses.
Over the years, different business leaders have inspired me.
I've learned a few things from their books at different stages. Entrepreneurs writing about their journey doesn't usually influence the things I do in my business, but they certainly make me think about how I run my business.
Here are a few books I've chosen as the first part of this series:
Sir Richard Branson: Like a Virgin
Richard Branson was probably the first book I read to understand what having a brand meant. He gave new meaning to ‘embodying your brand’ for me. Through his ventures, successful and unsuccessful, I got a sense of how he’s forged a path into entrepreneurship while experimenting, following his gut instinct and leveraging his strengths. I loved this book because it’s perfect for introducing someone who has no idea about the mindset behind running a business. Things covered here that I loved: Don't do it if you don't enjoy it - Be visible - Choose your brand's name wisely - Listen more - talk less - You can't run a business without taking risks - The first impression is everything - so is second. Perfection is unattainable. You can't do it all by yourself - The customer is always right - most of the time - Define your brand - Explore unexplored territory - You make your own luck
Lisa Messenger: Daring & Disruptive
Is anyone else here who was OBSESSED with the Renegade Collective Magazines from the last few years? I was truly in love! Lisa Messenger’s publications made me solidify my decision to follow my gut and restart my biz in Sydney. Her book ‘Daring & Disruptive’ had me latched on to her every word. From facing her fears to taking risks to disrupt the publishing industry in Australia, this book gave me a front-row seat into creating company culture, the actual amount of hard work and the Chutzpah that goes into creating a badass brand from scratch. Lisa writes about her tenacity to move on from disappointments and bad breaks.
This woman is a powerhouse, one I was fortunate to meet at an event in Sydney. Her work is testimony to her beliefs, and her story is one that always leaves me in awe! Working with her in some way is on my bucket list; just putting it out there into the ether!
Sophia Amoruso: #GIRLBOSS
GIRLBOSS wasn't just a book to me; It was a freaking movement, a revolution that had my head spinning at the sheer grit of this young dropout who knew nothing about holding down a job but everything about building her biz!
As much as I dislike the book's name, Sophia Amoruso is one of those rare creatures who built a multi-million dollar business without borrowing a dime! Starting from scratch, finding a market for vintage clothes, she taught herself photography, marketing on the web, single-handed packaging and running quality checks on every piece of clothing. What stood out to me was how little she knew but how quickly she adapted, learned, failed and grew her company. It's not about your resources; it's about how resourceful you are with what you have - and this girl had it in spades! 10/10 for using 'weirdness' to stand out and build a brand that, in a way, became a cult for her audience. Even though the company didn't stand the test of time, this book taught me so much about taking chances on myself.
Julia Pimsleur: Million Dollar Women: The Essential Guide to Taking Your Business Further, Faster
This book is probably not the best for someone just starting in business, but it's a good one to earmark if you're learning how to scale up.
In Million Dollar Women, Pimsleur introduces us to seven women who left corporate America and wrote their unique narrative in a new world of entrepreneurship. They have raised capital, designed strong networks, and generated multimillion-dollar companies. Pimsleur writes about how she started Little Pim, a company that produces a program for young children to learn foreign languages. Even as she hoped to create a new and varied experience for her clientele, she soon recognised that she had to believe and behave differently to become the leader of a multimillion-dollar company. Eventually, she transformed from an imaginative person with a business idea into a CEO running an enterprise with a visionary concept.
Million Dollar Women will teach you the ideas and the steps for taking a business to the million-dollar mark. It demonstrates how to network, when to delegate, and when to get extra coaching. It also provides help for overcoming emotional hurdles you have to jump to join the million-dollar-plus business owners—and cheers you on in overcoming every obstacle. Julia Pimsleur's book is priceless with her practical advice, wit, and an addendum of exercises to take your ideas from theory to practice.
Denise Duffield-Thomas: Get Rich, Lucky Bitch!
I love me some DDT. I first heard about ‘Money Block’ from Denise, and it piqued my interest in financial beliefs, creating a more potent, more positive way of thinking about money. Denise’s book brought into my consciousness a new way of thinking about money and creating new beliefs about attracting wealth by ‘decluttering your money mindset’.
We do pick up all kinds of stories around earning money, our worth, and how much value we can offer in our businesses. This book made me realise how much I needed to reflect on how I approached money and where I was sabotaging myself when running my business.
Money mindset is one of those pivotal skills needed to run a business. It takes time and effort to shape, but once you have it, it’s a skill that will stay with you for many years to come. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m glad I read this book!
I hope you love this little collection as much as I loved putting it together! Building a business takes a TON of courage and action, but books like these really help put things into perspective for me.
Big Love,
Fay x