Sage Book Club: 5 must-read books for entrepreneurs this summer

When you’re running your own business, it can be difficult to find a spare minute for yourself. But whether you’ve got an overflowing inbox or delivery dilemmas, it’s vital that you take some time out to switch off, relax, and recharge.

To help you with that, we’ve asked some incredible entrepreneurs which books they read to unwind.

1. Sharp women: embrace your intuition, build your situational awareness, and live life unafraid, by Kelly Sayre

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the Founder and Publisher of RetailMinded.com, a well-respected retail industry resource recognised worldwide for its leading business insight since 2007. She believes intuition is your superpower and this book will teach you how to make the most of it.

As a professional woman who has travelled solo for business for over twenty years now, I truly value the insight that Kelly Sayre shares in Sharp Women.

Whether you consider yourself confident in your safety, are curious about the vulnerabilities women experience in our society, or are just looking to gain another perspective on existing in our complex world, this is a must-read.

We have incredible intuition skills already, like how we notice when a loved one texts us a little differently and their vibe is “off”.

This book will help you to channel those skills and build your situational awareness so you can spot red flag behaviours and avoid violent situations.

I loved this book and I plan to gift it to every young woman I know.

2. Do the work! An antiracist activity book, by W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz

Beth Kanter has developed an understanding of organisational culture change and workplace wellbeing and how these contribute to social change strategies. She says everyone must work towards becoming antiracist, and this book will help to get you there.

In the nonprofit sector, we need to do the work to become antiracist.

This is an interactive workbook that gives readers a thought-provoking, hands-on understanding of systemic racism–and how we can dismantle it.

It’s jam-packed with activities, illustrations, and reflection questions that will challenge you to think critically and act effectively. It also includes scripts and talking points for having the hard conversations.

So, if you feel overwhelmed by racial injustice and find yourself asking, “what can I do?”, this book is for you.

3. The power of nice: how to conquer the business world with kindness, by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

Cyndy Trivella is an HR marketing and communications professional with over 20 years’ experience.

This prophetic book was written in 2006, but it is definitely one we need to dust off and start reading.

The authors share their stories on how kindness propelled their business and brought them closer to building meaningful, lasting relationships through mutual respect and business acuity.

Although the business world is tough, you have to remember that it doesn’t cost anything to be nice. Kindness is free and it might just get you where you want to go.

Every working person needs to read this book. And if you are not already, you need to employ these tactics, especially right now.

4. Fans first: change the game, break the rules & create an unforgettable experience, by Jesse Cole

Jay Baer is a seventh-generation entrepreneur and author of six best-selling books on digital marketing and customer experience. He’s also the founder of multiple companies and is an advisor to the world’s most iconic brands.

This is an interesting, inspirational, and downright delightful book all about how Jessie and co. took a minor league baseball team, the Savannah Bananas, and turned them into one of America’s greatest entertainment spectacles.

As a result, they have sold out every game since their first season and have a waitlist for tickets well into the thousands.

Jesse has been featured on over 500 podcasts and is an in-demand keynote speaker. He shares how to stand out, be different and create raving fans in both customers and employees.

This is a book you need to add to your summer reading list.

5. Time’s up!, by Paul Dunn and Ron Baker

Blake Oliver is an accountant, entrepreneur, and podcaster who specialises in technology. He’s also one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People.

This book is your guide to building a more valuable firm by adopting a subscription pricing model, where relationships and lifetime customer value are at the centre.

One of the biggest drivers of growth in our economy, over the last 20 years, has been subscription model businesses, specifically software-as-a-service.

In this book, Ron Baker dissects the subscription model and successfully applies it to professional services. He tells you all you need to know— all your questions will be answered by the last page.

If you want to be on the cutting edge with running your firm, read this.

And full disclosure — I also wrote the foreword.

Need more book recommendations in your life? Visit our Sage Book Club hub for more reading lists.