There are countless books for women entrepreneurs available across the world. Even though there might not be an exact blueprint to overcome every obstacle faced by women entrepreneurs, there are lessons that can be learned through these powerful books.
Being a women entrepreneur isn’t easy. Especially when you are fighting through all the prevalent stereotypes, biases, and challenges that come along on this journey.
These books are documented by women who have either forged their way to the top or those who studied the most successful female entrepreneurs for a long time.
Hence, we have come up with a list of empowering and essential books for women entrepreneurs to read for achieving remarkable success along the way.
Table of Contents: List of Books for Women Entrepreneurs
- Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brené Brown
- Girl on Fire by Cara Alwill Leyba
- Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams
- Thrive by Arianna Huffington
- Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran
- The Likeability Trap: How to Break Free and Succeed as You Are by Alicia Menendez
- How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, Or Job by Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen
- More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth
- Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P Frankel
- The Confidence Effect: Every Woman’s Guide to the Attitude That Attracts Success by Grace Killelea
- Power Moves: How Women Can Pivot, Reboot, and Build a Career of Purpose by Lauren McGoodwin
- Ask for it: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want by Linda Babcock, Sara Laschever
- Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Here is a list of 15 Books Every Women Entrepreneurs Should Read in 2023:
1. Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
There couldn’t be a better book for women entrepreneurs to learn how gender bias hinders women from achieving leadership roles. Especially if it is written by two notable female leaders in world politics.
The handbook gives insights not only into the alarming gap between men and women holding top positions but also lessons and experiences of women leaders such as Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Christine Lagarde, and Theresa May, among others.
This book will provide you with practical advice on how to identify and overcome the obstacles related to sexism and prevalent prejudices against women.
2. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
For women who try to scale the professional and entrepreneurial ladder, Sherly Sandberg’s book, Lean In is the best manifesto to follow through.
Packed with personal experiences, anecdotes, and practical tips, the book is monumental for helping women reach their full potential without holding themselves back.
It also throws light on gender differences in the workplace and how women can overcome them and discover possibilities.
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3. Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
For women entrepreneurs, to have the courage to lead whether at the workplace or their own venture is quite challenging. This especially is enforced due to cultural stereotypes and biases.
Dare To Lead is the right handbook with research-backed analysis for female leaders to draw up the strength to excel at leadership positions.
The book is the result of the author, Brené Brown’s extensive research spanning over decades studying entrepreneurs from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Putting courage as the skill at the core, the author helps us understand how leading the right way requires empathy and connection.
4. Girl on Fire by Cara Alwill Leyba
For women entrepreneurs, constant motivation is crucial to keep going, especially during tough times. Girl on Fire is the right book that will push you to get things started. It advises women not to keep waiting for opportunities to be offered but rather create them.
It imparts the idea of how women need to be trailblazers and start doing things by themselves by believing in their intuition.
Along with many personal anecdotes from the author herself, this book will help learn how to stay strong focused, and dedicated.
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5. Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams
Penned by another one of the notable female leaders in US politics, Lead from the Outside, is ideal for everyone who has been part of the minority – Women.
Author Stacey Abrams gives a practical guide for women to hone their skills, plan their goals and accomplish things they are passionate about in the long run.
With unparalleled personal experiences, insights, and stories, this powerful handbook is a great booster for women entrepreneurs to align their aspirations and execute them effectively in the midst of surmounting challenges.
6. Thrive by Arianna Huffington
Being a women entrepreneur can be exhausting. The relentless drive to succeed may affect their mental health as well as cause severe physiological problems. This is where Thrive presents itself as a boon.
Written by the founder of the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, this book provides research-backed advice to slow down and connect with yourself. It is inspired by the personal health challenges faced by the author after her meteoric rise to being one of the most influential women in the world.
It also advises the readers especially women professionals to live a satisfying, meaningful, and happy life by not losing yourself in pursuit of money and power.
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7. Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran
In today’s competitive workplace, excelling in practical and vocational skills plays a larger role than excelling in education. For women entrepreneurs, this becomes essential while multitasking at the start of their businesses. A thriving example is set in the book, Shark Tales.
Penned by one of the original ‘sharks’ of the show Shark Tank US, it takes you through an inspiring journey of a dyslexic D-student who went on to become the founder of a billion-dollar company.
This practical and relatable yet amusing business guide will help you learn how to start from scratch and succeed despite the challenges.
8. The Likeability Trap by Alicia Menendez
Women are often categorized based on their professional and personal successes. While strong women are considered as hard to deal with, soft women are considered as easily pursuable. The Likeability Trap wishes you to break free from this cycle.
It advises women to challenge these stereotypes instead of reshaping their behavior, attitudes, or ways to be likable to society.
The author provides research-based practical advice to women to avoid discouraging their talents and confront the world with their real selves.
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9. How Women Rise by Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen
Great habits help us succeed. Bad habits cause hindrances on our path. Hence, it is crucial to overcome them in a constructive and effective way.
For women entrepreneurs to overcome habits that hold them back, How Women Rise is the right book to read. It helps you identify the 12 most common habits that become an obstacle for women on their way to success and how to tackle them.
A smart and well-research handbook, it includes useful insights and practices curated by two of the leading authors when it comes to women leadership.
10. More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Often for young women entrepreneurs, it becomes difficult when others dictate how they should operate or go about their business. More Than Enough is the book that will help you navigate through these waters and establish your business on your own terms.
Written by the acclaimed former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, this part-memoir and part-manifesto will help you discover your true potential and shape your life the way you want to.
This an essential guide for young female entrepreneurs to find their voice as well as enhance and exhibit their true potential freely.
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11. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P Frankel
We all make mistakes and learn from them. But what if we know how to avoid them that could help us reach our goals faster. For female entrepreneurs, certain mistakes could set them back far behind in their entrepreneurial journey. This is where the book, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, comes to the rescue.
An elaborate guide with over 130 unconscious mistakes that women in professional spaces need to overcome to achieve progress. The author advises you to avoid making these ‘nice girl’ mistakes for succeeding everywhere you go.
Whether it is social skills or business skills, this insightful handbook helps you present yourself in a bolder and more confident way.
12. The Confidence Effect by Grace Killelea
Though it is often claimed that corporate culture favors men, the author of this book helps us discover the one element that holds back women and prevents them from pushing forward – Confidence.
The Confidence Effect will help you know the Four Rs of Success—relationships, reputation, results, and resilience. It also shares with you build circles of influence, seize opportunities they normally avoid, leverage and promote their skills, cultivate executive presence, use data compellingly, and bounce back from setbacks.
An effective book for women entrepreneurs to move with confidence and claim their success.
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13. Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin
Often times even after scaling the career ladder, women feel stuck and unfulfilled. To help tackle this scenario, author Lauren McGoodwin, penned the book Power Moves.
Based on her acclaimed website, Career Contessa, this book is packed with actionable advice and learning tools that will help women take steps to grow their careers. It works as essential guidance on overcoming self-doubt, comparison, and self-loathing.
It also helps in embracing your vulnerable side and learning to make powerful moves to build a successful and meaningful career.
14. Ask For It by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Effective negotiation skills play a crucial role when it comes to achieving success in life. Yet, women in the workplace often lack this essential skill.
This is a book reveals how women avoid negotiation and end up losing promotions that would’ve been monumental in their career progression. Ask For It, comes with a step-by-step guide to negotiating especially as women professional or entrepreneur.
It presents you with an actionable four-phase strategy backed by in-depth research that will help you achieve more raises, more perks, and more resources.
An essential book for women entrepreneurs to claim the fair share both professionally and personally.
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15. Rising Strong by Brené Brown
The final book on this list is one of the most essential reads for a female entrepreneur. Penned by six-time New York Times Best Selling Author, Brené Brown, Rising Strong is a testament to discovering the vulnerability and embracing failure.
Full with countless stories of entrepreneurs, couples, teachers, and parents, it will help you learn how falling down is the first step in regaining our footing to rise back up. The author’s thorough analysis of these stories will help you recognize the power of emotion and channel it to move forward.
Unlike all other books on this list, Rising Strong works less as a handbook and more as a guide to awakening your courage while facing fears and achieving aspirations.
