People love to ask questions about our business, and I’m
always happy to speak to people about it – the more businesses there are out
there, the better our economy. And if
they’re women business owners, even better ;)
Most of the questions I get seem to center around ‘How did
you learn how to start [or build] a business’?
or ‘Did you go to school for this?’ or ‘How do you know what you are
doing?’
I think most people are curious because whether well thought
out or just a tiny inkling in their minds, they want to do their own thing, be
their own boss or build something themselves.
They want to run their own businesses.
And their questions stem from the thoughts that they need to have some
sort of insider knowledge or formal training to do it. Well, I get it, and you don’t.
I went to school for communications at Boston University
(back then it didn’t cross my mind that I would ever be an entrepreneur), I
learned to build businesses by trial and error and reading a LOT of
Entrepreneur and Fast Company magazines and many, many books, some of which you
can see in the photo above.
I wanted to share a handful of my favorite business books –
they’re ones that I can read over and over, because every time I read them I take
something different from them every time, depending on where I am in life. If you’re thinking about starting a business,
continuing to grow your business, or are just looking for motivation to make a
change in your life, I recommend these.
Never Eat Alone by
Keith Ferrazzi: The book teaches the reader step-by-step how
to build a business through relationships and partnerships. I love this book because, if there is one
word to describe my business approach, its ‘partnerships’. I often work with larger businesses or more
experienced individuals to create partnerships that help build my businesses
into something bigger, at an expedited speed.
In ‘Never Eat Alone’, Keith breaks it down very simply why these
relationships are important, and how to establish these relationships from
scratch.
By Invitation
Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the
Way Millions Shop by Alexis Maybank
and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson: There
really aren’t very many business books out there written by women, let alone
women in charge of high-profile companies like Gilt Groupe, so of course when
Karen (my sister) told me to read this one, I immediately downloaded it on my
Kindle. Not only is it inspirational,
but it offers great insight into building a technology-driven company, which I
believe every company needs to be embedded in, since the online space is where
it’s at.
4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss: I read this book while taking a 4 month work-cation around southeast Asia (I traveled for personal enjoyment, but worked while I was out there), so it was ideal for where I was in life at the time, but as I've re-read it since then, there are many great approaches this book teaches you on how to build a 'lifestyle' business. For those of us that don't want work to dictate how we live, but instead want to enjoy work just as much as we enjoy the rest of life, Tim teaches you how to make work more
efficient yet meaningful.
Happy reading –
Gail
