7 Books That Inspired My Business in 2024
Whether a thrifted find, Goodreads discovery, or something borrowed from a friend, I often find my latest reads in various places. Or, more accurately, they find me.
This is especially the case with business books. Sometimes I’ll pick a title based on what’s trending, but oftentimes they jump out at me in the wild.
Which I love, because I often stumble upon books I wouldn’t have known to look for.
That was the case with many of my 2024 reads. Most were thrifted, one I borrowed from my mom, and only two had been released within the past year.
Each of these seven books has inspired the way I run my business, and not all of them relate to business, per say. Check them out:
Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results | By Jack Mitchell
Author Jack Mitchell encourages businesses to shift from a sales to a people-centric mindset. His stories of outstanding customer service from his own retail clothing stores, Mitchells and Richards, are joy-inducing and inspired me to extend that joy and care to my own clients.
Discover ways you can up your customer service in this post.
Ben & Jerry’s Double Dip: How to Run a Values Led Business and Make Money Too | By Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield
Along with gaining serious cravings for ice cream, this book inspired me to reflect on how I can incorporate values-led principles into my business.
Though I don’t have many cost-of-goods sold, the biggest way a business can impact social and environmental change, according to Ben & Jerry, there are still ways I can be mindful and supportive of the causes I believe in.
I’ve made a plan to donate 10% of my profits to a cause every quarter, along with an additional donation on Giving Tuesday and my state’s NH Gives, an online fundraising event for New Hampshire non-profits.
I’ve outlined more of my values-led plan here along with my favorite quotes from the book.
I also appreciated Ben & Jerry’s perspective on running a business on your terms.
“You don’t need to put on a suit and tie if you’d rather wear a T-shirt. You don’t need to hire an ad agency if you want to tell your own truth. You can choose not to believe the so-called conventional rules of business, to trust your own reasoning and beliefs instead of-or along with-soliciting advice from lawyers, accountants, and other businesspeople. You can still lead with your values, even when the experts tell you what they told us so many times: ‘Nobody’s ever done that before. You’d be crazy to do that. It won’t work.’ But just because something’s never been done doesn’t mean it never can be.” — Ben & Jerry’s Double Dip: How to Run a Values Led Business and Make Money Too (page 51)
The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection | By Michael Singer
If you’re interested in spirituality, this is the book to read first.
Singer, author of “The Untethered Soul,” shares his life story from studying for his PhD to finding spirituality, starting a tech company to the lawsuit that later emerged from it.
The book serves as a case study on how life can unfold when you surrender and accept what’s presented to you.
It was fascinating to see how seemingly insignificant choices and events set up bigger moments in Singer’s life, and the lessons he learned from them.
Acceptance can be difficult to put into practice. It’s something I struggle with, but “The Surrender Experiment” inspired me to aspire for presence, peace, and acceptance in all areas of my life, including business. Whether I don’t land a proposal I was hoping for, business is down, or overwhelmingly up, I’m working on staying in the moment and accepting what I’ve been given.
In this post, I share how I embraced overdrawing my business bank account, the lessons I learned, and how the experience can help others. I wouldn’t have had this acceptance and perspective had I not read “The Surrender Experiment.”
Dare to Lead | By Brené Brown
This book was so good I kept it. And I’m not one for collecting books.
Whether you own a business, have employees or not, are a manager, or want to improve your interpersonal skills, this book contains so many gems of wisdom, all of it backed by research.
I’ve saved several quotes from its pages, including:
“Clear is kind and unclear is unkind.”
In this post I share tips on how to be clear in your business.
The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience | By Aditi Nerurkar
I felt so seen by this book.
Nerurkar describes “The Resilience Myth” which causes us to feel guilty for not handling stress well. She takes on hustle culture and shares simple actions that can help you recover from it.
“The 5 Resets” doesn’t teach you how to handle stress, it teaches you how to reduce it.
It inspired me to go on a social media detox in August which led me to begin writing on Medium.
Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life | By Vivian Tu
I adore Vivian’s reels over at Your Rich BFF. Her money advice is approachable, engaging, and entertaining.
In “Rich AF” I read the clearest explanation of tax brackets and never understood them better. (She uses pizza as a metaphor.)
She also explains investing in a non-overwhelming way and I appreciate how she includes retirement account options for the self-employed.
“Rich AF” inspired me to open a high-yield savings account and up my SEP IRA contribution.
Live Your Dreams | By Les Brown
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” — Les Brown, “Live Your Dreams” (page 132)
This is another book I saved numerous quotes from. Brown, a motivational speaker who gained notoriety in the nineties, shares upbeat wisdom for going after what you want while leading a fulfilling life.
If you need a boost to start a business or to go after something you’ve been holding yourself back on, this is the read.
Discover more of my favorite quotes from “Live Your Dreams.”
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Check out my full reading list on Goodreads.
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Hey there! I’m Meg:
LOVER OF CATS, ROLLER SKATING, AND VW BUGS
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