10 Best Books For Female Entrepreneurs
It was the same in entrepreneurship – until women started breaking the glass ceiling in Business and entrepreneurship.
From running Successful, Profitable franchise-based Businesses to leading some of the top companies in the world, more women are stepping forward and firmly establishing their names in the business world.
Consider this –
- Across the globe, women own 40% of businesses, and in the last 20 years, businesses owned by women have increased by 114% (source: Whattobecome)
- As of 2024, the gender pay gap in entrepreneurship has narrowed, with women-owned businesses earning 85 cents for every dollar earned by male-owned businesses, up from 81 cents in 2021.
- Access to funding for female entrepreneurs has improved, with venture capital investments in women-led startups increasing by 25% since 2021.
- The number of female unicorn founders (startups valued at over $1 billion) has doubled since 2020, indicating a positive shift in high-growth entrepreneurship.
Some of these women entrepreneurs have shared their thoughts and wisdom about life and work in books.
In this blog, I review “Books For Female Entrepreneurs” that will motivate and inspire female entrepreneurs to consider entering the business world.
Thrive by Arianna Huffington
After a brief foray into public life, Ms Huffington has built a formidable media business.
Her eponymous media website was one of the first online news website success stories many have emulated.
Undoubtedly, Huffington is a pioneer in her space.
In her book, Huffington shares her ideas about balancing work demands and what you truly value in your life, including happiness. Mindfulness and meditation also make an appearance.
This is a good read for aspiring Female Entrepreneurs who are starting on an arduous trek that Huffington has already taken.
“Lays out a path for each of us to look within and make our lives more authentic and fulfilling,” says Sheryl Sandberg about the book. Anne Marie-Slaughter says it’s a book of “wit, wisdom, and practical advice for changing our lives by changing our values.”
I say, ‘This book is a must-read for every female entrepreneur, which is why it occupies the top of my recommended book for women entrepreneurs.’
Bestseller Status: Thrive was a New York Times bestseller and became an Amazon bestseller, resonating with readers seeking work-life balance and well-being.
Notable Review: Publishers Weekly described the book as “an excellent guide for individuals aspiring beyond the rat race.” It lauds Huffington’s blend of Eastern and Western philosophies to reshape how we view success (source: Barnes & Noble Booksellers)
She Means Business: Turn Your Ideas into Reality and Become a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur by Carrie Green
Women can often have the germ of an incredible entrepreneurial idea.
Still, they may hold themselves back for various reasons, including lack of avenues for funding or failure to persist.
Women may hesitate to pursue new business ideas if they have failed once.
She Means Business offers almost a step-by-step guide on vaulting over these hurdles.
Ms. Green provides meticulously detailed instructions on how to dream big dreams and then persist so that those dreams turn into reality.
She has a proper checklist at the end.
Her book uses inspirational quotes from Oprah to Woody Allen and her own life story as an example and a template for success.
She challenges women never to hold back and to dream big dreams.
The book can be inspirational if you find the idea of achieving your childhood dreams inspiring, as described by Dr. Randy Pausch in The Last Lecture video.
In my opinion, this book is a fantastic read and would appeal to every woman who wants to be an entrepreneur but is held back by the challenges that come with ‘entrepreneurship.’
- Bestseller Status: Listed as a bestseller on multiple platforms, including Amazon.
- Notable Review: Caitlin Shogren states, “Carrie Green provides practical guidance with real-world examples and case studies, particularly for women entrepreneurs. While some sections are more personal and focus on her journey, the book offers valuable exercises to help readers move past fears and doubts and build successful businesses.” Some readers found the visualization techniques motivational, though others found them overly personal(source: PenguinRandomhouse.com )
Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business by Barbara Corcoran
Ms. Corcoran focuses on her own life story in real estate and draws deeply from homespun wisdom to weave her tale of success.
Her book reminds readers of all the values and techniques moms have tried to instil in their kids.
Corcoran’s lessons remind us of the importance of focusing on what we have and of the value of kindness and sharing.
Moms have been multitasking in their own way for ages; the successful YouTubers of today are not all that special when seen in that light.
You, too, can be a pilot, a woman with a dog (or many dogs), a wannabe actress or movie star, or an American girl in a ‘foreign’ land. All these scenarios are ripe with possibilities for YouTube channels.
Moms don’t quit, and neither should aspiring entrepreneurs.
Whereas other business books have looked to Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or Jack Welch to impart some critical business lessons about innovation, persistence, or marketing secrets, Ms. Corcoran covers the same ground while using domestic scenarios.
- Bestseller Status: The book is a New York Times bestseller and has been popular on platforms like Amazon.
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Notable Review: The Life Chest praises Shark Tales for its mix of humor and practical business advice, saying, “The book is a great book filled with humor and wit that illustrate creative and brilliant ways to guide you through whatever your career is!” It highlights how Corcoran weaves life lessons from her upbringing into her entrepreneurial journey (source: Penguin Random House Canada)
Make The First Move by Whitney Wolfe Herd
Acquiring a billion-dollar net worth by creating a women-friendly online dating app is a compelling and unique story.
Ms. Herd is one of the few woman startup billionaires and an inspiration to all females across the globe looking to succeed in the mobile app/tech / social media space.
Her book details her techniques, insights, and values.
Like Sheryl Sandberg in Lean In, Herd makes a case for women to be more assertive about the value they provide to the organization that employs them.
Yes – you read it right! As a woman, you need to be more assertive about things because there is an unseen industry bias.
The sheer audacity shown by people like Wolfe Herd, Sandberg, and Marissa Mayer to carve out success for themselves in a male-dominated tech industry offers lessons to us all and professional women in particular.
Make the First Move offers details of the bylanes, Herd had to travel.
The book also details the battles she had to fight and how she won those battles and the war.
This book talks about jumping the hurdles to achieve your ambitions and how to have a community of friends.
My take – Online dating space is not an easy industry to succeed in, and Herd just achieved the unthinkable in a tough industry.
This book is a must-read for every female looking for that extra dose of inspiration.
Awards: While the book itself hasn’t won any major awards, Whitney Wolfe Herd has been honored with numerous recognitions for her leadership and innovation, including being named on *Forbes* 30 Under 30 (2017, 2018) and *TIME*’s 100 Most Influential People (2021)(source: CoxToday).
Notable Review: Management Today praised Wolfe Herd’s tenacity, stating: “If I had listened to everybody around me when I was starting Bumble, there’d be no Bumble,” reflecting the book’s strong message of leadership and empowerment.
Dear Female Founder: 66 Letters of Advice from Women Entrepreneurs Who Have Made $1 Billion in Revenue by Lu Li.
Ms. Li moved from China to Berlin when she was young and grew up, and had excellent corporate careers at Procter & Gamble and McKinsey.
But she decided to chuck all that to build a company on her own.
She realized the problems of female entrepreneurs when she faced them herself.
Ms. Li found Blooming Founders in London, which aimed to support female founders and entrepreneurs.
In this book, Li collects advice from successful women entrepreneurs who might serve as role models for young women or women who want to be entrepreneurs.
You will learn a great deal of detail about the fantastic variety of successes female entrepreneurs have already achieved in a staggering variety of entrepreneurial activities.
The story of Ms. Li personally moved me. I am an immigrant and know what it takes to stand out as a female in a new country.
The collection of advice from all successful entrepreneurs worldwide makes it an exciting read for every entrepreneur.
Bestseller Status: The book has garnered significant attention within entrepreneurial communities but is not listed as a New York Times or Amazon bestseller.
Notable Review:
“Dear Female Founder is a personal, inspirational, and at times deeply moving read. It provides a unique blend of encouragement, wisdom, and practical insights, shared by remarkable female entrepreneurs.” — Kathryn Parsons,GBSGE
Digital Goddess: The Unfiltered Lessons of a Female Entrepreneur by Victoria Montgomery Brown
Entrepreneurship in the digital domain involves new ideas and knowledge of VC funding insider baseball and being on the same wavelength – with the men with the money.
For women, this presents a tricky problem or several tricky problems.
Montgomery Brown has navigated these waters successfully and offers vignettes from her journey in founding Big Think.
How do women entrepreneurs run a startup while also needing to breastfeed or toilet train the babies?
Women cannot ‘outsource’ child-rearing responsibilities as quickly as men.
What about co-founders?
How much should investors know … about cancer, pregnancies, or DUIs?
Steve Jobs and Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos favoured an attitude of secrecy in general.
Ms. Montgomery Brown believes in being transparent.
This book is a good read for aspiring female entrepreneurs who must travel the same roads and face the same hurdles as this self-described digital goddess.
- Notable Review: “This book is a must-read for any woman who is looking to grow her career or start a business. Victoria has embraced the volatility of entrepreneurship with unflinching grace and fierce, bring-it-on determination.” — Francis Frei, Harvard Business School, HarperCollins Leadership
Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts And Doubters by Kara Goldin
When you build a successful company, you face challenges and overcome them.
With her credentials as the founder of Hint Water, Goldin has important lessons to offer to women entrepreneurs who want to venture into entrepreneurship’s risky waters.
But more than just business lessons, Goldin also chooses to share her experience trying to effect changes in people’s lifestyles.
It’s a book that’ll help you stay the course when you face setbacks on your entrepreneurial journey and help you deal with personal challenges such as improving your fitness routines or how to quit addictions.
We probably don’t realize how much time we waste on social media with little return.
In my opinion, the book teaches more than entrepreneurship—it teaches you discipline and time management, two essential ingredients for success as an entrepreneur.
- Awards: Kara Goldin has received multiple accolades, though not specific to the book itself, including being named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.
- Bestseller Status: Undaunted has reached Amazon Bestseller lists, particularly in the business and self-help categories.
- Notable Review: Beyond 8 Figures calls Undaunted a “game-changer,” praising its blend of autobiography and business memoir, and highlighting how it offers relatable lessons on perseverance. Kara Goldin’s candidness about her struggles makes the book stand out in the business genre – Confetti Bookshelf
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates’ husband-and-wife team has made a remarkable difference in the world through their philanthropy.
In this book, Ms. Gates focuses on women’s key role in shaping societies.
She spends some time discussing US healthcare policy and specific US government policies such as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit.
There is a peculiarly American awkward relation that Americans have with contraception, which is all the more peculiar for having takers in a country in which people are supposedly reasonably well-educated.
People in Africa and Asia – women in particular – are eager to partake in simple things like contraceptive use.
The book is sobering on many levels.
- Awards: No major literary awards have been publicly listed for the book.
- Bestseller Status: The Moment of Lift became a New York Times Bestseller and also reached bestseller lists on Amazon.
- Notable Review: Former President Barack Obama praised the book, saying, “Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she’s met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention—from child marriage to gender inequity in the workplace.” This praise highlights the book’s powerful blend of personal stories and data to shed light on critical global gender issues
Boss Up!: This Ain't Your Mama's Business Book by Lindsay Teague Moreno
Ms. Teague Moreno has written a part-memoir, part-business/motivational book combing practical life advice and business lessons.
This is her second book.
Teague Moreno has a background in MLM and selling essential oils.
In this book, she focuses on moms who want to be entrepreneurs.
Luckily, those who are not moms can also find some things in this book that help the real world.
This book is for those who don’t like the typical business books.
Even if you don’t plan to start a new business, this book will help you with your self-confidence.
I think many of you (especially Mompreneurs) will love her breezy writing style.
Bestseller Status: Boss Up! became an Amazon Bestseller and has been featured in business leadership lists
Notable Review: “Boss Up! is a fantastic, straight-talking roadmap for getting started and for continuing to evolve and thrive as a woman entrepreneur… Lindsay takes the lessons she’s learned through her own experience and shares them in an honest, humorous, and inspiring way.” — Ali Edwards, business owner, AliEdwards.com
Winging It by Emma Isaacs
Ms. Isaacs runs Business Chicks, which helps women start and grow their businesses.
Isaacs has experience running her own business when she was in her 20s.
Originally from Australia, she now lives in Los Angeles with her five kids.
She knows about work/life balance and shares what has worked for her and how she did it in this book.
From her vantage point of interacting with successful men and women, she says that you cannot wait for everything to become perfect or for everything to fall into place before doing something such as starting a business.
You have to take the plunge now and learn the rules of the game while playing it. That’s how successful people do it and have done it.
I loved the way Emma gives straightforward advice.
As a woman entrepreneur, you will like the book and find it relatable with straightforward advice on building a successful business.
Notable Review: Publishers Weekly describes Isaacs’ book as “gutsy and go-for-the-gold,” noting her practical approach of diving in headfirst without perfectionism. Isaacs inspires readers to banish fear, embrace failure, and remain adaptable while pursuing their goals – PublishersWeekly.com
