Get Inspired with the Best Books for Women in Business

Turn your dreams of success into a reality. These best-selling books for women in business offer proven strategies and inspiration to transform your career.

More women than ever are occupying leadership positions in their organizations. Learn from the women who pioneered paths to success in these top-rated books for women in business.

Women make exceptional leaders and business owners. We’re detail-oriented, creative, and possess high emotional intelligence. All of this is true despite the added challenges we face in the workplace.

We must navigate male-dominated industries. We must shatter glass ceilings. Nonetheless, more women are landing in leadership positions where few women have gone before. This list shows you where to look to get expert career advice from the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world.

If you’ve come to Single Mom Spot and discovered our resources that promote Financial Freedom Through Entrepreneurship, we are so excited to have you! This article was written specifically to inspire your entrepreneurial journey.

Best Books for Women in Business

Check out our list of the best business books written by real women who overcame insane obstacles and climbed to the top of their industries.

1.      Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

This one’s for women who want to get ahead in business but worry about how it might negatively impact people who depend on them. The truth is, your business success matters.

In Rachel Hollis’ New York Times bestselling book Girl, Stop Apologizing, she offers us a valuable lesson. Stop defining yourself by what you are to other people (wife, mother, daughter, employee) and start owning who you want to be instead.

As women in 2022, we’ve been brought up by generations intent on maintaining the status quo. We’ve been taught to sacrifice our ambitions to accommodate the happiness of others. Girl, Stop Apologizing encourages women to chase what they want instead.

Rachel Hollis started her career as a food blogger. She went on to gain international acclaim for her first book, Girl, Wash Your Face, and founded a multi-million dollar media company.

2. The Playbook: A Beginner Level Guide to Following Your Dream For Success by Jenna Paulson

Written for the every day woman & mom by a business owner and single mom, The Playbook: A Beginner Level Guide to Following Your Dream For Success is a short, beginner level book for women who have always wanted to start a book, build their own business or create a brand. Creative, inspirational and feminine, in this colorful book, the author invites women to begin trusting their own ideas and start the business adventure that they’ve always dreamed of.

Too often when women think of pursuing their dreams all they can see ahead is the obstacles. Women get stuck before they start. In The Playbook, book a real mom and an entrepreneur that has succeeded in business for over 15 years, guides you through the through thoughts and fears that can hold you back, while providing steps toward your dream of success that you can take TODAY.

The Playbook is the best-selling resource of the Million Dollar Mama Club,™ a brand that strives to inspire women to follow their dreams with beginner level resources.

 

3. Secrets of Six-Figure Women by Barabara Stanny

This pick is for women who want to develop a healthy relationship with personal finances and increase their annual income.

Yes, we’re still outnumbered greatly by men, but the number of female leaders and entrepreneurs making six and seven-figure salaries is on the rise. In fact, women are raking in six figures at a faster rate than their male counterparts.

Our success is not an accident. There are certain traits at which women excel. In Secrets of Six Figure Women, Barbara Stanny shares her research, including interviews with 150 six-figure female founders and leaders. She breaks down their common traits into actionable steps to help women make more money.

Barbara Stanny grew up wealthy and assumed she’d always be able to rely on her father or husband to provide for her. One morning, she woke up to a one million dollar bill from the IRS.

Confused, Stanny learned that her ex-husband, a compulsive gambler, had invested in illegal deals. He fled the country, abandoning Stanny and their three daughters. Her father refused to give her the money to clean up her ex’s mess.

That’s when Stanny, then an underpaid journalist, got smart with money and became the financial boss babe we know her as today.

4. Alpha Girls by Julian Guthrie

This is an especially important read for women in the tech industry or any cut-throat male-dominated industry.

Alpha Girls tells the tale of four women you’ve never heard of (and need to to know). Each woman played an integral role in the tech industry we know today. These wildly successful women share how they juggled business, family, glass ceilings, and sexism – all while making history.

Each of these women encountered staggering setbacks along their journey to the top. Their ability to rise above each obstacle attests to the courage and strength that lies within all women.

Julian Guthrie is a Pulitzer-nominated journalist and author. She emerged into the tech industry as CEO of Mindset Alpha, which uses targeted storytelling to recruit female talent.

5. Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Here’s a pick for women in management positions. If you’re looking to supercharge workplace culture and become an ultra-successful leader in your organization, this book is for you.

Women aren’t taught to communicate like bosses. We’re taught only to speak if we have something nice to say. As managers, we’re obligated to communicate feedback that isn’t nice. It makes sense that this is an area of growth for many women.

In Radical Candor, Kim Scott provides an essential framework for building strong relationships, leading cohesive teams, and finding success while retaining your humanity. Learn to challenge others from a place of caring while avoiding obnoxious aggression and ruinous empathy.

Kim Scott started her career managing a pediatric clinic in Kosovo. After moving to the United States, she spent years leading teams at industry giants like Google and Apple.

Seeing how many leaders fail to strike a balance between empathetic and assertive, she dove into the coaching profession. Scott founded Radical Candor, LLC to coach CEOs and other executives on becoming stronger leaders.

6. Feminist Fight Club: A Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett

This one is for every woman who has ever experienced sexism in the workplace. Get a proven strategy on combating it the next time it happens. (Yes, there will be a next time).

In this Feminist Fight Club, Jessica Bennett tells of secret meetings that took place every month in a New York City apartment. In these meetings, women would share sexist job situations and give each other tips on how to overcome them.

In essence, these women met to empower each other to fight sexist men. Accompanied by data analyzing the gender gap in American workplaces, the book offers real-world tactics women can use to stand up for themselves in the workplace.

Jennifer Bennet is a journalist and author who began her career at Newsweek. She started her career by writing about national affairs and subcultures. Her career flourished as she shaped coverage of the #MeToo movement and profiled polarizing women like Monica Lewinsky and Amanda Knox.

She’s devoted her career to covering women’s issues and teaching journalism at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism School at NYU.

7. Beyond the Boys’ Club: Achieving Career Success as a Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Field by Suzanne Doyle-Morris

Our last pick is for all women looking for strategies to advance in their organizations, no matter what their current level may be.

This book does a great job of spelling out exactly what it takes to advance your career. With tips on developing real-life strategies for breaking the glass ceiling, Beyond the Boys’ Club gives crucial information for elevating your career to the next level.

Doyle-Morris shares interviews with women from organizations like Microsoft, the University of Cambridge, and Barclays. The content serves as a useful resource for women who want to get ahead and set strong professional priorities.

Dr. Suzanne Doyle Morris has been helping women in technology and other male-dominated industries for decades. She leads the way in training companies to become better allies to underrepresented groups. She also coaches companies on standing up to toxic behavior.

What do you believe about yourself and your success?

We believe you are capable of the same level of success as each of the ambitious women authors listed above.

Yes, you can start a thriving company. Yes, you can turn your company into an empire. This is the era of women entrepreneurs; we hope this article encourages you to find your place in it and become a successful woman in business. And the best part, in today’s business environment there is more flexibility, more creativity and more chances to market yourself and your business FOR FREE!

Recently read a great book by a female entrepreneurs or successful woman in business? Share the books that have inspired you to press on in business and motherhood below. Single Mom Spot readers will appreciate it!