The Entrepreneur’s Essential Reading List

The right books, courses, and mentors give you a roadmap for confidence, clarity, and sustainable growth as you redefine success on your own terms.

The journey from corporate executive to creative entrepreneur requires both resetting and relearning.

You’re taking apart decades of corporate conditioning while building entirely new muscles around creativity, risk-taking, and self-promotion. The right resources can help you accelerate this transformation dramatically.

Mindset Mastery: Conquering the Internal Game

“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert

Gilbert reframes creativity as a collaboration with curiosity rather than a battle with fear. Essential for anyone struggling with perfectionism or creative blocks.

Fear is My Homeboy” by Judi Holler

Practical strategies for reframing fear as excitement and taking action despite uncertainty. Perfect for the strategic mind that wants concrete tools.

Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo

This book reframes mindset as a muscle you can train, turning obstacles into opportunities and self-doubt into resourcefulness. Essential for anyone who feels stuck by circumstances or overwhelmed by challenges, it’s a practical guide to building confidence through action.

The Confidence Code” by Kay and Shipman

A data-driven approach to understanding and building confidence. Particularly powerful for women transitioning from corporate validation to self-generated authority.

Business Building: Practical Implementation

Get Good With Money” by Tiffany Aliche

This book reframes mindset as a muscle you can train, turning obstacles into opportunities and self-doubt into resourcefulness. Essential for anyone who feels stuck by circumstances or overwhelmed by challenges, it’s a practical guide to building confidence through action.

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power” by Rachel Rodgers

This book is a call to action for women to earn more and build wealth unapologetically. Rodgers debunks the myth that wealth is reserved for a select few and provides a clear, no-nonsense roadmap for financial empowerment.

You Are a Badass®: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero

This book reframes mindset as a muscle you can train, turning obstacles into opportunities and self-doubt into resourcefulness. Essential for anyone who feels stuck by circumstances or overwhelmed by challenges, it’s a practical guide to building confidence through action.

Mistakes That Made Me a Millionaire by Kim Perell

This book is a candid roadmap to turning failures into stepping stones for success. With raw stories from her journey as a kitchen-table founder to selling a company for $235M, Perell shows how mistakes can become the most powerful catalysts for growth. Essential for entrepreneurs ready to reframe setbacks as million-dollar opportunities.

Creative Business Specifics

Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins

Debunks the myth that artists must be poor and provides strategies for building sustainable creative businesses

Art, Inc.” by Lisa Congdon

Practical guide covering everything from pricing artwork to building an audience. Written by an artist for artists.

The Artist’s Wayby Julia Cameron

This is the classic guide to unlocking creativity and overcoming creative blocks. The morning pages practice alone is worth the read. Through weekly exercises and reflections, it gently guides you to reconnect with your inner artist. It’s a transformative journey for anyone seeking more clarity, courage, and creative flow.

How Are You, Really?: A Guided Journal to Discover Your Authentic Selfby Jenna Kutchner

Jenna Kutcher invites you to slow down and check in with what truly matters. With thoughtful prompts and gentle guidance, it helps you peel back layers of busyness to reconnect with your voice, values, and vision.

Online Learning

My Own Business Institute (MOBI): Free, self-paced courses covering all aspects of business development. Certificate completion provides validation of your new professional identity.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Online: Comprehensive business education program specifically designed for women entrepreneurs.

Coursera Business Courses: University-level business education at a fraction of the cost. Great for filling specific knowledge gaps.

SCORE

SCORE is a non-profit organization that provides free business mentoring and educational workshops to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. They offer one-on-one sessions with experienced business mentors as well as a variety of webinars and online resources.

Find a Mentor: https://www.score.org/find-mentor

SBA Learning Center

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a range of online courses and training programs for small businesses. These resources are designed to help with various stages of business, from starting up to expanding.

Coursera Finance Courses

Coursera provides a huge selection of university-level finance courses on topics like financial markets, corporate finance, and personal finance. Many courses are available to audit for free, while others require a fee for full access and a certificate.

edX Finance Courses

Similar to Coursera, edX is another online learning platform with a strong focus on academic and professional development. They offer courses, professional certificates, and even degree programs in finance from top-tier institutions.

Staying Connected and Inspired

The Female CEO Blog: Regular articles on women’s entrepreneurship, leadership, and business strategy.

Women’s Caucus for Art Blog: Artist interviews, industry insights, and small business spotlights in the creative sector.

Harvard Business Review: Your corporate favorite still applies. Their entrepreneurship and leadership content remains gold.

Create A Consistent Learning Schedule

Daily: 15-20 minutes of mindset reading (builds new neural pathways gradually)

Weekly: One business article or blog post (stays current with trends)

Monthly: Complete one online module or workshop (systematic skill building)

Quarterly: Read one comprehensive business book (deep strategic thinking)

Investment in Learning IS Investment in Your Success

Every book read, course completed, and certificate earned serves dual purposes:

  1. Builds actual skills and knowledge
  2. Validates your new professional identity and combats imposter syndrome

The Bottom Line

Your corporate education never stopped, you continuously upgraded your skills and knowledge. Your entrepreneurial education should follow the same pattern: strategic, continuous, and directly applicable to your goals.

The entrepreneurs who succeed fastest aren’t necessarily the most naturally gifted. They’re the most committed to learning and applying new information consistently.


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