The Book That Changed My Business: Female Founders on What They Read
Eight female founders, from a coach who started out in property to the founder of a balloon training academy, on the book that changed how they work.
We all learn differently. Some of us need a book in our hands and a pen for the margins. Others learn best in a room full of business owners, swapping notes on what's worked and what hasn't.
For the founders who do reach for a book, I wanted to know which one had made the biggest difference to how they run their business. Their answers are below, in their own words, and they range from a 2026 bestseller to a book on assertiveness from the 80s.
Start With Yourself by Emma Grede
Lianne Robinson, founder of Unfolded Content, doesn't usually read this kind of book. A friend who loved it bought her a copy, she says, "when I was feeling a bit wobbly about my own business". Emma Grede grew up in East London and left school early. She is now co-founder and CEO of Good American and the founding partner of SKIMS. "I'd highly recommend it," Lianne says. "The way it's written, it really feels like she's talking straight to me."
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki sets the money lessons of his own father against those of his best friend's father. Mary-Ann Moloku, now a subconscious transformation coach and master hypnotherapist, says: "I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and got obsessed with financial freedom. I didn't want to work for anyone." At 24, Mary-Ann launched a short-let property company. It did well, but she says there was "no soul in it", and that eventually led her into coaching.
Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
In Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson sorts people into four colour-coded behaviour types. Michelle Passfield, a senior strategic marketing advisor who spent 11 years at Freshfields, has turned the title into advice for her clients. "When you're doing marketing, treat everyone like an idiot. That's not what the book is saying, but it's about communication." The people you're marketing to are busy, she says, and have no idea what you do, so spell it out.
The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr Benjamin Hardy
Katharine Sawyer, a business coach for health and wellness professionals and founder of WellCon, recommends The Gap and The Gain to founders who feel behind. Dan Sullivan argues that we measure ourselves against where we want to be, the gap, instead of how far we've come, the gain. Her own advice runs along the same lines: "Put your blinders on. Don't let what other people's success looks like consume you and make you feel less than."
A Woman in Your Own Right by Anne Dickson
Anne Dickson's book on assertiveness was first published in 1982. Giada Nizzoli, Founder of Crafty Copy, says it isn't a business book, "and yet it's had the biggest impact on how I run mine (and my life)". "As women, we were conditioned to shrink, be quiet, never rock the boat, give, give, give, prioritise being liked by everyone." In business, she says, that looks like "letting every Tom, Vik and Harry book free calls, feeling like we have to say yes to anyone asking for coffee chats, sharing endless personal branding content and vanilla marketing instead of shifting our ideal clients' beliefs and telling them how we can solve their problem.” This book helped her rewrite that narrative.
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
Mel Robbins' idea is that when you know you should act, you count down from five and move before your brain talks you out of it. Claire Bartlett, business strategist and host of The Simplified CEO podcast, credits it with how she makes decisions. "To be successful in business you need to be able to make quick decisions, and this book really enabled me to stop overanalysing and overthinking and just trust my instinct with decisions." She recommends it "to anyone who suffers with doubt".
In the Flo by Alisa Vitti
Alisa Vitti's book is about planning your work around the four phases of your menstrual cycle. "That book changed how I launch, how I plan, even how I rest," says Jessica Tellian, coach and founder of the Manifestation Academy, who recommends it "to every woman I work with". Reading came late for Jessica. "I'd never read books because my teachers told me I couldn't focus, and I believed them." One of the first she picked up was The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra.
Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks
The Hickses' book is about the law of attraction. Katherine Dalton, founder of Dress Your Daydream Balloon Training Academy, has read it "over and over again". "It isn't a book that is dedicated to business alone; however, it completely changed my mindset when it came to running my own business." She credits that shift with the success of Dress Your Daydream.
Which book changed how you run your business? Tell us in the comments below. Yours might make the next update.
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