SmallBizLady’s 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List » Succeed As Your Own Boss

Now that we are free to move about the country, hopefully, you’ll be able to take a little time off away from all your technology and get some rest. While you’re at it, grab a good book or two to help enlighten yourself along the way. Here is my 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

2022 Small Business Summer Reading List

Take a break from the grind this summer and fill your mind with new ideas that will help you run your small business! These are my favorite books right now, which is why they make my 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List.

1. The Power of One More, The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success by Ed Mylett

Author Ed Mylett is an accomplished entrepreneur with a sincere desire to share what he has learned as a businessman, husband, father, and philanthropist. This groundbreaking book is the first of its kind, revealing how you can combine thoughts and actions to unlock dynamic and impactful changes. Ed lays out dozens of practical strategies that show how you’re only one more thought and step away from transforming your life from average to extraordinary. You’ll learn the power of developing one more habit, fighting through one more inconvenience, creating one more identity, building one more relationship, and many others. This is a must-read.

2. Change Masters, How to Actually Make the Changes Your Already Know You Need to Make by Barry Moltz

Most people know what’s going wrong in their business, but you must be ready to make the changes necessary to win. In the book Change Masters, author Barry Moltz identifies that change starts with taking a clear view of where you are, taking responsibility for getting there, and then taking the appropriate steps to improve the situation. This is sage advice in business and for your life. When you are ready to make changes in your business, you couldn’t have a better guide than seasoned entrepreneur Barry Moltz.

3. Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin

Author Tunde Oyeneyin is a popular Peloton instructor, fitness star, and founder of SPEAK. Her New York Times bestselling book is an empowering, inspiring story of how she transformed grief, setbacks, and flaws into growth, self-confidence, and triumph to become a leading voice for self-care and personal determination. She walks us through each step of the SPEAK acronym—Surrender, Power, Empathy, Authenticity, and Knowledge. If you are looking to make a position transformational change in your life, read this first.

4. Master Your Mindset, How Women Leaders Step Up by Molly Gimmel

This leadership book is exceptional. Successful entrepreneur Molly Gimmel has provided a blueprint to being a woman of power. Molly has synthesized decades of relevant experience into a useful, actionable format that can transform your business and give you the necessary tools to evaluate your leadership style. This book is for women who want to grow and improve their leadership, influence, and impact.

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

Rachel Rodgers’ book is about having success in life and business. Her powerful personal story is thought-provoking and inspirational. She is all about how to create abundance in your life. She provides a path to creating the support, confidence, and plan you need to own your success and become the millionaire the world needs you to be.

6. Master Mentors, 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds by Scott Jeffery Miller 

If you are a lifelong learner seeking practical strategies for reaching new heights in your business, Master Mentors is for you. This book distills 30 essential learnings from top thought leaders, including Seth Godin, Susan Cain, Trent Shelton, General Stanley McChrystal, and other leading business minds. Mining the best revelations from Franklin Covey’s global podcast, On Leadership with Scott Miller, he introduces you to 30 Master Mentors, featuring the single most transformative insight from each of them. It’s a great read.

7. My Life in Full, Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo 

I am a big fan of autobiographies, especially those where the CEO tells the whole truth. This book is an inspirational, witty account of a wife, mother, and business leader who made it to the top. She is honest about her tradeoffs and what her success cost her. This is a must-read for all Boss Chicks! 

8. I Love It Here, How Great Leaders Create Organizations Their People Never Want to Leave by Clint Pulver

Author Clint Pulver – who goes by Undercover Millennial – shares insights from more than 10,000 undercover interviews with employees across the country. He reveals the best methods for identifying talent, building a sense of ownership, and developing a successful workplace culture that employees will love. You’ll also learn the number one driver of employee turnover and what you need to do to keep your employees. Your people are key to business success, and this book can help you get better at managing them. 

9. Thrive: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Competitive Advantage by Meridith Elliott Powell

Many small business owners are still trying to reinvent or regroup from the pandemic. What I love about this book is that it is fact-based. When I’m looking for help with my business, I want facts. I want ideas that are tested. I want information that, at first glance, I can see is relevant to me, makes total sense, and is highly doable.

10. Amp it Up; Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity by Frank Slootman

I often give leadership books by Silicon Valley types a side-eye, but I liked this one. Author Frank Slootman is a legendary CEO who has led multiple companies through the IPO process, so he is more than qualified to share these thoughts. He offers very practical advice that touches on the many issues that most small business leaders will face. I particularly enjoyed his advice on how to focus on analysis. Success leaves clues, and this book offers many gems. 

11. CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra 

McKinsey & Company senior partners look at some of the most well-respected CEOs in the Fortune 500. Drawing from 25 years of research and interviews with top corporate leaders (including chiefs at Netflix, J.P. Morgan Chase, General Motors, and Sony), the authors show that while the role of CEO is unique to each organization, the best CEOs think and adapt in surprisingly similar ways.  

12. Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded by Melinda F. Emerson

If you are looking to transition from employee to entrepreneur or build an e-commerce side hustle, this book is for you. Here’s one of the Amazon reviews.

I bought the first one after meeting Melinda Emerson and attended one of her reinvention classes. The first (edition) didn’t disappoint, and this one is even better. Everything from the Emerson’s Essentials to Emerson’s Experience and action steps, it’s like she’s standing next to you every step of the way. If you follow the advice, listen to the experience, and genuinely understand she’s all about making sure you succeed, you will be glad you bought it, read it and refer to it repeatedly. I bought this book to learn and relearn everything I think I know…

Your 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List

I hope you have found something of interest on this 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List that you can dig into this summer. Leaders are readers, and success leaves clues everywhere. Pick up a book; you might learn something that can help you grow your business or yourself.  

So, what’s on YOUR 2022 Small Business Summer Reading List? Let me know your favorites from the list above and what other books you’re planning on reading this summer by commenting below.