If you’re an entrepreneur like me, you probably also consider yourself a lifelong learner. Every day a new lesson is learned as we move forward in this journey.
But aside from getting my hands dirty and learning my own lessons along the way, I also love hearing from those who have “been there, done that”, which is why I’m super excited to share the resources I’ve found and LOVED over the past few years.
When I get ready in the mornings, I love listening to podcasts. It’s such a great way to start the day feeling inspired and educated. Before sitting down at my desk, I already feel as though I’ve accomplished something! The podcasts below are my favorite ones to tune into first thing:
- Business Unusual by Barbara Corcoran – I really got into this after I started my company. Barbara has SO much advice that is priceless. It’s almost as if she’s my personal business mentor, and each time I listen I learn someting new.
- The Goal Digger Podcast – Jenna Kutcher is the queen of marketing and has so many BIG time guests. She offers real, tangible advice that will help your business grow. Check out her top 10 episodes here.
- The Influencer Podcast by Julie Soloman – Julie gives so many great tips and tricks to help grow your influence and brand. This one is especially good for bloggers and content creators!
- She Did It Her Way by Amanda Boleyn – I started listening to this one right at the end of my journey in the corporate world and one of her episodes helped me in my decision to finally quit the job and chase my dreams.
- The Boss Babe Podcast – I recently started listening to this one and it is also filled with stories of like-minded entrepreneurs and the biggest lessons they’ve learned. The one I heard this week was about the importance of a CEO having managers in place to handle managing employees instead of trying to do it all yourself. There are many more that I’m excited to listen to as well!
I have to admit I’m not the best reader, but if I can get a book and read it within 1-2 weeks, then I’ll actually retain the information. The books below were ones I could not put down and finished quickly:
- Work Party – written by the CEO of Create & Cultivate, Jaclyn Johnson gives her life story and best business advice. I read this book earlier last year around the time I was making the decisions to leave my job and I felt like I was reading my life story, minus to moving from NYC to LA. She’s real, and she gets shit done. I LOVE her chapter on sales where she talks about how bold she was, especially in the early days.
- God Is My CEO – after starting this journey 7 months ago, I quickly realized how much I needed Jesus to be at the center of everything I was doing. Starting a company is hard. Running a company is hard. And it’s forced me to really level up with myself and my faith in God because at the end of the day, He is in control. This book is made up of dozens of CEOs and leaders and their stories of how they built successful companies with a solid foundation of faith. The stories in this book are quite miraculous, so much so that I started a book club to reflect on what was shared in these chapters.
- You Are A Badass – this book made a huge impact on me during a time I needed it most. I was 24 and going through a lot of changes. I really needed a confidence boost along with a chill TF out type of reading. Jen Sincero, the author, has the coolest writing style. You read it, and it really sinks in. This book is like your best hype woman, in a written format. It also really helped me with my anxiety.
- The Four Agreements – this is a more spiritual book, but the principles apply to your personal and professional life. It’s the easiest book I’ve ever read, but I like to use it as a morning devotional because the four agreements are easily understood but more difficult to apply. If you can live your life by these four agreements, you will likely be at peace.
You are who you surround yourself with. To really reach your maximum potential, it’s important to surround yourself with positive, motivated and inspirational women who have the same goals as you. That’s why I am obsessed with the following groups:
- Dallas Girl Gang – aside from the fact that I adore the founder, Amanda, this group is full of passionate, creative, driven women who all want to grow together. They have a yearly conference, Fearless, which is all about female entrepreneurship. Their Facebook group is the most active group I’m a part of. And they have several monthly events to help develop female business owners and encourage networking.
- Polished – a faith-based group for young women professionals, I’ve attended several lunches where I’ve met many fellow female entrepreneurs and left inspired after hearing a motivational boss babe speaker.
- Dallas Blogger Brunch – this group is meant for bloggers in the DFW area, and it’s a great way to meet other boss babes who are also growing a personal influential brand.
I hope you find these resources useful. They have all been SO helpful for me and my journey from employee to a business owner. It isn’t easy, it can be lonely, but once you put yourself out there and plug into the right resources and groups, you start to find that you can make it happen.
What’re your favorite entrepreneurial resources, boss babe?!