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Summer Reading List for Entrepreneurs 2023

Welcome to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! For many of us, summer looks a lot like a juggling act of taking kids to the pool and trying desperately to catch up on emails! And while you may be sweating on how you’re going to get the same amount done while having the kiddos […]

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Hey, I’m Shanna Skidmore. Former Fortune 100 Financial Advisor turned Business Consultant. For the past 15 years I’ve worked in finance helping entrepreneurs around the world make more money and then manage it well. During that time I’ve unlocked the blueprint to building a profitable and sustainable business designed to align with the life you want to live.

Here’s the thing—the "business side of running a business" can be hard, and it’s not everyone’s best skill—but it *is* mine. I would be honored to come alongside you on your business journey.

Shanna Skidmore

Welcome to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!

For many of us, summer looks a lot like a juggling act of taking kids to the pool and trying desperately to catch up on emails! And while you may be sweating on how you’re going to get the same amount done while having the kiddos home from school, I hope you’re able to carve out some time to enjoy summer not just with your kids but like a kid!

Adulting Perk? While summer reading lists used to be assigned by social studies teachers, now we get to decide what’s on our reading list!

Summer Reading List for Entrepreneurs 2023

Here’s what’s on my summer reading list for 2023 (in no particular order):

1. Effortless by Greg McKeown I’m in the finishing stages on this one already. His first book is my all time favorite business book. I’m a huge advocate for spending time with intention and putting energy where it counts.

Favorite quotes so far:

“A way to achieve more with ease— to achieve more because you are at ease.”

“If you keep it simple, less can go wrong.”

2. Make Life Beautiful by Syd an Shea McGee. I’m embarrassed to say it’s been sitting on our bookshelf for a couple years now. But it always seems to happen this way… I picked it up exactly at the right time for me to read it. It hits home so much right now.

Some of my favorite quotes so far:

“While sprinting toward our dreams, we’d left our priorities behind.” One of the big reasons I’m an advocate for “Defining Enough” because this is so easy to do!

“While I loved creating beautiful spaces for people, I had no idea what it meant to streamline processes or improve efficiency.” Boom, yes. This was such a reminder and encouragement for me why I’m so passionate about working with entrepreneurs on the business side of running a business. Being great at your craft is one thing, but figuring out how to make money doing it can be challenging!

3. The Song of Significance: Seth Godin’s new book! You don’t have to stick around here long to know that Seth Godin is about the only voice I listen to when it comes to marketing. I recently listened to this interview on the EntreLeadership Podcast and loved it. This interview was also super powerful. I am beyond excited to dig into his newest book. This is one of my favorites I read a few years ago.

Favorite takeaway: “Make stuff that matters for people who care.” —Seth Godin

4. The 5AM Club. I heard about this book at a conference where I recently spoke. As a toddler mom with some big business goals and the need to workout more, I’ve been thinking a lot about making the most of early mornings. 5AM sounds exhausting… 6AM club?

5. Minka Kelly Tell Me Everything I love a good auto-biography and I’ve heard great things about this one. Self-Made lady. I’m here for it.

6. Open Book: A Memoir by Jessica Simpson (audio) Another memoir I’ve heard great things about. I’m a big fan of audiobooks read by the authors, so I’ll likely snag this one by Jessica Simpson on Audible.

7. Do Open: How a simple email newsletter can transform your business (and it can). Confession: I’ve never heard of the “Do books” until reading through one of our recent Student Spotlight interviews!! This past year I committed to showing up more consistently and writing a weekly email newsletter. It’s been a big learning experience and something I’m still learning. This book sounds perfect.

8. The Stories we Tell Joanna Gaines Basically I buy all things Joanna Gaines. #fangirl. And while this isn’t her typical design or cookbook, I have this feeling it’s going to be exactly what I need in this season.

9. $100M offer Last but not least, $100M offer. I literally just heard about this book today and immediately added to my Amazon cart.

Related: My Top 10 All Time Favorite Books

Quick Tip: Finding time to read hasn’t always been easy for me. Recently I’ve committed to no technology an hour before bed. I have found myself picking up a book before bed and getting in atleast 10 pages. I’ve breezing through a book or two a month now! This little practice has felt easy to incorporate and I love checking more books off my reading list.

Happy Summer! ☀️