The Books We Can't Recommend Highly Enough —

  • Building A Brand Story
    by: Donald Miller
    This book is an absolute must for all business owners. It will teach you how to frame your brand story in a way that will resonate with your audience. After reading this book I realize how weak most websites are. I encourage you to download the audiobook today and listen to at least the opening chapters. 
     

  • Big Magic 
    by: Liz Gilbert
    The best book about creativity I've ever encountered. I listened to the audiobook as I drove from LA to Napa a few years ago; Liz records the audiobook herself, and I highly recommend it.
     

  • 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing 
    by: Al Ries and Jack Trout
    Pete and I refer back to this book almost weekly as we think about building our businesses. It's an older book, so the companies it cites in its examples are older, but I think the principles are relevant as ever.
     

  • How to use graphic design to sell things 
    by: Pentagram Partner, Michael Bierut
    I sat down with this book one weekend, read every page, then proceeded to listen to every podcast, or lecture with Michael as I could find. I think it's invaluable if you are interested in visual brand building.
     

  • The Dip
    by: Seth Godin
    (recommended to me by Sugar Paper co-founder, Chelsea Shukov, when I was in a slump)
     

  • Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive
    by: Dorie Clark
    Highly recommend for service-based entrepreneurs trying to learn how to best leverage their knowledge
     

  • Good To Great
    by: Jim Collins
    While this explores case studies of a number of huge companies and organizations, I found that many of the principles could be applied to smaller ventures that desire to grow.
     

  • The Crowdsourceress: Get Smart, Get Funded, and Kickstart Your Next Big Idea
    by: Alex Daly, founder of Vann Alexandra and DalyPR - featured in Bossladies Issue 03
    An incredible resource for people thinking of running a crowdfunding campaign written by Alex Daly, who has raised millions on Kickstarter for clients like Neil Diamond, TLC, and the Joan Didion documentary.
     

  • Make it Bigger
    by: Pentagram Partner, Paula Scher
    This book is on my shelf to read next. I'll report back when I've finished it.
     

  • Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
    by: Danny Meyer
    (one of Ellen Bennett's favorites)
     

  • A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Building A Great Business
    by: Ari Weinzweig
    (one of Cathy Bailey's favorites)
     

  • Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
    by: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Sean Pratt