A lot of people may see their summer reading as a means to escape their work life, while others, like entrepreneurs and business owners, are wanting a pool-side reading list that inspires them to become even better at what they do. 

If you’re looking for that kind of inspiration and advice on running your business, add these ideas to your reading list this summer.

Product-Led SEO: The Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy

Product-Led SEO by Eli Schwartz is a good read if you want to learn more about successfully driving traffic, leads, and sales (and who doesn’t right?) But you won’t find a step-by-step explanation.

“It’s an education into how to accurately and confidently make SEO decisions for any company,” writes Peter Daisyme, co-founder of Hostt, in a post for Entrepreneur. “You want to refer to this work regularly as you develop your marketing solutions. It’s time to forget everything you thought you knew about keywords and algorithms.

Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms

In Unapologetically Ambitious, Shellye Archambeau, one of Silicon Valley's first female African American CEOs, provides key takeaways and actions to increase the odds of achieving your personal and professional goals.

“This is a book with a universal and inspiring message for anyone who reads it,” says Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal, says in a post by Bloomberg, which named Unapologetically Ambitious as one of the best business books of 2020.

 “Each of us has a right to be ambitious, and Shellye delivers her own account of pursuing her ambitions while paving the way for others to follow—unapologetically,” Schulman says.

Building an Elite Organization: The Blueprint to Scaling a High-Growth, High-Profit Business

Don Wenner shares what he’s learned from running a successful real estate company – about the rhythm of building a successful organization, like disciplined leadership based on proactivity and data.

In Building an Elite Organization, he walks you through the Elite Execution System his company and other highly successful organizations use to drive growth and improve profitability.

“He believes hiring smart and moving forward systematically can help any organization reach for the stars,” writes Daisyme in Entrepreneur.

Victoria’s Secret Swaps Angels for ‘What Women Want.’ Will They Buy It?

If you’re looking for a faster read, check out this New York Times piece by Sapna Maheshwari and Vanessa Friedman.

Victoria’s Secret Swaps takes an inside look at a corporate crisis rebranding and the cautionary tale of what can happen when companies are not evolving their products or brand to meet changing consumer needs and trends. 

“When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond,” says Martin Waters, the former head of Victoria’s Secret’s international business who was appointed chief executive of the brand in February, in the Times article.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, shares his insights on starting and running a startup business, including the difficulties entrepreneurs and business owners face.

The Hard Thing was cited by entrepreneur Laura Keily, founder of Immediation, as a book that really inspired her.

“Building a business is a challenging and at times solitary experience, so hearing how those before you have navigated impossible decisions and the trials and tribulations of startup life can feel comforting,” Keily told Bronte McHenry in a post for SmartCompany.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

This groundbreaking book from 1990 continues to be on everyone’s best seller list, including Amazon’s Top 10 Non-Fiction books (Kindle edition) – Stephen Covey’s holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach to solving problems continues to resonate with people.

"The wisdom of The 7 Habits is more relevant than ever,” Arianna Huffington writes in an Amazon review of the book.

 “On an individual level people are burning out, and on a collective level we are burning up the planet. So Dr. Covey's emphasis on self-renewal and his understanding that leadership and creativity require us to tap into our own physical, mental, and spiritual resources are exactly what we need now."