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5 top books for equestrian business

5 top books for equestrian business

Today is World Book Day (well, if you read this on March 7th, it is!). With this in mind, I thought that to celebrate this fab event, I’d write about five books for equestrian business. These books are NOT equestrian. They won’t be able to teach you your fetlocks from your forelocks, but if you run an equestrian or equine business, you’ll know that anyway. These business books should help your business, your mindset, your marketing and more.

If you follow me on social media, you’ll know I’m a bit of a bookworm. Whether I’m reading a book or listening to one when I walk the dog, I like to learn as I go… but the subjects can be quite varied! Mostly, I listen to and read books about business and mindset. Sometimes a bit about branding and marketing too. But business is the general genre. So here, on World Book Day, I thought I’d share my five top books for equestrian business..

Here are my five top books for equestrian business…

Gary Vaynerchuk – Crushing It

In all honesty, this blog was always going to include at least one Gary Vee book. I went for Crushing It because it’s one I’ve listened to most recently (and is also the most recent of his books). Actually, not just listened to, I have the hardback book too! Crushing It is a kind of continuation from a previous book, Crush It, but can also be read and enjoyed alone. If ‘Crush It’ was a blueprint for how to achieve entrepreneurial success and leverage all you have, ‘Crushing It’ shows you using examples. Gary interviewed many entrepreneurs for this book, including lots I knew before (and many I’m pleased I know about now). It’s inspiring, interesting and packed full of ideas and real life examples that you can apply to your business too.

How to get to the top of Google – Tim Cameron-Kitchen & Exposure Ninja

If you’re even a little interested in Search Engine Optimisation, content marketing, and Google, have a read (or a listen!) to this. I downloaded this on Audible and have listened to it more than once. I love knowing how things work, and SEO is something that I have more than a passing interest in. To get an all in one, plain English, crash course appealed to me. I didn’t have hugely high hopes when I started. Part of me was concerned it would be too basic, and a larger part that it would be WAY too complicated… but it wasn’t either. The background was covered but more advanced ideas and strategies around SEO and getting to the top of Google were explained in a way that was really easy to understand and apply. As an extra perk of this book, you can actually have a free assessment of your website. I should say that I have the Audible version of this and I also found it really easy to listen to. A bit like a friend was chatting to me about SEO. It’s always important to listen to the voice of the narrator to make sure you gel with it. That sounds crazy, but trust me on this!

Chillpreneur – Denise Duffield – Thomas

If you haven’t read Denise’s other books (Lucky Bitch and Get Rich, Lucky Bitch) do… I feel that Chillpreneur is a great extension of this. You might think that these books revolve around money and being lazy – they don’t. To me, hearing a different view point from a self made multimillionaire was really interesting and something I enjoyed and took inspiration from. It’s more about stacking the odds in your favour – whatever form that takes – and making sure you’re leading a life that you really REALLY want. Not just going along with the tide and feeling rather unhappy about things. This is Denise’s latest book and one that I will be reading again very shortly.

Building a StoryBrand – Miller Donald

This book is seriously good. It explains the process businesses go through to build a story brand, where the client is always the hero and the business is always the guide. It’s a fascinating look at how all good stories, whether fictitious or real, are built around this brand story idea. The ones that succeed understand the pattern – the ones that don’t… not so much. Building a StoryBrand talks about the seven universal story points that all humans respond to. If you’re looking to improve your brand story, to guide your customers on the right journey for them, improve loyalty and a WHOLE lot more, this is for you!

Brand Brilliance – Fiona Humberstone

Not only is this book incredible to read, but it is a thing of beauty too. But you’d expect that from The Brand Stylist, wouldn’t you? This book is all about branding, colours, design, the way you position your brand, and how you stand out (for the right reasons!) is a busy world. This book is beautifully produced and although some of those topics might sound overwhelming, I promise you that the way they’re presented in this book makes them very accessible. Brand Brilliance will inspire you and get you thinking about your brand and what it stands for, but in a way that’s so, so useful!

So there are my five top books for equestrian business. To be honest I could have written a short book on books I recommend, but I do think these ones are really, really great! They cover different aspects of business, and would be a superb additions to your business library. What books would you recommend? What are your top books for equestrian business? Pop over to my Instagram and comment on the post with the image above!

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Why I love… Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crushing It

gary vaynerchuk crushing itI make no secret of the fact I’m a Gary Vaynerchuk fan. His books form the foundation of my business book library (which is pretty extensive… I love them!), and they are the books I recommend the most too. If someone wants to find out more about social media and how it works, how to market themselves on a shoestring, the value of customer service and lots more, I refer them to Gary. I’ve just finished Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest book, Crushing It, and I want to tell you why I love it… because I really do.

Why I love Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crushing It

When I saw that Gary Vee (that’s what he calls himself too, I’m not just being casual!) said he was bringing out a new book… I was excited. I adore business books and love reading them. I find them assuring and inspiring in varying degrees… and both feelings are very nice. Gary, I believe, is a real visionary. He’s a ballsy and he makes sweeping statements… they’re all logical and well thought through, but they are sweeping. I admire his bravery, because sometimes he’s wrong (and he’s open about this too), but he’s very often right – and when he’s right, he wins. Because being right about something and not committing, not going ‘all in’ as Gary himself would say, is kind of pointless. And it’s always better to try something and have it fail than not try it and see it succeed. And I agree with that. When Gary says ‘all in’, he talks on a different level of ‘all in’ to most of us. He has invested in a number of companies with his own cold hard cash… when I say ‘all in’, I tend to download an app or buy a product… it’s a different all in, but it works just the same.

But I digress. I saw he was releasing a new book. That excited me. I hurried to Amazon and it was on flipping pre-order, due out at the end of January… and I think this was December. I ordered it straight away… and as someone who can procrastinate with the best of them, particularly over something that wasn’t even available at that point, that’s a pretty good endorsement! I regularly checked to see the estimated delivery date… then I saw other people on social with the book… then the delivery date moved. That put me in a slightly challenging mood for about an hour, but it was OK. You know. I am a grown up and it was only delayed by a couple of weeks. Then the day came. I was like a kid at Christmas when my Amazon package arrived… and it was worth the wait.

Is it like Crush It?

Umm… I’d say Crush It is its sister, and I would probably suggest buying that before you buy this one so you get a feel for it all and his ideas. Crush It is a really good read, and although it came out in 2013, it’s still very relevant today. And before you think I’m trying to spend all your money, if you buy a ‘used’ one, it’ll cost you from £1.69 plus postage. I buy a lot of used books. It doesn’t bother me that someone else has read it as I enjoy the savings, and I always get Like New, Good or Very Good, to ensure the condition is going to work for me. So if you’re thinking of getting Crushing It, pop Crush It in your basket too, because this book refers to it a lot.

So, about Crushing It… how is it different? Why is it good?

Because I love a case study. I like to see stuff in action and see the cogs behind how things work… and Crushing It does this. In this book Gary has checked in with a number of entrepreneurs who read Crush It, applied it to their life and business, and have flourished. He speaks to Pat Flynn (the legend behind Smart Passive Income… he’s a good one), John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur On Fire fame and a lot more. Seeing how these people started their business (and how it improved with a little Crush It kick) is hugely inspiring.

But it’s not just a book of case studies. Although that alone would have been a must-read book. It looks at the big platforms and refreshes the facts and stats, it talks about content (lovely, lovely content!) and more. It’s hugely inspiring, it’s very easy to read (educational and informative but very well written in my opinion) and it’s a real must read if you have any interest in business books. It’ll give you a kick up the backside (whether you think you need it or not!) and show you what’s possible. It’s the antidote to procrastination. I can’t speak highly enough of it. I’ve recommended it to so many people, and as at time I’ve writing, I’m re-reading it. It’s that good. I’m also going to re-read Crush It. One of the superstars in the book re-reads Crush It once a year… and it’s not done him any harm!

Have you read Crushing It, Crush It or any of Gary Vaynerchuk’s books? I’d love to hear what you loved and what you learnt!

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