Five business books SmartCompany Plus editor Sophie Venz will be reading this summer

I’m lucky enough to get to fly up to the Gold Coast for Christmas with my family (borders permitting, of course), where I will likely be charged for oversized baggage for trying to take too many business books.

And who might the culprits responsible for my lack of holiday funds be? Well, here’s a list. 

She’s on the Money: Take charge of your financial future by Victoria Devine

When I was seven years old, my brother told me that my $10 was worth less than his 10 cents, and that if we swapped, I’d be rich. I know about the same now as what I did back then when it comes to finances and investments, but I also know Victoria Devine will be able to set me on the right path when I read her book. 

My Adventurous Life by Dick Smith

I love a good memoir and, after reading a short extract of Dick Smith’s, I knew it was one I wouldn’t be able to put down. He’s known as an Aussie business mogul, but he’s also a daredevil and philanthropist far beyond his eponymous business, Dick Smith Electronics.

Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialised world by David Epstein

Have you heard that in order to perfect a skill, you need to spend 10,000 hours on it? With the amount of books I want to read over this summer period, I don’t think I have that kind of spare time. Luckily, David Epstein wants to demystify such a rule in his book, Range, and I’m all for learning how generalists can succeed — 10,000 hours or not.

Buy Now, Pay Later: The extraordinary story of Afterpay by Jonathan Shapiro and James Eyes

There’s when Harry met Sally, and then there’s when Molnar met Eisen. Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen built one of Australia’s best startup success stories, and I can’t wait to deep dive into their ideas, plans and processes through it all.

Cult Status by Tim Duggan 

It took home the best entrepreneurship and small business book at the 2021 Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards, so Junkee co-founder’s Tim Duggan’s Cult Status has certainly made my summer reading list. As the Mercury Book Club described it in a review, it “takes incredibly complex and nuanced concepts and distills them into seven simple and cleverly communicated steps”.