Required Reading We've got your summer reading list--books to inspire you, from women entrepreneurs.

Despite busy schedules, successful women entrepreneurs know thebenefits of making time to read books that affect their businessesin positive ways. Browsing at an airport while waiting for herflight, Theresa M. Welbourne, CEO of Ann Arbor, Michigan,technology and relationship management research firm eePulse Inc., foundthe book Whale Done (The Free Press) by Ken Blanchard.

After finishing the book, Welbourne, 46, thought about her team."I realized we were not doing as good a job as we should be inappreciating our employees' efforts and reaching out tocongratulate them on a job well-done." She gave a copy of thebook to all her direct reports, requiring them to read it for theirbusiness planning process. When the management team presented thebusiness planning results to the staff, "our employeesappreciated that we not only went through financials, projectionsand plans, but also talked about the way we are communicating andmanaging the business."

Other recent books that inspire and educate:

• How to Use What You've Got toGet What You Want (Jodere Group) by Marilyn Tam:Co-founder of three corporations and a former top exec at AvedaCorp., Nike and Reebok, Tam shares personal experiences and advice.She includes the four principles that helped her succeed:1)Truth-tell the truth all the time; 2)Partners-find people whosupport your efforts, and make them allies; 3)Mistakes-make bigmistakes, and learn from them; and 4)The good fight-die by your ownsword; fight for your convictions.

• Use What You've Got & OtherBusiness Lessons I Learned From My Mom (Portfolio)by Barbara Corcoran, with Bruce Littlefield: The founder andchairwoman of The Corcoran Group, a $2 billion real estate companyin New York City, reminisces about her childhood and early careerwith a big dose of humor. In each chapter, Corcoran applies one ofher mom's 24 unconventional lessons to the business world.Example: For real estate, Corcoran translated her mother'slesson "If you don't have big breasts, put ribbons on yourpigtails" into maximizing the positive and minimizing thenegative to make a real estate property appear more attractive inads.

• The Architecture of All Abundance:Creating a Successful Life in the Material World(New World Library) by Lenedra Carroll: Entrepreneur andbusinesswoman Lenedra Carroll explores the lessons learned fromrunning and losing a small business and helping manage the careerof her daughter, the popular singer Jewel. Any woman who has dealtwith treachery in business, struggled to make ends meet, overcomehealth problems-and raised children-can relate to this book, whichmelds practical business advice with soulful musings.

• Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs: HowEleven Women Escaped Poverty and Became Their OwnBosses (Westview Press) by Martha Shirk and Anna S.Wadia: Hear the inspirational stories of women who usedentrepreneurial skills as a way out of poverty and became their ownbosses and role models for their children.

• Leadership the Eleanor RooseveltWay: Timeless Strategies From the First Lady ofCourage (Prentice Hall Press) by Robin Gerber: Whilebusiness books based on the strategies of prominent men such asAttila the Hun, Gandhi and Lincoln abound, this book is a raritybecause it is based on the leadership strategies of a modernAmerican woman. The book interweaves Eleanor Roosevelt's lifestory with practical advice to serve any business owner, such asstaying focused in difficult times, learning from your past,defying convention and facing criticism. According to Roosevelt,you must "develop a skin as thick as rhinoceros hide."Good advice for any entrepreneur.

Aliza Pilar Sherman is an Internet pioneer, netpreneur,speaker and author of the book PowerTools for Women in Business: 10 ways toSucceed in Life and Work (Entrepreneur Press).