The Business Bible for Women: The #1 Lesser-Known Book I Recommend to Every Business woman I Know

4 Mind-Blowing Revelations That Will Catapult Your Workplace Game (& The Real Reason It Matters)

Back in 2005, after I had opened my first multicultural marketing company (Hispanic Marketing Group), I was asked to consider being a partner of a food manufacturing company to help position the venture as a minority-owned company. As a businesswoman with experience in the U.S. Hispanic market, I could help create products for this specific audience. It was a perfect fit for me.

Except, I found myself with three business partners—all of whom were male. Although I reminded myself over and over again that I was a powerful businesswoman and had the same ownership as them, they had a sort of work code that I couldn’t keep up with or replicate no matter how hard I tried. Their business partnership dynamic felt alien.?

But why did I feel this way? After all, I finally made it to The Big Table with The Big Boys but finished meetings feeling like a girl being asked into a cartoonish Boy’s Clubhouse (with a ginormous red sign out front reading: X? NO GIRLS ALLOWED X and a skull and bones to match) and not being let in.?

What was I missing? I knew it was time to let myself in.?

So, I started digging in, sleuth-style. I knew I needed to read about women in business who had had this experience and see what I could find. At first, I found nothing. All I could find was “how to dress” and other superficial material. Obviously, this is not what I came looking for.?

Eventually, I did what desperate people on the Internet do: I went past the third page of Google.?

There, I somehow came across the holy grail of business books for women: What Men Don't Tell Women About Business: Opening Up the Heavily Guarded Alpha Male Playbook by Christopher V. Flett.?

It became a Bible in my life—complete with notes etched into the side margins and Post-It notes sticking out all over the place. The book explains how men do business, the types of men who do business (Alpha male, anyone?) and how women approach business. In 2005, this was huge—I mean, literally unheard of. And it was gluing together the pieces of the puzzle I was missing.?

And why was this shift, this realization so monumental? It. Was. Culture.?

It wasn’t men as a whole that were all that different, just the culture they created and sustained by surrounding themselves with other of the same men in business. Mind blown. And if I could discover that secret subculture? I could play the game too.?

Here’s my top revelation from the Playbook that might help your personal and professional life (make sure to check out the other three—life-affirming I tell you!):?

The Fraud Formula?

The way the game was played: I let imposter syndrome overcome me and allowed these Alpha males to feed off my insecurities to ensure I wasn’t a threat. I wasn’t doing myself any favors by helping them feel on top.?

New way to play: This is the truth about imposter syndrome: it doesn’t only affect you. When you take it on and let it seep into your skin, your brain, and your every move, you are hurting others who need to see you acting at your fullest potential.?

Think about it: you’re telling people that you don’t think you’re good enough or prepared enough, so instead of bringing other people up with you, you are bringing them (and yourself) down.?

I truly believe that we are all connected. If one person is not doing what life is willing them to do, then they are affecting everybody else’s presence. Every single human on Earth is valuable and has a story that will help someone else. If you don’t believe this, it’s time for a massive mindset reset.?

Moral of the story: You need to create an encouraging environment where you want people to rise with you and be all that they can be.?

I’d love to hear your #1 book for women in business today in the comments below! For the full blog (and the mindblowing truths inside!) visit https://www.marcelagomez.com/blog/business-bible-for-women