The best gifts that a mentor can give are words of wisdom. With so many books available by some of the world’s businessmen and women at the top of their game, that gift isn’t hard to find.

However, the time to read them can be.

Two local entrepreneurs have come together to launch Newcastle’s first Business Book Club, with the aim to put the words of wisdom, lessons and successful processes used by the globe’s most successful business people at the fingertips of local professionals.

A creation of Kian West from Oasis Social Media and Newcastle Mirage and Alyssa Gill from Squib Communications, the club is set to launch with its first gathering on Wednesday 19 July at The Edwards.

Alyssa said the club is designed to bring great minds together – business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals and local leaders – and keep members accountable for professional and personal development each month.

“We’ve come across many people who had good intentions of reading a business book a month or similar as part of their focus on their own professional development for the year, however finding the time and motivation to do so is a struggle,” Alyssa said.

“The Newcastle BusinessBook Club is designed to streamline the process; so we put the books in member’s hands, keep them accountable and provide a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and growth.”

Unlike the stereotypical book club setting, Newcastle Business Book Club provides a casual space for members to share, motivate and network at one of Newcastle’s local venues.
“Reading and sharing your learnings in a group setting is good for the mind, good for leadership and good for business,” Kian said.

“We get that it is hard to find the time to read and grow as a professional and we understand it’s also hard to choose which books are worth spending the time on.

“We’ll be curating some of the most influential business-based books and creating a relaxed community of like-minded people to make professional development easy and enjoyable.”

Newcastle Business Book Club’s launch will focus on uncovering the ultimate work week, with Timothy Ferriss’ ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ setting the pace as the club’s first book to read.

MacLean’s Booksellers has been brought on as the book supply source for local members.

IMAGE | Kian West and Alyssa Gill are the brains behind Newcastle Business Book Club.