For my first book review I want to talk about a book that gave me the final push I needed to start this space. The New Entrepreneur by Richard Barrett, part of his series ‘The New Leader’. I hope it might give you the same push I needed.
How I stumbled upon it
During my master in Entrepreneurship I was fascinated about what kind of entrepreneur I would make. I wrote my masters on how sensitive people make great social entrepreneurs, but that was always very theoretical and intrapersonal. What I was missing was something that showed me what it actually looks like to do it. How that journey can look like. My mentor at the time mentioned him and his organisation, so inevitable I stumbled upon the books he wrote.
This book was an answer to my questions.
I instantly felt recognised. Like someone had written down the things I had been quietly feeling for years but could never quite articulate.
Let me give you a piece of the first page, so you will see what I mean.
“To the builders of the unseen,
– Richard Barrett
the listeners of future whispers,
the ones who create not just for success,
but for service, soul, and the shaping of a more beautiful world.
To those who walk the pathless path of purpose
with trembling hands, open hearts, and steady devotion.
Who is Richard Barrett?
Richard is a founder and thought leader in human development, value-based leadership, and the evolution of consciousness. He created the Barrett Values Centre, which helps organisations move towards more authenticity and alignment. Not crazy that I found so much resonance in his work.
His whole ideology is build around living and leading from the soul and that red thread runs through every single page of this book. Though, it is worth mentioning that he doesn’t come from an academic background the way Elaine Aron does.There are no sources, no citations. He draws entirely from his own knowledge, his own perspective, and his own inner knowing. For some that might feel too vague, but for me it was exactly what I needed to read.
It is definitely a book to read if you are already open-minded about another level of entrepreneurship, if the general perspective didn’t align with you. It will change the way you perceived entrepreneurship to be or it can give you the confirmation that you are looking for. The latter applied to me, not sure why but I needed the confirmation that what I was feeling was correct or valid. It can feel super vague or intangible, especially if you don’t see it much around you.
A summary of The New Entrepreneurship
At its core, The New Entrepreneur argues that the future belongs to businesses driven not only by profit, but by purpose, values, and a desire to create positive change. Barrett asks you to stop seeing entrepreneurship as purely a vehicle for wealth and start seeing it as a path for personal growth and meaningful contribution.
One of the central ideas is that the success of a business is deeply connected to the mindset and level of awareness of its founder. Entrepreneurs who understand themselves, their values, motivations, purpose, are simply better equipped to build something authentic and sustainable. Rather than chasing status or rapid growth, Barrett invites you to ask yourself first: what kind of impact do I actually want to have? And how can my work reflect who I truly am?
The book also addresses how the business world is shifting. Consumers, employees, and investors increasingly expect companies to operate responsibly, to genuinely care about people and contribute to solving real challenges. This shift, Barrett argues, calls for a new kind of entrepreneur. Someone who can hold financial success and empathy in the same hand. Someone for whom profit is the natural result of creating genuine value, not the primary goal.
There is also a strong emphasis on conscious leadership throughout the book. Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, resilience, these are not soft extras. They are the foundations. Challenges and setbacks are not presented as failures but as invitations to learn and grow. In that sense, building a business becomes as much an inner journey as an outer one. Which, honestly, felt very familiar to me.
And then there is the thread of authenticity. Rather than copying existing models or following conventional definitions of success, Barrett consistently encourages building something that genuinely aligns with your own strengths, passions, and values. Businesses built this way are not only more fulfilling to lead, they are more capable of making a lasting difference.
A practical note
After each topic, Barrett offers practical exercises to help you implement what he has been talking about. Personally? I skimmed over most of them while reading. I didn’t feel like I needed to do them in that moment, I was too busy underlining everything else. But I have a feeling that when I hit a real challenge in my entrepreneurial journey, I will be going back to this book and actually doing them. So maybe mark those pages.
My final word
A book doesn’t always need to teach you something entirely new. Sometimes a book just needs to give you a perspective, one that confirms what you have quietly known all along but needed someone else to say out loud.
That is what this book did for me. It gave me confirmation that what I was feeling was valid. It can feel incredibly vague and intangible when you don’t see your way of thinking reflected around you. This book reflected it back.
It lets you rethink success and to see business as a powerful vehicle for creating value for yourself, others, and for society as a whole. A perspective of entrepreneurship that places purpose, consciousness, and human connection at the heart of business.
This is just one of his books, he has written many, and I fully intend to read more. Let it inspire you. Let it be the kick you needed to believe in your own journey, even when it looks a little different from everyone else’s.
Especially then!
With love, Fleur
Interested in reading The New Entrepreneur yourself? You can order it through Bol.com using the link below. If you purchase the book through this affiliate link, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!
