Reading for many years has been seen as a hobby or even a luxury. Sprawling home libraries and old tomes covered in dust seem to be conjured by our imaginations when we consider reading. Reading for fun or to learn seems to slow as we grow older and life gets in the way. If you own your own business or operate as a realtor or lender—that means you work 24/7! Finding the time to read truly is a luxury, but it’s vital for your brain and the success of your business.

Reading Boosts the Brain

As a small business owner, you’re likely working long hours with little to no pay. You may be running on fumes, and your brain is also struggling to operate at full capacity. Reading anything—fiction, non-fiction, poetry— helps your brain!

Scientists at Emory University led a study that discovered that there were actual biological changes to your brain that lasted several days after reading. They used MRI scans of the subjects’ brains before reading, over the course of a novel, and after. As the subjects dove deeper into the story, the connections in their brain became deeper and more pronounced.

Reading Reduces Stress

The life of a business owner is filled with thousands of stressors. Projects going awry, products arriving damaged, dealing with invoices, taxes, marketing, and more! 

A study done in 2009 hypothesized that reading could reduce stress. The findings support this theory, with the benefits kicking in after just 6 minutes of reading! The better part of this study is that reading anything can give you these results—you could reread Twilight, read a historical fiction, or even just a magazine.

Reading Boosts Creativity

We know that reading gets your brain juices going, and it can reduce stress. The ultimate win? Reading boosts your creativity and unlocks ideas. It broadens your view of the world, and exposes you to alternate ideas. It’s a shortcut for travelling and experiencing the world—imagining it!

Reading Improves Your Writing

Reading improves your writing. If you never read, your written words begin to sound less and less cohesive and more like the shorthand we speak. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, as many cultures across the country have diverse ways of speaking and writing. But to get a message across in a caption or in a blog, you must have writing comprehension in order to gain traction. Grammar, spelling, voice, the whole lot will improve the more you read. 

How to Apply Reading to Your Business

With all of the listed benefits, I hope you’re convinced that reading can benefit your business. But if you need a little more prodding, we’ve got the bullet points to back it up:

• Increasing your creativity and brain function can make innovating for your business easier. Marketing is all about being creative, and you can’t be creative without helping your brain. 

• Improving your writing can help your business maintain professionalism, which can build trust with your customers. Grammatical errors aren’t the end of the world, but it can deter some people from working with you. 

• Reducing stress is an easy win for all areas of your business. Stress can lead to health challenges, mental health issues, and making mistakes. Any way you can reduce stress without taking time off or spending money (hello, libraries!) is a win. 

  
  

There is a significant amount of creativity and problem solving involved with operating any type of business. If you’re serious about your success, it would stand to reason that you would try anything to grow and improve yourself and in turn your business. Try reading! It’s a low risk, high reward situation. Even if you don’t feel immediate results, diving into a book is always a great way to relax. 

If you are ready to hire marketing support, Magpie Marketing is here to help. We approach your business with a human lens, focusing on how we can support you so running your business feels easier. Contact us today!