Entrepreneurship has many benefits: a flexible schedule, the ability to follow your passion, and autonomy, to name a few. However, there’s no denying that being an entrepreneur is far from easy. On days when you feel discouraged or need a little inspiration, I highly recommend reading through entrepreneur quotes!
Entrepreneur Quotes to Motivate and Inspire
Entrepreneur quotes are inspiring for so many reasons. Firstly, it’s motivating to recognize a name of a business owner and realize that he or she started from the ground up, just like you may be doing. Secondly, these quotes are from people who really understand the struggles common to entrepreneurs. Plus, sometimes all you need to keep going is an encouraging word—and these quotes are full of them!
By the way, I have an entire Pinterest board filled with inspiring entrepreneur quotes if you need even more motivation and encouragement after reading this post. Make sure to follow me on Pinterest so you can see the new ones I add, too.
General Entrepreneur Quotes
“Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.” — Anthony Volodkin, founder of Hype Machine
“Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them.” – Seth Godin, Businessman and Author
“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” — Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s
“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” – Zig Ziglar, Author and Salesman
Doing What You Love
“Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.” — Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
“If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” — Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook
“When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.” — Josh James, Omniture CEO and co-founder
About Failure
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved.” – Helen Keller, Author and Political Activist
“Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki, Author and Businessman
“Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.” – Tony Robbin, Motivational Speaker
“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel, Fashion Designer and Businesswoman
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison, Inventor
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” — Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
On Success
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou, Poet
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau, Author, Poet, and Philosopher
“I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G.K. Chesterton, Writer
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell, Politician and General
Women Entrepreneur Quotes
While the quotes above contain inspiring and empowering messages from both men and women, I wanted to dedicate a section specifically for women entrepreneur quotes. As more and more female entrepreneurs fill the scene, I’ve loved reading wisdom from women CEOs and bosses.
In fact, in 2019, the percentage of women-owned businesses increased by 21%, far outperforming the overall business increase of 9%. That being said, we can all look forward to more of these motivating women entrepreneur quotes to come in the future.
By the way, these quotes apply equally to men and women. Enjoy!
Overcoming Obstacles
“I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger” – Serena Williams, Professional Tennis Player
“Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.” – Tina Fey, Actress, Comedian, and Writer
“If you’re not where you want to be in life, don’t get discouraged. Remember where you are is not your destiny.” – Sharita Humphrey, Financial Educator
Hard Work
“You can do anything you want, just not everything. Pick what you want, work harder than most to get it, and believe in yourself.” – Daina Trout, Co-founder of Health-Ade Kombucha
Whether you work for yourself or others, there will be moments when you feel unhappy or stuck. You can’t control everything around you, but in those moments, remind yourself that you are powerful and that even small, strategic moves can create big shifts for the better.” – Trae Bodge, Lifestyle Journalist, and TV Commentator
“Even if your dream seems unattainable, you can achieve it if you stay focused, driven, and diligent.” – Rebecca Minkoff, Fashion Designer
Passion
“It’s really hard to start a business if you don’t care about it. At the margin, when it’s 2 am, it has to be that passion that pushes you forward.” – Katrina Lake, Founder of Stitch Fix
“Remember that your time is your most valuable asset, so think about if what you’re doing is really what you want to spend your time on, think about if it’s getting you to a place that you want to go in the long run. If it’s not, go do something else.” – Shan-Lyn Ma, Co-founder of Zola
Leadership
“When you exude confidence, others will naturally follow you. Once you have built that self-confidence, make it your priority to lead by example.” – Kendra Scott, Fashion and Accessories Designer
People respond well to those that are sure of what they want. What people hate most is indecision. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision.” – Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue
Conclusion: Inspiring Quotes for Entrepreneurs
I hope you found these quotes from entrepreneurs as inspiring and enlightening as I have! Bookmark this post and visit it whenever you need a little extra encouragement throughout your day.
