Motivational Quotes from Entrepreneurs

31 Motivational Quotes for Entrepreneurs to Live By

Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster marked by challenges, uncertainties, and relentless perseverance. Words of motivation, especially when uttered by inspirational business minds, remind us that we can endure, learn, and emerge stronger than ever.

Entrepreneur business mindset quotes

“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 1

“Have a dream, chase it down, jump over every single hurdle, and run through fire and ice to get there.”
– Whitney Wolfe Herd, American Entrepreneur, Founder, Executive Chair, and Former CEO of Bumble 2

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
– Warren Buffett, Philanthropist, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway 3

“I need to solve the problem. It’s no different from how am I going to get my son out the door when he needs to go to school. It’s a bigger version of that same type of problem.”
– Anne Wojcicki, American Entrepreneur, Co-Founder, and CEO of 23andMe 4

If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder, Executive Chairman, and Former President and CEO of Amazon 5

“Don’t you dare underestimate the power of your own instinct.”
Barbara Corcoran, American Businesswoman and Investor 6

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
– Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple 7

“Building a mission and building a business go hand-in-hand.”
– Mark Zuckerberg, Philanthropist and Co-Founder of Facebook 8

“All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA, and creation is the essence of entrepreneurship.”
– Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn 9

“Focus on just a few things, and do them better than anybody else.”
– Steve Ells, Founder, Former CEO, and Former Executive Chairman of Chipotle Mexican Grill 10

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
–  Mark Twain, American Writer 11

“Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like.”
– Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb 12

“I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know.”
– Harland Sanders, Founder of KFC 13

Quotes about business success and failure

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint — and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”
– Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur, Personality, and Philanthropist 14

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan, American Businessman, and Former Professional Basketball Player 15

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
– Thomas Edison, American Inventor and Businessman 16

“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
– Estée Lauder, Founder of Estée Lauder 17

“Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.”
– Richard Branson, British Businessman, and Founder of the Virgin Group 18

“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”
– Charles Schwab, Investor, Founder, and Chairman of Charles Schwab Corporation 19

“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”
– John D. Rockefeller, American Businessman, and Philanthropist 20

“My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome–failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.”
– Sara Blakely, Philanthropist and Founder of Spanx 21

“The only way to make sure a project or endeavor fails is to quit on it.”
Daymond John, Founder, President, and CEO of FUBU 22

Quotes about leadership

“If we win the hearts and minds of employees, we’re going to have better business success.”
– Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors 23

“Hire character. Train skill.”
Peter Schutz, Former President and CEO of Porsche 24

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou, American Memoirist, Poet, and Civil Rights Activist 25

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”
– Bill Gates, Investor, Philanthropist, and Co-Founder of Microsoft 26

“It’s stunning to me what kind of an impact even one person can have if they have the right passion, perspective and are able to align the interest of a great team.”
– Steve Case, American Businessman, Investor, Philanthropist, Co-Founder, and Former CEO of AOL 27

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”
– Dolly Parton, American Singer-Songwriter, Actress, and Philanthropist 28

“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”
– Andrew Carnegie, American Industrialist, and Philanthropist 29

“True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed. Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.”
– Sheryl Sandberg, American Technology Executive, Philanthropist, and Writer 30

“Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.”
Warren G. Bennis, American Scholar, Organizational Consultant, and Author 31

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