Quotes From Small Business Owners to Inspire You
On Customer Service
“A business absolutely devoted to service will have one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.” – Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” – Steve Jobs, Apple
On Staying Motivated
“I make a conscious effort to keep things in perspective when I get burned out. It is easy to get stuck in the daily grind, but if you think about all the distance you have covered, and what lies ahead, it is much easier to feel motivated and optimistic.” – Alex Litoff, Event Farm
On Taking Chances
“The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.” – Debbie Fields, Mrs. Fields Bakeries
On Hard Work
“There is no royal, flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it. For if I have accomplished anything in life, it is because I have been willing to work hard.” – CJ Walker, Madame CJ Walker Manufacturing Company
On Execution
“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” – Nolan Bushnell, Atari, Inc.
On Good Management
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” – Paul Hawken, Erewhon Trading Company
On Challenging Yourself
“My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — every day I’m learning something new.” – Richard Branson, Virgin Group
On Risk
“I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” Jeff Bezos, Amazon
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay Cosmetics
“Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things differently from everybody else.” – Sarah Blakely, SPANX
“Show me a person who never made a mistake, and I will show you a person who never did anything.” – William Rosenberg, Dunkin’ Donuts
“Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it’s about trading: buying and selling.” – Anita Roddick, The Body Shop
