The 200 Best Inspirational Business Quotes For Entrepreneurs

Starting a business is difficult. And not just practically or financially, but emotionally as well. This is why these inspiring job quotes are so valuable.

Each of these quotes is a bite-sized piece of wisdom that can inject a much-needed shot of inspiration, encouragement, and motivation.

If you’re tired, frustrated, worried, worried, or just freaked out, read these inspiring job quotes for some notable ideas.

But don’t just browse. Try to think about how each applies to your business.

Table of Contents

Best business quotes of all time

These motivational job quotes are groundbreaking. Get ready for inspirational and action-packed advice.

The secret of change is to focus all your energies not on fighting the old but on building the new.” —Socrates, father of Western philosophy
“Always deliver more than expected.” —Larry Page, co-founder of Google
“Don’t take too much advice. Most people who have a lot of advice to give – with rare exceptions – generalize about what they do. Don’t overanalyze everything. I myself am guilty of overthinking problems. Just build something and see if it works.” —Ben Silbermann, Founder of Pinterest
“You are a leader when your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and be more.” —John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States
“Every time we launch a feature, people yell at us.” —Angelo Sotira, co-founder of deviantART
“Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media trend can replace that.” —Anthony Volodkin, Founder of Hype Machine
“What does it take to start a business? Three simple things: Know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and crave success.” —Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s
“If you can’t feed a team two pizzas, it’s too big.” —Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO
“If people like you, they’ll listen, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” —Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, and motivational speaker
“If you’re not ashamed of the first version of your product, you’re going to be late to market.” —Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder
“The value of an idea lies in using it.” —Thomas Edison, co-founder of General Electric
“The stars will never align and the lights of life will never be green at the same time. The universe won’t conspire against you, but neither will it bother to thread the needles. Conditions are never perfect. “Eventually” is an illness that will take your dreams to the grave. Plus and minus lists It’s just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to make it “finally”, then just do it and straighten the history by the way.” —Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week
“Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfection.” —Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter
“Your work will fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly happy is to do what you think is great. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder, president and CEO of Apple Inc.
“Always look for the fool in the deal. If you can’t find one, you are. —Mark Cuban, President and Entrepreneur of AXS TV
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” —Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
“When you’re working on things you love and are passionate about, you don’t need a master plan for how things are going to turn out.” —Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook
“If you define yourself by how you differ from your competitors, you probably have problems.” —Omar Hamoui, co-founder of AdMob
“Are you wondering what your customer really wants? Questions. don’t say it.” —Lisa Stone, Co-Founder and CEO of BlogHer
“If you come up with an idea that you can’t stop thinking about, it’s probably a good idea to pursue it.” —Josh James, CEO and co-founder of Omniture
“This is not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” —Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance
“Make the best of yourself by turning small, inner sparks of opportunity into flames of success.” —Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister
“There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do great things with a small team.” —Jason Fried, Founder of 37signals and co-author of Rework
“The quickest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already who you want to be.” —Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder
“Follow the vision, not the money. The money will eventually follow you.” —Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
Money is like gasoline in a car. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you don’t go on a gas station spree either.” —Tim O’Reilly, Founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media
“Blow up silently to avoid tipping your potential opponents.” —Chris Dixon, investor of Andreessen Horowitz
“Design is not just how it looks and feels. Design is how it works.” — Steve Jobs, co-founder, president and CEO of Apple Inc.
“Character cannot be developed in a calm and relaxed way. Only through trials and suffering can the spirit be strengthened, ambition fueled, and success achieved.” -Helen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer
“Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” —Paul Rand, graphic designer
“Always think outside the box and seize opportunities that arise wherever they are.” – Lakshmi Mittal, President and CEO of ArcelorMittal
“Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they’ll give up.” —Jeffrey Zeldman, entrepreneur and web designer
“The last 10% needed to start something costs the same amount of energy as the first 90%.” —Rob Kalin, Founder of Etsy
“If you’re interested in the living heart of your business, focus on building things instead of talking about them.” —Ryan Freitas, co-founder of About.me
“The best startups often come from someone who itch.” —Michael Arrington, Founder and Associate Editor of TechCrunch
“Some people dream of success, while others get up every morning and make it happen.” —Wayne Huizenga, prolific US businessman.
“Ideas are easy. Execution is difficult.” —Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur and co-founder of Alltop
“An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and wants to create something.” —David Karp, Founder and CEO of Tumblr
“If you’re not at all sure what you’re looking for, find a mentor in the relevant field.” —Kyle Bragger, founder of Forrst and co-founder of Exposure
“Every day we spent developing our products was a lost day.” —Joel Spolsky, co-founder of Stack Overflow
“I never dreamed of success, I worked for it.” —Estee Lauder, Founder of Estee Lauder Cosmetics
“I try not to make a decision I’m not excited about.” —Jake Nickell, Founder and CEO of Threadless
“See events in the present, even if they are in the future.” —Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle
“You don’t need a 100-person company to develop this idea.” —Larry Page, co-founder of Google
“Ideas are commodities. Not their execution.” —Michael Dell, President and CEO of Dell
“A deal that brings nothing but money is a bad deal.” —Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company
“All humans are entrepreneurs, not because they need to start businesses, but because the desire to create is ingrained in human DNA.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn
“The first rule of thumb for any technology used in an organization is that automation applied to efficient operations increases efficiency. Second, automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” —Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder
“After all, a vision without the ability to realize it is probably a hallucination.” —Steve Case, co-founder of AOL
“Step out of the story that’s holding you back. Step into the new story you want to create.” —Oprah Winfrey, media owner
“No matter how bright your wits or your strategy, when you play a single player game you will always lose to a team.” —Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder
Don’t be complacent. Don’t be flashy. There’s always someone better than you.” —Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
“Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can be your greatest wealth. It definitely ensures that you will do different things than everyone else.” —Sara Blakely, Founder of SPANX
“Hard work is the mother of happiness.” —Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States
“The person who is quietly confident becomes the best leader.” —Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures
“Take more risks than others think is safe. Imagine more than others find practical.” —Howard Schultz, interim CEO of Starbucks
inspirational quotes about life
Let’s continue our list of some of the most inspirational quotes about life. Every once in a while everyone needs to hear about the positive aspects of life and the opportunities it offers. These inspirational quotes about life will help you succeed.
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” —Charles R. Swindoll, author, educator, and radio preacher
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company
“No matter how tough life may seem, there is always something you can do and achieve.” Stephen Hawking, British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author
“When I grow old and die, I plan to go back into my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,’ not ‘Wow, I felt absolutely safe.'” – Tom Preston-Werner, co-founder of Github
“Take responsibility for your life. Know that you are the one who gets you where you want to be, no one else.” —Les Brown, motivational speaker, author and former politician
“The greatest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” “Oprah Winfrey, media owner
“You’re never too old to set a new goal or dream a new one.” —Les Brown, motivational speaker
“The way to start is to stop talking and start acting.” – Walt Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company
“Bend to your life. Start each day like you do it on purpose.” “Mary Anne Radmacher, author
“There is no greater suffering than carrying within you an untold story.” “Maya Angelou, poet, singer and civil rights activist
“Don’t let the memories of your past limit the potential of your future. There are no limits to what you can accomplish on your journey through life except in your mind.” “Roy T. Bennett, Author
“In life you get what you dare ask for.” “Oprah Winfrey, media owner
“Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” “George Berna

Inspirational quotes about success

Success doesn’t come overnight. You must use every day as an opportunity to reach your potential and improve. Here is a list of our favorite inspirational quotes about success to start your day.

“Success often comes from those who are too busy looking for it.” —Henry David Thoreau, essayist, poet and philosopher
“People who are successful have momentum. The more successful they are, the more they want to be successful and the more they find a way to be successful. Similarly, when one fails, the trend is to enter a retrograde spiral that can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. – Tony Robbins, life and business strategist and author
“The path to success and the path to failure are almost exactly the same.” —Colin R. Davis, conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra
“Would you like me to give you a recipe for success? It’s simple: double your failure rate. They see failure as the enemy of success. Not at all. Failure can discourage you or you can learn from it, so keep going and making mistakes. Do everything you can. Because remember, this is where you will find success.” —Thomas J. Watson, former IBM chairman, politician and philanthropist
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: what matters is the courage to continue.” – Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II
“Today’s achievements were yesterday’s impossibilities.” — Robert H. Schuller, motivational speaker
“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated every day.” – Robert Collier, author
“Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don’t want to do. Don’t wish for it to get easier; you wish you were better.” —Jim Rohn, economic philosopher
“Success has no secret. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from mistakes.” —Colin Powell, US statesman and retired four-star general in the US Army
Inspirational words like these can really make a difference when you’re struggling.
“A successful man is one who can lay a solid foundation with the stones others throw at him.” – David Brinkley, news anchor
“Success seems largely a matter of persevering after others have given up.” —William Feather, publisher and author
“Try not to be a successful man. Instead, be a worthy man.” —Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
“Stop chasing money and start chasing passion.” – Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
“I never took vacations in my twenties. Not one.” — Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
“I owe my success to respectfully listening to the best advice and the opposite.” -G. K. Chesterton, author, poet and philosopher
“If you look very closely, most overnight successes have taken a long time.” Steve Jobs is co-founder, president and CEO of Apple Inc.
“Success seems to be linked to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t give up.” – Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels

Quotes about not giving up

Never back down. Keep chasing your dreams. Life will be tough sometimes and strength lies in not giving up. Check out the best inspirational quotes about not giving up.

“If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t walk, walk. And if you can’t walk, crawl. But whatever you do, you must move forward.” — Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the US civil rights movement
“I was lucky because I never stopped looking. are you leaving too early Or will you pursue happiness with vengeance?” —Jill Konrath, speaker, author and thought leader
“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” – Japanese proverb
“The real test isn’t whether you avoid that failure because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or become dormant by embarrassing yourself, or whether you learn from it, whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama, 44 President of the United States
“Our biggest weakness is giving up. The surest way to succeed is always to try again.” —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II
Inspirational quotes like these do a great job of channeling positive momentum.
“You have to believe in yourself when nobody else does — that’s what makes you a winner out there.” —Venus Williams, professional tennis player
“We can suffer many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” —Maya Angelou, poet, singer and civil rights activist
“Strength is manifested not only in the ability to keep going, but also in the ability to start over.” -F Scott Fitzgerald, novelist
“Let me tell you the secret that leads to my destiny. My strength lies only in my perseverance. —Louis Pasteur, biologist, microbiologist and chemist
“Never give up on a dream just because it will take time to achieve it. Time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale, radio announcer and author
“You do your best while you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You take a step back, but you don’t give up.” “Chuck Yeager, former US Air Force officer
“Never tried that. Never failed. Doesn’t matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett, Irish avant-garde author and playwright
“It’s good to celebrate success, but it’s more important to listen to the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft

Quotes about working hard

Hard work helps make dreams come true. These best hard work quotes will help you get your job done.

“People often work hard for the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” – Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr
“If you’re passionate about something and you work hard, I think you’ll be successful.” —Pierre Omidyar, Founder and President of eBay
“I see the harder I work, the better my chances.” —Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and President of the United States
“When we strive to be better than we are, everything around us becomes better.” —Paulo Coelho, copywriter and novelist
“A dream does not come true by magic; It takes sweat, determination and hard work.” —Colin Powell, US statesman and retired four-star general in the US Army
“There is no substitute for hard work when it comes to being successful.” —Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan
“Success is not a matter of coincidence. It’s hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrificing and most of all loving what you do or learn to do.” —Pele, professional soccer player
“No successful person, even if you make it easy, will never be successful without hard work.” —Jonathan Sacks, author and politician
“The only thing that beats bad luck is hard work.” – Harry Golden, author
“Nothing can replace hard work.” —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
“It’s hard to beat someone who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth, professional baseball player

Quotes about challenges

We all encounter difficulties in life. They can either make or break you. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite challenge quotes that will encourage you to keep going.

“Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the better.” – John D. Rockefeller, businessman of the oil industry
“Those who are not willing to risk the ordinary must be satisfied with the ordinary.” —Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker
“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I move, the more natural it becomes not to let my fears rule me.” — Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post and founder of Thrive Global
“You gain strength, courage and confidence with every experience where you stop really facing the fear. You can tell yourself that I experienced this horror. I can get the next thing. You must do what you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt is known as the “First Lady of the World” for her human rights work.
“When you overcome the fear of taking risks, really great things can happen.” —Marissa Mayer, former President and CEO of Yahoo!!
“Think you can do it and you’re halfway there.” -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
“Challenges make life interesting, and overcoming them makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine, author
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you hit a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Find out how to climb, get through it, or get around.” – Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
These quotes about challenges have some pretty solid advice.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” —Nelson Mandela, ex-President of South Africa, political leader and philanthropist
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my choices.” —Stephen Covey, educator, author, and businessman
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and consolation, but where he stands in moments of challenge and strife.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the civil rights movement
“Resistance is inevitable in life, defeat is optional.” – Roger Crawford, speaker, author and certified tennis pro
“Life’s challenges don’t have to cripple you, they should help you discover who you are.” —Bernice Johnson Reagon, songwriter and social activist
“When we least expect it, life challenges us to test our courage and willingness to change; There’s no point in a moment like this to pretend nothing happened and say we’re not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life doesn’t look back.” —Paulo Coelho, lyricist and novelist
“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid to succeed.” —Ray Goforth, Director for strategy and partnerships at Spredfast