40 Best Business Quotes to Inspire Entrepreneurs & Go-Getters

Daily affirmations have long been used to boost self-esteem. They compel people to start their days on the right foot. But while letting a smile be your umbrella might fortify your positive attitude, it’s not going to inspire your business ventures.

Everyone must work, but for many of us that job isn’t just a paycheck, it’s an opportunity to express ourselves and make something better. Entrepreneurs and go-getters often feel as if they carry the weight of an entire organization on their backs, and therefore could always use a little extra motivation.

To all the entrepreneurs and go-getters out there, these 40 inspiring business quotes are for you. Now, get out there and change the world—one project at a time!

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And now, without further ado, the best business quotes to motivate you to greater success!

1. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe understands a challenge. The tennis champ is the only black man to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. He was ranked number one in the world, but that didn’t come easy. On top of the mastery of the sport and all the physical and mental work required to get there, he had to deal with prejudice, which makes his quote all the more powerful and humble.

2. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Churchill led Britain through one of its darkest periods. With enemies threatening to advance across the English Channel, bombing London daily, the pressure to survive was paramount. But Churchill, like any entrepreneur worth their salt, understood that failure was part of the process. One learned from their mistakes, and the greatest lesson was that there was always another day to fight on.

3. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new” – Socrates

The great Greek philosopher was known for questioning the status quo and getting killed for it. But Plato wrote Scorates’ dialogues shortly after his death and his Influence lives on in Western society to this day. Even as pragmatic a discipline as a business can learn from him. Forge forward, don’t look back.

4. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

When one’s last name is a globally recognized brand, it’s good to listen to what they have to say. This hospitality king and hotel owner knows a thing or two about surviving in a competitive business environment. Action does speak louder than words, though, and mistakes are always part of the equation. But it’ll never be solved if you quit.

5. “Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” – Phil Knight

The brand that gave us “Just do it!” qualifies that tagline, which always felt a bit broad, to include boundaries. You can’t “just do it” without regard to the rules, as Knight clearly states. Those rules are what level the playing field and protect fair competition. But rules have nothing to do with the passion in which you play within them.

6. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson

Branson’s Virgin has proven that from record labels to airlines, where there is a will there is a way. The door isn’t always open, but sometimes it’s ajar or the key is on the floor. All you must do is pick it up and turn the lock. Basically, the right environment for success ebbs and flows, but a keen businessperson is never passive.

7. “Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.” – Anthony Robbins

The idea that one can go through life without conflict or issues arising is unrealistic. Some might dream of a frictionless ride through the world as the ideal journey, but without some form of pushback, growth is impossible. It is these problems that we face that build our character, engage our creativity and build humility.

8. “You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” – Warren Buffett

The idea of right and wrong is a construct, of course, and it might feel overly simplistic to suggest that making the right choices will smooth the path forward. But the famous investor is merely noting with this business quote that avoiding a wrong decision is as important as making the right one. Avoiding bad decisions is aided, of course, with careful planning.

9. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

Philosopher, naturalist, essayist, etc.—Thoreau knew a thing or two about productivity. He wisely saw that those who are seeking success are more likely romanticizing the idea and not doing the hard, practical work necessary to achieve it.

10. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin

Nin was no stranger to the creative act. As a writer, she had to take pen to paper or her stories would remain phantoms in her mind. It is safer to keep these ideas to oneself. There’s no rejection or criticism that way, but there’s also no way to hone one’s skills and produce something of value.

11. “There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

Writer and former dotcom businessman, Godin is saying that talk is cheap, but in a nicer way. Yes, ideas are a dime a dozen, but the real meat on those bones comes from trying to realize them. It is only then that the problems show up and the real work of resolving them starts.

12. “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

Chesterton, a writer of paradoxical stories, is the contrarian on our list. He speaks for the pig-headed and visionary alike. Sometimes one must buck the conventional wisdom. The hard part is knowing whether you’re acting out of conviction for your ideals or if you’re just being deluded by ego.

13. “I don’t know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it.” – Susan Butcher

She’s not being literal, but rather exaggerating to make a point. There comes a time in everyone’s life when the idea of just throwing in the towel is attractive. You’re exhausted. The obstacles feel insurmountable. But those who can reject the idea of quitting and tap an unforeseen reservoir are usually those who cross the finish line.

14. “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt

People get caught up in the product and forget the worth of anything that lies in the process. Win or lose, it’s the fact that you tried, with all you could offer, to do the best at something you feel is of value. That alone is rewarding.

15. “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs

We only see the success after it’s been reached. Like a tree that reaches the clouds, the roots that hold it up are invisible. They’re beneath the ground, having spent years digging through the hard ground to stabilize and feed the tree’s growth. It is also so with business.

16. “Almost everything worthwhile carries with it some sort of risk, whether it’s starting a new business, whether it’s leaving home, whether it’s getting married, or whether it’s flying into space.” – Chris Hadfield

True, but not all risks are created equally. Going into space feels like a bigger risk than starting a company. That puts things in perspective, though, and acknowledges the fact that nothing is without risk, therefore, don’t try to completely bubble-wrap your enterprise. Play it safe, of course, but not to the point of inertia.

17. “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rodgers

America’s ambassador of good cheer did more than pass out smiles in his life. He offered practical business advice: complacency is death. Even if you’re doing the right thing, if you’re not moving forward, constantly pushing yourself to reach beyond your comfort zone, then you’re in trouble. The competition will overtake you.

18. “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama

The president knows a lot about failure and success. The Affordable Healthcare Act was more than once dead in the water, but the president didn’t give up. He compromised, he convinced and he labored, but not once did he allow himself to become embittered.

19. “Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” – William Durant

There is only the present, so the enlightened ones tell us, and we cannot allow ourselves to become tied to the past or enchanted by the future. There is only the here and now. We must concentrate on that and act. This quote doesn’t reject the lessons of the past or the plans for the future, but we only have this moment, so do your best in it.

20. “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein

You’ll have noticed that often one inspirational quote contradicts the next. That’s because it is in these paradoxes that real wisdom is born. There is never just one way to look at something and with perspective comes opportunity. Ideas might be nothing without execution, but without those ideas the execution is empty.

21. “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

People should take failure as a badge of honor. It’s a crucible that burns things down to their essence and shows us what we’re really made from. If the path to success was clear, then everyone would be one it and success would lose all meaning.

22. “The first one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell.” – Andrew Carnegie

It sounds brutal, and one doesn’t become a steel baron without nerves of steel, but there is a harsh truth in this statement. Resources are exploited by businesses to achieve their goals. They’re not a collective, sharing the wealth, so like the early bird, if you want the worm, then get up early.

23. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

The more business quotes from these masters of industry and history, the more you notice a common thread knitting them together. They tend to same things only in different ways. That alone should make it clear that actions speak louder than words, to use another old axiom.

24. “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” – Henry Ford

This statement might confuse you at first, but once you get it, like a Zen koan, it makes perfect sense. What the father of automotive automation is imparting with this quote is that success is as much a mind game as it is determined by fate. With the right attitude, you can do almost anything.

25. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Inspiration is great, but there’s no point in reinventing the wheel. The general is right. Success is being prepared, working hard and learning from mistakes, as many others have also stated. If we can edit the quote a wee bit, we’d add luck to fill out the recipe for success. There’s always an unknown element in the mix.

26. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer

Many people have it backward, struggling to achieve success to feel good about themselves. But the irony is that it’s in the doing, not the goal, where the happiness resides. Even if you fail at your enterprise, if you enjoy the process, then you’ll be happy.

27. “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel

If you’re keeping your eyes on what can go wrong, it will go wrong. Successful people strive to move on. They aren’t ignorant of failure, but they’re also not stymied by it. They don’t know what failure is, because to them it’s merely a bump in the road, not its terminus.

28. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

The famous story about Edison and the incandescent lightbulb, which took thousands of tries to find a filament that would burn but not extinguish, is proof of the pudding of his statement. You just never know what’s around the corner until you get there.

29. “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” – Oprah Winfrey

We spoke of luck as a crucial element to any success. There are always those forces beyond our control, but there are also those forces that are within our ability to regulate. If opportunities are rare, then one must be ready for them when they come to take advantage. That might not be the definition of luck, but it does feel like good fortune.

30. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder

People can get lost in thought. In their mind’s eye success is laid out. It’s as if they’re already there. Daydreaming might be creative, but creativity takes work. You’re not going to get anywhere standing in place.

31. “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” – Babe Ruth

This has been said in many ways, but sometimes it takes the sports analogy to get it to sink through. Of course, for Ruth, this wasn’t a metaphor but a fact. However, it also applies to business. We can’t rest on past glory.

32. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon

It’s a funny way to look at things, but there’s truth in the fact that success is not something we are handed. It is something we must work on. Success isn’t inheritance. While we might get handed great wealth, power and prestige, it’s what we do with it that counts.

33. “The only way around is through.” – Robert Frost

What the great American poet is saying is that there is no way to avoid what must be done. We cannot go around the difficulties in our lives or business but face them head-on and work through them. Just having the courage to do that is the hallmark of success.

34. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

The wife of a United States president is called a first lady, but they’re often last in terms of influence. Not Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband, FDR, saw the country through the Great Depression and WWII. She was no slouch herself. She advocated for women in the workforce and civil rights and remained active in politics after her husband died in 1945. She believed in the beauty of her dreams, many of which came true.

35. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

It’s easy to define success by what others think. The world seems to only appreciate money, status and power. But when measured against those unreachable expectations, no matter what success one has it quickly turns to failure. Maya Angelou certainly gained literary success but understood the real story.

36. “The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.” – Aristotle Onassis

He might be more famous for marrying Jackie Kennedy than for his entrepreneurial expertise, but don’t let the glitz blind you. Aristotle Onassis was a business magnate who amassed the world’s largest privately owned shipping fleet. He probably did that by knowing something his competitors didn’t. It’d be wise to take his advice.

37. “To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about the business.” – J. Paul Getty

The man behind Getty Oil Company knows a thing or two about succeeding in business. He made it to the top and those who want to follow him to the pinnacle of success would do well to take his advice seriously. Whatever the field, knowledge is king and learning is never done.

38. “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking” – William Butler Yeats

The poet might not be the first person a businessman seeks to learn about their trade. But one would be foolish to ignore poets, who are not only masters of language but use words to offer valuable insights. Yeats knew that it’s universally true that procrastination is an excuse that prevents one from acting when it’s the action that reeks the rewards.

39. “The best way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

Though best known today for her tragic flight that ended with her and her plane disappearing in the Pacific Ocean, she was an aviation pioneer and early advocate of women’s rights. She led the way for female pilots and has become a cultural icon. Her advice is sound, even if it didn’t end the way she wanted. But the point is in the trying.

40. “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” – Scott Belsky

Scott Belsky is an American entrepreneur, author and investor. He’s the chief product officer for Adobe Creative Cloud. In other words, he walks the talk of turning ideas into reality. Think of it, everyone has a bright idea. They’re a dime a dozen. But it’s those people who do the work to make it happen who are remembered.

Bonus Quote: “The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” – Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the founders of the United States of America, but even beyond that revolutionary achievement, he was an inventor and businessman who knew the importance of having the right tools for the job.

If our bespectacled founding father were alive today, he’d certainly have ProjectManager. No online project management software has its breadth of features to control every aspect of a project.

Turn Motivational Business Quotes Into Actionable Plans With ProjectManager

While it’s motivating to see so many business quotes in one roundup, now it’s time to take action with best-in-class software. ProjectManager has the tools you need to plan and track projects at every stage. It provides a single source of business truth, offers advanced resource management and proves a platform for secure collaboration.

Dashboards for Tracking

High-level project views from the real-time dashboard automatically track progress across six metrics. For a deeper dive into that data, easy reporting features get glandular. Reports on tasks, variance and more can be filtered to show just the data you want.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

Always Know What Your Team Is Up To

If you’re concerned about your team’s workload and if everyone has enough work to stay busy, ProjectManager has a color-coded team page that makes it easy to balance workload right from that page. Managing your team has never been easier.

Manage Your Team's Tasks with ProjectManager

Kanban Boards for Visual Workflows

Further transparency into the process is given by the kanban board view, which keeps teams working on only those high-priority tasks and allows managers to see what everyone is working on and where they are in that process.

Schedule Work & Make Long Term Projects

ProjectManager is award-winning software that keeps teams organized and gives managers online Gantt charts to schedule project plans. Those plans can then be archived and mined later as historical data for future projects because we offer unlimited file storage.

ProjectManager.com Gantt chart for Scheduling Projects

To paraphrase Franklin: early to ProjectManager makes a project healthy, wealthy and wise.