Being an entrepreneur and running your own business isn’t easy. It’s fulfilling. It’s exciting. It’s an unrivalled learning and growing experience. But it definitely doesn’t come without its fair share of stresses. From building the perfect team to continuously dealing with the unknown, there are countless challenges that come with the territory. In order to succeed, you must embrace all of these, and thrive amidst them.
Entrepreneur outlined the eight biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs these days in an article published earlier this year. It’s a great read and I recommend going through it in full, but the one obstacle that really stood out to me, which I want to share here, was 4) Being The Visionary.
What does that entail? “As the founder of your startup, you’ll be expected to come up with the ideas. When a competitor emerges, it will be your responsibility to come up with a response plan. When your team hits an impenetrable obstacle, your job will be to come up with an alternative plan to move forward. This demands on-the-spot creative thinking – which should be an oxymoron, but entrepreneurs rarely have the luxury of time.” Everything about that statement couldn’t ring more true.
Another great source of knowledge and insight is an Inc. article titled ‘What’s the Biggest Challenge of Entrepreneurship? Mark Zuckerberg and Others Provide Answers’. Of the eight business experts interviewed, Mark Cuban perfectly summed up the importance of perseverance and risk-taking in one simple quote. “Don’t be an entrepreneur if you can’t handle rejection,” he told the mag. “Every no gets you closer to a yes. It’s a numbers game.”
Reading that made me think about the positive impact that peers’ stories can have on business owners, which inspired me to put together this list of 10 powerful, inspirational quotes that I think all entrepreneurs should keep in mind.
These words came from some of the biggest success stories in the business world, so next time you need a boost of motivation or a little support, don’t be afraid to turn to those who have paved the road before you. There’s absolutely no shame in that.
10 Inspirational Business Quotes All Entrepreneurs Should Keep In Mind
1) “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
2) “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
3) “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
4) “Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius
5) “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
6) “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
7) “Above all, you want to create something you are proud of.” – Richard Branson
8) “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
9) “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
10) “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” – Steve Jobs
