"When you reach an
obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome
and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice
is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that
failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than
to be rested from failure."
- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
"An entrepreneur
tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how
to chew it.
- Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries
- Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries
"Business
opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming."
- Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Enterprises
- Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Enterprises
"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, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's
- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's
"Innovation is the
specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an
opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of
being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being
practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of
innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for
successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of
successful innovation."
- Peter F. Drucker, "The Father of Modern Management"
- Peter F. Drucker, "The Father of Modern Management"
"I never perfected an invention
that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I
find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent."
- Thomas Edison
- Thomas Edison
"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."
- Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
- Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
"We were young, but we had good
advice and good ideas and lots of enthusiasm."
- Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation
- Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation
"Our success has really been based
on partnerships from the very beginning."
- Bill Gates
- Bill Gates
"Entrepreneurs are risk takers,
willing to roll the dice with their money or reputation on the line in support
of an idea or enterprise. They willingly assume responsibility for the success
or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets."
- Victor Kiam, best known for his "I liked it so much, I bought the
company" ads for Remington electric shavers
"If it really was a no-brainer
to make it on your own in business there'd be millions of no-brained,
harebrained, and otherwise dubiously brained individuals quitting their day
jobs and hanging out their own shingles. Nobody would be left to round out the
workforce and execute the business plan."
- Bill Rancic, winner on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice"
- Bill Rancic, winner on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice"
"The cover-your-butt mentality
of the workplace will get you only so far. The follow-your-gut mentality of the
entrepreneur has the potential to take you anywhere you want to go or run you
right out of business--but it's a whole lot more fun, don't you think?"
- Bill Rancic
- Bill Rancic
"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, founder of The Body Shop
- Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop
"I have always found that my
view of success has been iconoclastic: success to me is not about money or
status or fame, its about finding a livelihood that brings me joy and
self-sufficiency and a sense of contributing to the world."
- Anita Roddick
- Anita Roddick
"Experience taught me a few
things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on
paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you
know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you
don't make."
- Donald Trump, real estate and entertainment mogul
- Donald Trump, real estate and entertainment mogul
"My son is now an
'entrepreneur'. That's what you're called when you don't have a job."
- Ted Turner, broadcasting entrepreneur
- Ted Turner, broadcasting entrepreneur
"I had to make my own living
and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the
opportunities to come. Get up and make them!"
- Madam C.J. Walker, creator of a popular line of African-American hair care products and America's first black female millionaire
- Madam C.J. Walker, creator of a popular line of African-American hair care products and America's first black female millionaire