31 of the Best Quotes about Starting a Business

Who doesn’t want to be their own boss? Maybe it’s the idea of having a steady paycheck and feeling of job security (although, I’m not sure there’s any such thing), but many people are either content working for someone else and getting their paid vacations, sick time and health insurance…or they’re just afraid of taking that leap of faith and trying to earn a living by cashing in on their passion.

I don’t mean that in a negative way, because it’s a perfectly justified fear. It takes preparation and careful planning, especially if you have a family that depends on you. You certainly don’t want to quit your job, and THEN begin the first steps of a new business venture.

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​Some people may have been forced into such a predicament, usually when getting laid off, but your idea should really be generating some revenue (ie. it should be a ‘business’) before leaving your day job. Jon Acuff’s book, “Quitter“, is a great guide for navigating you through this transition.

Interestingly, according to the 2013 Gallup-HOPE Report, a study of 5th through 12th graders in the U.S., showed that nearly half of them had entrepreneurial intentions. This is fantastic, to say the least, as the world’s economy is in need of a serious boost, and small business is a great way to do it. Many experts will tell you that the best time to start a business is during an economic downturn.

It is also further evidence of a culture shift that we are experiencing at this very moment, as more and more schools are offering classes in how to start and run a business. It appears as though the days of further schooling in order to get a corporate job and work until retirement are numbered. Not for everyone, of course, but this is certainly a trend to watch. Therefore, it is important to help entrepreneurs, both young and old, be persistent in their quest to start a business.

Here are 31 of the best quotes about starting a business, in no particular order:

1. “Yesterday, you said tomorrow.” -Anonymous

2. “Openly share and talk to people about your idea. Use their lack of interest or doubt to fuel your motivation to make it happen.” -Todd Garland

3. “Find something you love and do it better than everyone else.” -Gurbaksh Chahal

4. “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” -Henry Ford

5. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” -Mark Twain

6. “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” -Karen Lamb

7. “Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.” -Leo Babauta

8. “Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all.” -Og Mandino

9. “The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch.” -Jason Fried

10. “The question you should be asking isn’t, ‘What do I want?’ or ‘What are my goals?’, but ‘What would excite me?’” -Timothy Ferriss

11. “Experiment. Fail. Learn. Repeat.” -Anonymous

12. “The best time to start was last year. Failing that, today will do.” -Chris Guillebeau

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13. “Every day, thousands of people bury good ideas because they are afraid to act on them. And afterwards, the ghosts of these ideas come back to haunt them.” -David Schwartz

14. “Stop sketching and start building.” -Dennis Crowley

15. “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway.” -Earl Nightingale

16. “The hardest thing about getting started, is getting started.” -Guy Kawasaki

17. “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” -Howard Aiken

18. “Whatever you’re ready for is ready for you.” -Mark Victor Hansen

19. “Downturns are the best time to start businesses, because you develop discipline that’s very lean and mean in terms of how to spend money. And those habits serve you very well in good times.” -Kevin O’Leary

20. “People who won’t take step number 1, will never take step number 2.” -Zig Ziglar

21. “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” -Maria Robinson

22. “The future depends on what you do today.” -Mahatma Gandhi

23. “Ideas are easy. I’ve never met a single person who didn’t think they had a world class idea. The hard part is making it a business.” -Mark Cuban

24. “Now is the time to fix the next 10 years.” -Jim Rohn
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​25. “What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” -Napoleon Hill

26. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” -Peter Drucker

27. “If someone tells you, ‘You can’t,’ they really mean, ‘I can’t.’” -Sean Stephenson

28. “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” -Steve Jobs

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

30. “There are 309 million people out there (in America) that are trying to improve their lot in life. And we’ve got a system that allows them to do it.” -Warren Buffett

31. “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” -Wayne Gretzky

​Thank you for reading, and please feel free to share some of your favorite quotes that I may have missed.
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Author

DailyBusinessQuotes exists as a motivational tool and information resource for people who are looking to better themselves, and create a life where their passions become their careers. "Great quotes can inspire you to keep going and save you in the darkest times." This quote from Evan Carmichael is the genesis for this site. It's not just Motivation for Monday...it's Motivation for Everyday.
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