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The best way to predict the future is to create it.

The best business plans are straightforward documents that spell out the who, what, where, why, and how much.

If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere

Everything is based on a simple rule: Quality is the best business plan, period.

Any business plan won't survive its first encounter with reality. The reality will always be different. It will never be the plan.

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.

Riches do not come by crossing your fingers and walking through the day hoping. Riches and wealth comes from well-laid plans.

If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Proper business planning demands that you focus on the self-interest of the customer at all times.

Organizations are successful because of good implementation,not good business plans.

The business plan should address: "How will I get customers? How will I market the product or service? Who will I target?" The principles of a business plan are pretty much the same. But after page one to two, everything is unpredictable, because costs or competition will change and you don't know how things will be received by the market. You have to be able to continually adapt. Companies that fail to adapt will die. Others are brilliant at adapting.

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

What business strategy is all about-what distinguishes it from all other kinds of business planning-is, in a word, competitive advantage. Without competitors there would be no need for strategy, for the sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable the company to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors.

Small businesses, you can give them capital, but what they often need as much is mentoring, advice and help with their business plan.

Set your business plan to win; raise the bar or you're not going to be prepared. You need to think that what you're doing will make you $100 million.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

Businesses planned for service are apt to succeed businesses planned for profit are apt to fail.

The sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable the company to gain, as effectively as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

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70 Amazing Business Quotes to Inspire the Entrepreneur in You

Running a business can be full of all sorts of highs and lows. The challenges can drive you to be better but also crush you with their severity. When you’re feeling down, you can always turn to sources of inspiration to buoy your spirits and remind you why you started the company in the first place. 

Inspirational Business Quotes to Reinvigorate Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

“Employees want to feel inspired by their leaders…hire individuals who will lead by example.” —Jody Kohner

“If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” —Reid Hoffman

“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” —Napoleon Hill

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” —Albert Einstein

“I failed my way to success.” —Thomas Edison

Time to Get to Work

If there’s one thing to learn from the above business quotes, it’s that to earn success you have to get to work. No amount of time spent thinking and dreaming will do much good if it’s not accompanied by hard work. Now that you feel inspired, you can start putting in the work to see your company become more successful.

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The 200 Best Inspirational Business Quotes (2024)

Starting a business is tough. Not just practically or financially—but emotionally , too. Which is why these top inspirational business quotes are so valuable.

Each of these quotes is a bite-sized morsel of wisdom , capable of injecting small business owners with much-needed motivation and encouragement to succeed.

So, when you’re exhausted, frustrated, anxious, worried, or just plain freaking out, read these inspirational business quotes for some remarkable ideas.

Best business quotes of all time

Prepare yourself for a collection of motivational business quotes that will light up your entrepreneurial spirit. Each one is a nugget of wisdom from the journeys of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, ready to spark innovation and drive in your own venture.

• “The secret of change is to focus all your energy 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 a few exceptions—generalize whatever they did. Don’t over-analyze everything. I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work.” —Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest
• “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States
• “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” —Peter F. Drucker
• “Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.” —Anthony Volodkin, founder of Hype Machine 
• “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” —Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s 
• “If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.” —Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon 
• “If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” —Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, and motivational speaker 
• “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn 
• “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” —Thomas Edison, co-founder of General Electric 
• “The stars will never align, and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way.” —Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week  
• “Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” —Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter 
• “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. 
• “Always look for the fool in the deal. If you don’t find one, it’s you.” —Mark Cuban, AXS TV chairman and entrepreneur 
• “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” —Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft 
• “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” —Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook 
• “If you define yourself by how you differ from the competition, you’re probably in trouble.” —Omar Hamoui, co-founder of AdMob 
• “Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell.” —Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO of BlogHer 
• “When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.” —Josh James, CEO and co-founder of Omniture 
• “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” —Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance 
• “Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” —Golda Meir, fourth Prime Minister of Israel 
• “There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.” —Jason Fried, 37signals founder and co-author of Rework  
• “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn 
• “Chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you.” —Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos 
• “The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow.” —Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA 
• “Nothing works better than just improving your product.” —Joel Spolsky, co-founder of Stack Overflow 
• “Get five or six of your smartest friends in a room and ask them to rate your idea.” —Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga 
• “Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations.” —Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media 
• “Get big quietly so you don’t tip off potential competitors.” —Chris Dixon, investor at Andreessen Horowitz 
• “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. 
• “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, US 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 embrace opportunities that appear, wherever they might be.” —Lakshmi Mittal, chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal 
• “Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.” —Jeffrey Zeldman, entrepreneur and web designer 
• “The last 10% it takes to launch something takes as much energy as the first 90%.” —Rob Kalin, founder of Etsy 
• “If you’re interested in the living heart of what you do, focus on building things rather than talking about them.” —Ryan Freitas, co-founder of About.me  
• “Best startups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch.” —Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch 
• “Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.” —Wayne Huizenga, prolific US business person. 
• “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” —Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur and co-founder of Alltop 
• “An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create.” —David Karp, founder, and CEO of Tumblr 
• “Get a mentor in the applicable field if you’re at all unsure of what you’re looking for.” —Kyle Bragger, founder of Forrst and co-founder of Exposure 
• “Every day that we spent not improving our products was a wasted day.” —Joel Spolsky, co-founder of Stack Overflow 
• “Anything that is measured and watched improves.” —Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy 
• “Stay self-funded as long as possible.” —Garrett Camp, founder of Expa, Uber, and StumbleUpon 
• “Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.” —Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos  
• “Timing, perseverance, and 10 years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.” —Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter 
• “Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.” —Daniel Pink, author 
• “Fortunes are built during the down market and collected in the upmarket.” —Jason Calacanis, founder of LAUNCH Ticker 
• “It’s more effective to do something valuable than to hope a logo or name will say it for you.” —Jason Cohen, founder of Smartbear Software 
• “No more romanticizing about how cool it is to be an entrepreneur. It’s a struggle to save your company’s life—and your own skin—every day of the week.” —Spencer Fry, co-founder of CarbonMade 
• “You can’t make anything viral, but you can make something good.” —Peter Shankman, founder of HARO 
• “Don’t worry about funding if you don’t need it. Today, it’s cheaper to start a business than ever.” —Noah Everett, founder of Twitpic 
• “Data beats emotions.” —Sean Rad, founder of Tinder 
• “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” —Estée Lauder, founder of Estée Lauder Cosmetics 
• “I try not to make any decisions that I’m not excited about.” —Jake Nickell, founder and CEO of Threadless 
• “See things in the present, even if they are in the future.” —Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle 
• “You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea.” —Larry Page, co-founder of Google 
• “Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.” —Michael Dell, chairman, and CEO of Dell 
• “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” —Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company 
• “All humans are entrepreneurs, not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn
• “Great customer service is a critical competitive advantage for a business.” —Steve Benson, editorial cartoonist
• “In the end, a vision without the ability to execute it is probably a hallucination.” —Steve Case, co-founder of AOL 
• “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” —Oprah Winfrey, media proprietor 
• “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn 
• “Don’t be cocky. 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 become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.” —Sara Blakely, founder of SPANX 
• “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” —Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States 
• “A person who is quietly confident makes the best leader.” —Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures 
• “Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” —Howard Schultz, former chairman and CEO of Starbucks 

Inspirational quotes about life

Let’s continue our list with some of the top inspirational quotes about life. Every now and then, everyone needs to hear about the positive side of life and the potential it has to offer. These inspirational quotes about life will help empower you to 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
• “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” —Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
• “When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say, ‘Wow, that was an adventure,’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe.’” —Tom Preston-Werner, co-founder of Github
• “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” —Les Brown, motivational speaker, author, and former politician
• “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ―Oprah Winfrey, media proprietor
• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” —Les Brown, motivational speaker
• “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” —Walt Disney, co-founder of the Walt Disney Company
• “Lean forward into your life. Begin each day as if it were on purpose.” ―Mary Anne Radmacher, author
• “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ―Maya Angelou, poet, singer, and civil rights activist
• “Do not let the memories of your past limit the potential of your future. There are no limits to what you can achieve on your journey through life, except in your mind.” ―Roy T. Bennett, author
• “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” ―Oprah Winfrey, media proprietor
• “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ―George Bernard Shaw, playwright
• “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” —Charles Darwin, naturalist, geologist and biologist
• “Education costs money. But then so does ignorance.” —Sir Claus Moser, statistician
• “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” —Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player

Inspirational quotes about success

Success doesn’t happen overnight. You have to take each day as an opportunity to meet your potential and to improve. Here’s a list of our favorite inspirational quotes about success to get your day started.

• Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” —Henry David Thoreau, essayist, poet, and philosopher
• “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” —Tony Robbins, life and business strategist, and author
• “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” —Colin R. Davis, conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra
• “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that’s where you will find success.” —Thomas J. Watson, former president of IBM, political figure, and philanthropist
• Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain during World War II
• “Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” —Robert H. Schuller, motivational speaker
• “Success is the sum of small efforts—repeated day in and day out.” —Robert Collier, author
• “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” —Jim Rohn, business philosopher
• “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” —Colin Powell, US statesman and retired four-star general in the United States Army
• “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” —David Brinkley, newscaster
• “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” —William Feather, publisher and author
• “Try not to become a man of success. Rather, become a man of value.” —Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist
• “Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.” —Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
• “I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.” —Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft 
• “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, writer, poet, and philosopher
• “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.
• “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” —Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels chain

Quotes about not giving up

Never give up. Keep chasing your dreams. Life will be hard at times, and the strength lies in not giving up. Take a look at the best inspirational quotes about not giving up.

• “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. And, if you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” —Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the US civil rights movement
• “I got lucky because I never gave up the search. Are you quitting too soon? Or are you willing to pursue luck with a vengeance?” —Jill Konrath, speaker, author and thought leader
• “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” —Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist
• “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, 44th president of the United States
• “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
• “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain during World War II
• “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does—that makes you a winner right there.” —Venus Williams, professional tennis player
• “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” —Maya Angelou, poet, singer, and civil rights activist
• “Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald, fiction writer
• “Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely on my tenacity.” —Louis Pasteur, biologist, microbiologist and chemist
• “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” —Earl Nightingale, radio speaker and author
• “You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don’t give up.” ―Chuck Yeager, former US Air Force officer
• “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett, Irish avant-garde novelist and playwright
• “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” —Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft

Quotes about working hard

Hard work helps to turn dreams into reality. These top quotes about working hard will help you get the job done.

• “So often people are working hard at 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, then I think you will be successful.” —Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman of eBay
• “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” —Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and president of the United States
• “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” —Paulo Coelho, lyricist and novelist
• “A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” —Colin Powell, US statesman and retired four-star general in the United States Army
• “There is simply no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving success.” —Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan
• “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” —Pelé, professional footballer
• “No great achiever—even those who made it seem easy—ever succeeded without hard work.” —Jonathan Sacks, author and politician
• “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” —Harry Golden, writer
• “There is no substitute for hard work.” —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
• “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” —Babe Ruth, professional baseball player

Quotes about challenges

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

• “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” —John D. Rockefeller,  oil industry business magnate
• “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” —Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker
• “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” —Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post and founder of Thrive Global
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —Eleanor Roosevelt, known as First Lady of the World for her human rights advocacy
• “If you can push through that feeling of being scared, that feeling of taking a risk, really amazing things can happen.” —Marissa Mayer, former president and CEO of Yahoo!
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” —Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States
• “Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” —Joshua J. Marine, author
• “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” —Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” —Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, political leader, and philanthropist
• “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” —Stephen Covey, educator, author, and businessman
• “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” —Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the civil rights movement
• “Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” —Roger Crawford, public speaker, author, and certified tennis professional
• “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” —Bernice Johnson Reagon, song composer, and social activist
• “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened, or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not 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 you will succeed.” —Ray Goforth, director of strategy and partnerships at Spredfast

Quotes about overcoming failure

There will be days when things don’t go as planned. You may feel defeated and let down. But that’s a part of life. It’s how you deal with the failures in life that makes you who you are. Here’s a list of our favorite quotes about overcoming failure that will motivate you to forget past mistakes and take a giant stride forward.

• “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” —Herman Melville, novelist
• “Do not be embarrassed by your failures; learn from them and start again.” —Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group
• “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you, because all that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.” —Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, owner of Landmark Theaters and Chairman of AXS TV
• “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” —Jeff Bezos, founder, and CEO of Amazon
• “The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something.” —Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, and blogger
• “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.” —Drew Houston, founder and CEO of Dropbox
• “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” —Og Mandino, author
• “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” —George Addair, real-estate developer
• “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” —Jack Canfield, author, motivational speaker, corporate trainer, and entrepreneur
• “Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
• “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” —Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
• “Failure is success if we learn from it.” —Malcolm Forbes, entrepreneur and former publisher of Forbes magazine
• “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” —J.K. Rowling, novelist
• “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player

Funny quotes to cheer you up

Everyone has a bad day once in a while. These inspirational quotes are guaranteed to inspire you and bring a smile to your face.

• “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” —Zig Ziglar, author
• “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”—Lily Tomlin, actress
• “The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” —Will Rogers, performer
• “I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” —Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States
• “When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’” —Sydney Harris, journalist
• “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs … one step at a time.” —Joe Girard, salesman
• “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” —Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor
• “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.” —Sam Levenson, humorist
• “Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever you were gonna do anyway.“ —Robert Downey Jr., actor
• “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” —Dale Carnegie, writer
• “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” —Will Rogers, performer

Inspirational movie quotes

Movies have a certain memorable aspect about them. They have a unique way of teaching us lessons that stay in our memory. Whether it’s by making us smile, or by moving us to tears, movies have a magic about them. Here are some of the best inspirational quotes from movies.

• ”Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” —Rocky, Rocky Balboa
• “Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something, not even me. All right? You dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” —Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness
• “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” —Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of the Wall Street
• “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” —Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” —Vito Corleone, The Godfather
• “Some people can’t believe in themselves until someone else believes in them first.” —Sean Maguire, Good Will Hunting
• “Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.” —Alfred Pennyworth, Batman Begins
• “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” —Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
• “After a while, you learn to ignore the names people call you and just trust who you are.” —Shrek, Shrek the Third
• “Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.” —Benjamin Button, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” —Maximus, Gladiator
• “Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” —Alan Turing, The Imitation Game
• “Every man dies, but not every man really lives.” —William Wallace, Braveheart
• “Someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail, or worse yet, afraid we may succeed.” —Forrester, Finding Forrester
• “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” —Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• “There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” —Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything
• “The accident is your training. Life is a choice. You can choose to be a victim or anything else you’d like to be.” —Socrates, Peaceful Warrior
• “In this lifetime, you don’t have to prove nothing to nobody, except yourself. And after what you’ve gone through, if you haven’t done that by now, it ain’t gonna never happen.” —Fortune, Rudy
• It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” —Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own
• “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it.” —Rafiki, The Lion King
• “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” —John Keating, Dead Poets Society
• “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” —Eames, Inception
• “Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.” —John Nash, A Beautiful Mind

Quotes about work

No matter what day of the week it is, this list of inspirational quotes about work will help you get through the day.

• If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.
• “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” —H. Jackson Brown Jr., US author
• “The more I want to get something done ,the less I call it work.” —Richard Bach, writer
• “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” —Muhammad Ali, professional boxer
• “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” —Karen Lamb, author
• “Someday is not a day of the week.” —Janet Dailey, author
• “What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, philosopher, and poet
• “Make each day your masterpiece.” —John Wooden, basketball player
• “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” —Aristotle, father of Western philosophy

Ready to ignite your entrepreneurial spirit?

If you haven’t already, make sure to bookmark this page of business quotes now and return to it to create better habits and to help escape the rat race every time you need a hit of inspiration or motivation.

One other thing:

Did you notice some of the recurring themes throughout these business quotes?

You’ll see things like:

• Believe in yourself
• Focus on quality

So, which of these quotes stood out most to you? Comment below!

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31 Most Inspiring Business Strategy Quotes

Success in business depends on unleashing the power of business strategy. It takes a keen sense of direction, a fearless attitude, and the ability to adapt to the constantly changing winds of the business world. Business leaders, economists, and researchers are the right people to impart this strategic wisdom to us. 

There is a treasure trove of wisdom and inspiration in these quotes from some of the world’s leading experts. There’s so much to learn about business strategy from these quotes, from differentiation to innovation to vision to experimentation.

In this article, we’ll explore 21 of the most insightful business strategy quotes and find out what they mean. They may inject you with a healthy dose of optimism to help you get through your day.

Table of Contents

Best business strategy quotes video.

Watch our picks for the top 10 business strategy quotes.

Best Strategy Quotes

These are our top picks for best business strategy quotes.

Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different. Michael Porter

Michael Porter is a well-known economist and business strategist. He’s a Harvard Business School professor and the author of 20 business strategy and economics books, including “Competitive Advantage” and “Competitive Strategy.”. 

He popularized the concept of differentiation strategy. Dr. Porter’s differentiation strategy is a way for a company to stand out from its competitors. The goal is to offer products or services that are unique in some way so that the company can charge a premium price and enjoy a competitive advantage.

In the above quote, he says the strategy is about allocating resources and focusing efforts to accomplish a goal. Trade-offs or sacrifices are involved when deciding what to do and what not to do. 

For example, a company might focus on a few product lines to become the market leader for those products. But, unfortunately, that means they might lose out on diversifying in their quest for a larger market share of a few specialized products. 

There’s a fundamental distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness. Micheal porter

Here, Porter distinguishes between strategy and operational effectiveness. Companies develop strategies to achieve their long-term goals and objectives. It’s how companies compete in the market and create value for customers.

In contrast, operational effectiveness is how a company delivers its products or services daily. It’s how well and efficiently a company executes its strategy.

According to Porter, operational effectiveness is important, but it’s not a substitute for strategy. If a company doesn’t have a good strategy, it can have outstanding operational performance and still fail. The only way to win a sustainable competitive advantage is through strategy; without a strategy, operational capabilities alone don’t work.

The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, the Co-Founder of Facebook and CEO of Meta Platforms, is often credited with this quote. He’s a philanthropist and an entrepreneur. A key part of his leadership style is taking risks, and he believes it’s helped him succeed.

The quote speaks volumes about his entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to take calculated risks in order to succeed. It may seem daunting, but there’s no denying that is sometimes taking a leap into uncharted territory results in greater rewards. The alternative is to stay where you know what works best already.

The only way to stay relevant and competitive is to innovate and stay ahead. If you’re too cautious or don’t take risks, you might fail because you can’t adapt. Taking risks can be nerve-racking, but it can open up new doors.

A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. Michael LeBoeuf

Many successful companies today use the concept behind this quote – from Apple providing individualized tech support to small restaurants partnering with delivery services.

In the long run, these companies know that investing time and resources into satisfying their current clients will pay off. Increasing loyalty among existing clients attracts new ones through word-of-mouth marketing and positive reviews on online platforms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, or other review websites.

Michael LeBoeuf is an American business author and management consultant. He was a professor at the University of New Orleans. He’s known for emphasizing customer satisfaction as the key to business success.

Dr. LeBoeuf’s published books include ‘Fast Forward: How to Win a Lot More Business in a Lot Less Time,’ ‘The Productivity Challenge and Getting Results! The Secret to Motivating Yourself and Others, and ‘Working Smart.’

Strategic planning is worthless – unless there is first a strategic vision. John Naisbitt

In his famous book “Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming our Lives,” John Naisbitt predicted the boom in high-tech in the early 1980s. Back then, he recognized several tech trends that were coming up. That’s what businesses and organizations also need in today’s ever-changing business landscape, where disruption is inevitable.

Any successful strategic plan starts with a clear vision. He calls this “strategic vision” – an ambitious, long-term vision of what your company wants to accomplish over time that changes as new changes and opportunities come up. Without it, you can’t set specific goals or figure out how to get there; without direction, strategic planning fails! 

Today’s tactical victory does not guarantee tomorrow’s strategic success. Peter Pace

This quote by General Peter Pace is a reminder of the importance of considering long-term goals when making decisions. Make sure you plan for long-term success instead of relying too heavily on short-term goals. 

We get caught up in the excitement of quick wins without thinking about the big picture. You have to take a step back and figure out how each decision might affect your overall strategy if you want to succeed. 

General Peter Pace has had an impressive career as a military leader and public servant. Under President George W Bush, he served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since retiring from active duty service in 2007, he’s served on multiple national security policy boards.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu’s quote speaks volumes about his wisdom and understanding of warfare. He was a Chinese military strategist who wrote “The Art of War” over 2,500 years ago. His words still hold true today as they did back then – that an effective strategy and tactical plan is essential for success in any endeavour or battle. 

Tactics are short-term solutions to achieve immediate results, while strategies involve long-term plans designed with larger goals in mind. Each informs the other. If we wish to win whatever battles we face, we should not take either lightly. 

Sun Tzu recognized this balance between strategy and tactics long ago, and he realized that combining them could maximize their chances of success. With an understanding of how to prepare for success on any battlefield, he was ahead of his time.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Steve Jobs

Leaders set trends for others to follow by innovating new products, services, or processes. In contrast, followers imitate what has been done before instead of coming up with something original. 

An organization can develop the ability to innovate through research, experimentation and collaboration with other industry partners. However, it requires an open mind from all involved parties if it is going to be successful. 

Being on top of current trends will help organizations identify innovations before they become mainstream, giving them the first-mover advantage. 

Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Inc., one of the most influential people in modern tech. He was known for his visionary approach and ability to predict and shape industry trends.

The more Strategic Work you do, the more effective, productive, and joyful the Tactical Work becomes. Michael Gerber

Entrepreneur and consultant Michael Gerber, author of “The E-Myth Revisited,” has a powerful message about how Strategy makes Tactical Work easier.

As Gerber points out, in order to maximize their effectiveness, organizations need to focus on both types of work and prioritize them correctly – with a focus on Strategic work rather than Tactical work.

Creating clear plans and sound strategies helps companies create an environment where employees know exactly what to do daily, ultimately leading to success.

Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to succeed, but more importantly, what’s your plan to succeed? Jim Rohn

Having the right skills is only part of achieving success. You need a well-thought-out plan of action if you want actual results. Without an effective roadmap for where you want to go, success can be difficult or even impossible at times.

It means dedicating time to creating an achievable game plan with attainable milestones along the way. This will help maintain motivation while ensuring steady progress toward desired outcomes.

Jim Rohn was an American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker. He’s one of the most influential self-help and professional development thinkers. He wrote several books and gave hundreds of lectures over his five-decade career. His first book, ‘The Art of Exceptional Living,’ came out in 1979.

When your headlights aren’t on, the best rearview mirror available isn’t likely to improve your driving. Martha Rogers

In this quote, Martha Rogers reminds us to stay in the present. But unfortunately, we usually focus too much on our past mistakes. And it can prevent us from progressing in the right direction.

Professor Martha Rogers teaches business administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is a consultant, author, and speaker. Her specializations are customer relationship management, customer-centric strategy, and customer experience design. 

Her work on ‘One-to-one’ marketing with Don Peppers is well known, emphasizing building customer relationships. “ The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time ” and “ The One to One Manager: Real-World Lessons in Customer Relationship Management ” are among her books coauthored with Don Peppers.

More Great Strategy Quotes to Inspire You

“Our goal is more modest: We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” – Warren Buffett

“ It’s easy to forget how little strategic thinking ever gets done in the day. Judging by the ideas generated there, our beds have more of a right to be called our offices than our offices.” – Alain de Botton

“ Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point. ” –  Henry Mintzberg

“In real life, strategy is actually very straightforward. You pick a general direction and implement like hell.” – Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric

“If you’re clear on what you believe, you have a great foundation to go make a market.” —Ginni Rometty, Chairman, president and CEO of IBM

“Option A is not available. So let’s kick the sh** out of option B.” – Sheryl Sandberg , COO of Facebook

“ When a plan or strategy fails, people are tempted to assume it was the wrong vision. Plans and strategies can always be changed and improved. But vision doesn’t change. Visions are simply refined with time. ” – Andy Stanley

“ In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last. ” – John Romero

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates

“ The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller

“Strategy is simply resource allocation.  When you strip away all the noise, that’s what it comes down to. Strategy means making clear cut choices about how to compete.  You cannot be everything to everybody, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets.” – Jack Welch

 “With the level of uncertainty we see today, more people are asking, how can you develop a strategy in a world that keeps changing so fast?  They are afraid that a set of rigid principles will hinder their ability to react quickly.  I argue that it is precisely at such times that you need a strategy.” – Orit Gadiesh

“Designing a winning strategy is the art of asking questions, experimenting and then constantly renewing the thinking process by questioning the answers.  No matter how good today’s strategy is, you must always keep reinventing it.” – Constantinos Markides

“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” — Michael E. Porter, American  economist and founder of strategic management

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” — Benjamin Franklin

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” — Yogi Berra, American baseball player

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” — Sun Tzu, Chinese philosopher and military strategist

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and pilot

Concluding Thoughts

The world of business strategy is ever-evolving, and it takes visionaries like Michael Porter, Steve Jobs, and John Naisbitt to provide insight into how companies can stay ahead. The authors remind us that successful strategies require differentiation from competitors. 

Also, a clear vision for personal growth and development is crucial. Innovation in leadership roles holds the key. Alignment of work with the company’s goals and experimentation as a learning process is necessary. 

Successful businesses must continuously challenge their existing strategies by questioning them often. Experimentation should be part of the process in order to learn more about what works best for the company’s unique circumstances. Refining your approach is always bold, even when you think you have found something that works well. 

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Inspiring Business Planning Quotes

With the world of business constantly evolving, it is important to keep up with the latest trends and insights. Business planning quotes can provide insight into the thoughts of successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and business professionals.

They can serve as a valuable source of motivation and inspiration for those looking to make strides in their own businesses. From words of wisdom about strategic planning to advice on teamwork and collaboration, these quotes offer guidance that can help any business owner get ahead.

Inspirational Business Planning Quotes

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do.” – Steve Jobs

This quote speaks to the importance of courage and boldness in order to make a real difference in business.

“If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.” -Elon Mask

This speaks directly to how risk-taking is essential when it comes to making headway in any endeavor – especially business!

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

This quote is true in many aspects of life. When we fail to plan, we risk not achieving our goals and not reaching our full potential. Planning helps us prioritize tasks, set realistic goals and deadlines, and stay organized.

“Good business plans come from good personal plans. If you don’t know where you’re going in life, how do you expect your business to get there?” – Mark Cuban

“Good plans shape good decisions. That’s why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true.” – Lester R. Bittel

Good plans are essential components to achieving success. Planning can help us make the right decisions that will lead us closer to our goals, no matter how big or small they may be.

“Opportunities don’t happen; you create them.” – Chris Grosser

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”- Jim Rohn

“The key is in not spending time, but in investing it” – Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey’s quote reminds us that time is a valuable resource and should be used wisely. We should focus on investing our time in activities that are meaningful and beneficial to us in the long run, rather than simply wasting them on trivial matters. This will help us make the most of our days and create a more productive lifestyle.

“Vision without execution is hallucination” – Thomas Edison

It’s essential that a plan doesn’t remain on paper but actually gets put into practice if you want results from it.

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffett

“If you don’t drive your business you will be driven out of business.” – Michael Dell

Having a clear vision and plan for your business is essential to its success. Without it, you won’t be able to effectively respond to changes in the market or manage the day-to-day operations of your business. Ultimately, not having control over your business can lead to its downfall.

“Successful people plan their work and work their plan.” – Napoleon Hill

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Wishing or hoping your business dreams will come true isn’t enough; it takes effort and hard work to create a successful business plan and bring those wishes to life. Put in the effort now so you can reap the rewards later!

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

“Good businesses are built on relationships.” – Simon Sinek

It is clear that business planning quotes provide a plethora of wisdom and motivation to help entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level. They can be used as a source of inspiration during times of difficulty, or as words of caution for those looking to quickly scale their operations.

By reflecting on these quotes, entrepreneurs can draw upon the collective experiences of industry leaders and innovators. In doing so, they can gain valuable insight and advice from seasoned professionals in order to make more informed decisions about their business.

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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.

Related: Free Small Business Plan Template

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.

Related: 10 Conflict Resolution Strategies That Actually Work

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.

Related: 10 Strategies for Successful Project Execution

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.

Related: The 25 Most Inspiring Leadership Quotes

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.

Related: 9 Ways to Be a Lucky Project Manager

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.

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.

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.

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

Related Business Management Content

We have created dozens of blogs, templates and guides to help businesses plan their operations, manage their projects and make strategic plans for the future. Here are some of them.

• 8 Budget Templates for Business & Project Budgeting
• How to Write a Business Requirements Document (BRD)
• How to Write a Business Plan: Business Planning Best Practices
• Strategic Planning in Business
• Project Alignment: Aligning Your Project to Business Strategy
• An Introduction to Business Process Management (BPM)

Are you feeling inspired? Ready to start the day with gusto? Before you go, don’t forget to equip yourself with the tools that will take that ambition and give it the means to achieve your lofty goals. ProjectManager is online project management software that has the features that your work needs to succeed. Try it today with this free 30-day trial.

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100 Business Quotes To Inspire Success In Your Workplace

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page .

Here are 100 of the best business quotes. Hope you’ll find the inspiration and motivation you need to take your workplace to the next level. Enjoy!

Quality is the best business plan. John Lasseter (Disney/Pixar)

Don’t try to beat the competitors at their own game. You have to invent a new game — and master it. Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn)

My rules of business: Build shit people want, never give up , avoid assholes, question assumptions, learn new ideas and always reward ambition. Anthony Pompliano

Surprise and delight your customers. There is nothing like that in business. If you delight your customers, you’re a long way home. Warren Buffett

Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like. Brian Chesky (AirBnb)

We didn’t set out to build a product. We set out to solve a problem. Naval Ravikant

If you create it for yourself, it’s art. If you create it for others, it’s business. Naval Ravikant

A company becomes the people it hires, not the plan it makes. Sam Altman

Almost everyone underestimates the value of fast movers, in almost every context. Work with them. Be one yourself. Sam Altman

The companies that succeed are mistake fixing machines. Brian Norgard

When you combine extreme focus and great teams, magic happens. Sam Altman

There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. Naval Ravikant

To succeed in business you must learn the art of saying no. Barbara Corcoran

If you are here for rewards, fame and money, you will ultimately fail. If you are for love, meaning and people, you will ultimately win. Maxime Lagacé

I could either watch it happen or be a part of it. Elon Musk

• 82 Innovation Quotes To Make You More Creative
• 100 Entrepreneur Quotes To Help You Achieve More
• 100 Surprising Money Quotes (Get Inspired Fast!)

The Best Business Quotes

Escape competition through authenticity. Naval Ravikant

If you can’t see yourself working with someone for life, don’t work with them for a day. Naval Ravikant

It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work many hours. Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter. Sam Altman

Once you have figured out what to do, be unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly. I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful. Sam Altman

When you make a business, you get to make a little universe where you control all the laws. Derek Sivers

Reasons your product will fail: Too complex. Can’t easily be described. Didn’t iterate fast enough. Bland. Failed to launch into a community. Doesn’t save time/money. Poor design. Does too much. Didn’t take a feature risk. Listened to wrong the customers. Brian Norgard

In your actions, don’t procrastinate . In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business. Marcus Aurelius

We don’t do business with companies. We do business with people. Simon Sinek

We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want. Eric Ries

On the formula to build a billion-dollar Internet company: Take a human desire, preferably one that has been around for a really long time… identify that desire and use modern technology to take out steps. Ev Williams (Twitter, Blogger, Medium)

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust. Zig Ziglar

Today’s “best practices” lead to dead ends; the best paths are new and untried. Peter Thiel ( Zero to One , Amazon book)

The person in the meeting that challenges the status quo is often the most valuable person in the room. Shane Parrish

To the extent possible, ruthlessly shave away the unnecessary tasks, priorities, meetings, and BS. Put all your effort into the projects that really matter. Shane Parrish

The more honest and unique a person is, the more that person attracts people. It’s the same for businesses. Maxime Lagacé

In a world where almost no one takes a truly long-term view, the market richly rewards those who do. Sam Altman

Choose your colleagues carefully; you will end up caring what they care about. Sam Altman

You want to be world class at some narrow and important intersection, not decently good at a lot of things. Sam Altman

The essential principle of business – of occupation in the world – is this: figure out some way in which you get paid for playing. Alan Watts

You can worry about the competition…or you can focus on what’s ahead of you and drive fast. Jack Dorsey

If you think it’s expensive to hire a talented employee, wait till you hire an untalented one. Shane Parrish

There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. Jack Welch

The quickest way to ruin the productivity of a small company is to have it adopt the practices of a large company. David Heinemeir Hansson (DHH, Ruby on Rails, Basecamp)

What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)

Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers. Seth Godin

There is no sport as competitive as business. It’s 24 by 7 by 365 by forever. Mark Cuban

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Part 2. Business Quotes That Are…

The most famous business quotes (bill gates, warren buffett, jeff bezos, etc.).

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. Henry Ford

I learned to go into business only with people whom I like, trust, and admire. Warren Buffett

We don’t do unnecessary things at Berkshire. And there are many things at big companies that are unnecessary. Warren Buffett

I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. Warren Buffett

When you work on something, if you fall in love with it, that’s a good sign. If you do, others will. Elon Musk

You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out. Steve Jobs

If you are willing to work hard and ask lots of questions, you can learn business pretty fast. Steve Jobs

My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people. Steve Jobs

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill Gates (Microsoft)

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. Michael Jordan

All business depends upon men fulfilling their responsibilities. Mahatma Gandhi

Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day. Gary Vaynerchuk

I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man. Jay Z

There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. Sam Walton (Walmart)

Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility. Ambrose Bierce

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. Jim Rohn

Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. Jeff Bezos (Amazon)

We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies. Walt Disney

Short Business Quotes

Go to table of contents

Product is king. Jack Butcher

Serve, don’t lead. Kobe Bryant

To dominate, iterate. Jack Butcher

Screw it. Let’s do it. Richard Branson (Virgin)

Think big. Start small. Seth Godin

Be honest, not flawless. Maxime Lagacé

Done is better than perfect. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)

Creating space to think is a competitive advantage. Greg McKeown

90% of strategy is execution. 90% of execution is people. Thibaut

Luck is not a business model. Anthony Bourdain

If you want to build a big business, start a small business. Sahil Lavingia ( Source )

Easy paths, crowded destinations. Scott Belsky

Big results require big ambitions. Heraclitus

Always deliver more than expected. Larry Page (Google)

Build for the obsessed, not the casual. Brian Norgard

Focus on what matters. Cut all the BS. Sam Altman ( Source )

Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger. Tony Hsieh (Zappos)

If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try. Seth Godin

Prioritizing is the most important thing in business. Noah Kagan

It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. Scott Belsky

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. Mark Twain

Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once. Drew Houston (Dropbox)

Inspirational Business Quotes

Progress is almost never linear. Ups and downs and bursts. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I’m after a legacy, not the most followers. Gary Vaynerchuk

The best way to get the attention and respect of exceptional people is to do exceptional work. James Clear

If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. Nora Roberts

Sketch. Prototype. Build. Action over theory. Brian Norgard

The faster the feedback, the faster you learn. The faster you learn, the more you can adapt and improve. Maxime Lagacé

Sometimes an organization doesn’t need a solution; it just needs clarity. Ben Horowitz ( The Hard Thing About Hard Things , Amazon book)

Business is just an elaborate excuse to make friends with interesting people. Andrew Wilkinson

You will become impressive the day to stop trying. You will become successful the day you stop being busy. Maxime Lagacé

The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. Simon Sinek

Everyone knows that you need a great team, great execution, and a great idea. Less obvious is that you have to have great endurance. Sam Altman

It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because… All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are. Mark Cuban

You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety. Abraham Maslow

Only inflexibility you need and can afford to have running a business is your values. Kunal Shah

Rebelliousness is an economic tool in the same category as network effects and economies of scale. Nivi Babak

Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them. Peter Thiel (Zero to One)

The fastest way to become exceptional is to work with exceptional people. If you want to be a great engineer, work at a company with great engineers. Want to start a company? Work for an early-stage startup with extraordinary founders. Watch them work, and learn by osmosis. Sahil Lavingia

Chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you. Tony Hsieh (Zappos)

You just have to keep driving down the road. It’s going to bend and curve and you’ll speed up and slow down, but the road keeps going. Ellen DeGeneres

There is a formula for success in business, and it goes like this: You set out to find the very best talent in the marketplace, and then give them a compelling and inspirational vision of what you want them to achieve for you and the company. Then you empower them to achieve those goals using their own skills and talents in any way they choose. If, at the same time, you demonstrate how enormously you value them, not just through compensation, but also verbally, every single day, and if you enable that talent to share in the profit that they help create for you, you’ll be successful. It’s so simple, and virtually nobody does it, because it requires a high-trust working environment, and most business environments are low-trust. In order to own the future of your business, you have to design it around trust . Cindy Gallop

Further Readings

• Topic: Motivation
• 100+ Powerful Motivational Quotes For Success
• 100 Risk Quotes To Reassure (and Empower You)
• 100 Creativity Quotes To Spark Your Best Ideas
• 67 Imagination Quotes To Bring Out The Best In You
• 121 Marketing Quotes That Will Empower You
• 100 Responsibility Quotes To Take Back Your Power
• 100 Leadership Quotes To Inspire You (And Your Team)
• 7 Steps to Starting a Small Business Online (entrepreneur.com)
• 50 Small Business Ideas for Anyone Who Wants to Run Their Own Business (blog.hubspot.com)
• 100 Tim Ferriss Quotes On Fear, Business, Money
• How To Be Successful In Life – 7 Simple Tips

Table Of Contents

Part 1 Top 15 Images Best Quotes

Part 2 Business Quotes That ARE Famous Short Inspirational

Part 3 Conclusion

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You are here: Influencer Marketing Hub » Social Media » 150 of the Best, Most Inspiring, and Motivating Business Quotes

150 of the Best, Most Inspiring, and Motivating Business Quotes

Starting a business can be draining and, well, all around quite difficult. Not just financially - but also emotionally. That’s why inspirational business quotes can be such a powerful tool. 

Our list of the 150 best inspiring and motivating business quotes offers nuggets of wisdom and much-needed motivation, inspiration and encouragement. When you feel overwhelmed, or simply exhausted, take a look at this list for a refreshing moment to reconnect with your inspiration and find motivation to move forward. 

Don’t just scroll through the list, though. You’d be doing your business a disservice by just browsing each quote. Instead, really read the quotes and think about how they apply to your business and your industry. And who knows - reflecting on these quotes might bring out some new ideas! 

Without further ado, here are our best inspiring and motivating business quotes. 

150 of the Best, Most Inspiring, and Motivating Business Quotes:

1. “Always deliver more than expected.” - Larry Page, co-founder of Google. 

2. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States

3. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.” - Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder

4. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

5. “If you’re passionate about something and you work hard, then I think you will be successful.” - Pierre Omidyar, founder of Ebay

6.  “The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.” - Seth Godin, author

7. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” - Richard Branson, business owner and entrepreneur 

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

9. “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, author

10. “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

11. “Often, the more money you make the more money you spend; that’s why more money doesn’t make you rich – assets make you rich.” – Robert Kiyosaki

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

13. “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

14. “If you don’t love something, you’re not going to go the extra mile, work the extra weekend, challenge the status quo as much.” – Steve Jobs

15. “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

16. “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

17. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” - Stephen Covey

18. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” - Pele, a Brazilian football player

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

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

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

22. “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” - Oprah Winfrey

23. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela

24. “If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.” – Jeff Bezos

25. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” - Paulo Coelho

26. “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” - Jim Rohn

27. “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” - Babe Ruth

28. “The only way around is through.” - Robert Frost

29. “Most of our competitors were one-product wonders … They would do their one product, but never get their engineering sorted out.” – Bill Gates

30. “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: make the best quality goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” – Henry Ford

31. “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield, author

32. “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” - Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook 

33. “Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell.” - Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO of BlogHer

34. “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” - Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance

35. “Failure is success if we learn from it.” - Malcolm Forbes

36. “Brands mature over time, like a marriage. The bond you feel with your spouse is different than when you first met each other. Excitement and discovery are replaced by comfort and depth.” - Gary Vaynerchuck

37. “If you define yourself by how you differ from the competition, you’re probably in trouble.” - Omar Hamoui, co-founder of AdMob

38. “There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.” - Jason Fried, 37signals founder and co-author of Rework

39. “Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.” - Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

40. “Nothing works better than just improving your product.” - Joel Spolsky, co-founder of Stack Overflow 

41. “The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow.” - Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA

42. “The more I want to get something done the less I call it work.” - Richard Bach, author

43. “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” - Steve Jobs, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.

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

45. "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 you will succeed.” - Ray Goforth

46. “Get five or six of your smartest friends in a room and ask them to rate your idea.” - Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga

47. “If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.” - Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

48. "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." - Henry David Thoreau

49. “When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.” - Josh James, CEO of Omniture

50. "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." -John D. Rockefeller

51. “Get big quietly, so you don’t tip off potential competitors.” - Chris Dixon, an investor at Andreessen Horowitz

52. "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value." - Albert Einstein

53. “Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations.” - Tim O’Reilly, founder, and CEO of O’Reilly Media

54. “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” - J.K. Rowling, author

55. “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” - Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s

56. "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 you will succeed." - Ray Goforth

57. "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success." - Thomas J. Watson

58. “You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea.” - Larry Page, co-founder of Google

59. “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, American author, political activist and lecturer

60. "Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion." - Tony Hsieh 

61. "If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary." - Jim Rohn

62. “Always think outside the box and embrace opportunities that appear, wherever they might be.” - Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal

63. “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard Branson, entrepreneur 

64. “The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas of enthusiasm.” - Thomas Watson

65. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” - Japanese Proverb

66. "People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy." - Tony Robbins

67. “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does — that makes you a winner right there.” - Venus Williams, athlete

68. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” - Zig Ziglar, author

69. “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” - Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn

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70. "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." - Colin Powell

71. “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” - Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur and co-founder of Alltop

72. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” - Earl Nightingale

73. “Anything that is measured and watched, improves.” - Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy

74. “Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.” — Wayne Huizenga, prolific American business person, owner of Blockbuster Video and the sports team the Miami Dolphins

75. “When I hear somebody sigh, Life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’” - Sydney Harris, journalist

76. “Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day.” - Gary Vaynerchuck

77. “If you’re interested in the living heart of what you do, focus on building things rather than talking about them.” — Ryan Freitas, co-founder of About.me

78. "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

79. "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that other throw at him." - David Brinkley

80. “The stars will never align, and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way.” - Tim Ferriss, author 

81. “I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.” - Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder

82. “It’s more effective to do something valuable than to hope a logo or name will say it for you.” - Jason Cohen, founder of Smartbear Software

83. “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.” - Sam Levenson, humorist

84. “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” - Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple

85. "Don’t worry about funding if you don’t need it. Today it’s cheaper to start a business than ever.” - Noah Everett, founder of Twitpic

86. “Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” - Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter

87. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” - Estee Lauder, founder of Estee Lauder Cosmetics

88. “So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” - Caterina Fake, Flickr co-founder

89. "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

90. “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” - Herman Melville, author

91. “Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing, inventor

92. “If you can’t fly then run. If you can’t run, then walk. And, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

93. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison

94. “Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined and connected to one another. And, when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.” - Daniel Pink, author

95. "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--It is: Try to please everybody." - Herbert Bayard Swope

96. “Always look for the fool in the deal. If you don’t find one, it’s you.” - Mark Cuban, entrepreneur

97. “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.” - Sara Blakely, founder of SPANX

98. “No more romanticizing about how cool it is to be an entrepreneur. It’s a struggle to save your company’s life – and your own skin – every day of the week.” — Spencer Fry, co-founder of CarbonMade

99. “I try not to make any decisions that I’m not excited about.” - Jake Nickell, founder and CEO of Threadless

100. “Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.” - Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO

101. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because all that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.” — Mark Cuban, entrepreneur

102. “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t – you’re right.” — Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company

103. “Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.” - Jeffrey Zeldman, entrepreneur and web designer

104. “There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” - Stephen Hawking

105. "Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember--the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you." - Zig Ziglar

106. “In the end, a vision without the ability to execute it is probably a hallucination.” - Steve Case, co-founder of AOL

107. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” - Oprah Winfrey

108. “Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.” - Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter

109. "You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it." - Oprah Winfrey

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• Leadership |

39 empowering business quotes

Business quotes are a great way to empower your team to be their very best. We’ve gathered 39 inspiring quotes from successful entrepreneurs.

Everyone needs a little inspiration now and then, especially in a professional setting. Your job as a leader is to motivate your team members through empowering actions and statements. 

From Steve Jobs to Arianna Huffington, take a look at these 39 inspirational quotes to share with your teammates. 

Quotes to help you start a business

Starting a business is a difficult endeavor—and one that doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and devotion to turn your business into what you've always dreamed it would be. These quotes will give you the drive to build something that you’ll be proud of.

1. “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

— Peter Drucker, Management consultant and educator

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2. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

— Jeff Bezos, Founder and executive chairman of Amazon

3. “Risk-taking is the cornerstone of empires.”

— Estée Lauder, Businesswoman and co-founder of Estée Lauder 

4. “In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”

— Seth Godin, Author and former business executive

5. “Effectively, change is almost impossible without industry-wide collaboration, cooperation and consensus.”

— Simon Mainwaring, Global keynote speaker, CEO of We First, and best-selling author

6. “I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.”

— Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook

7. “In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people... they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.”

— Ken Blanchard, Author and motivational speaker

8. “Feeling confident—or pretending that you feel confident—is necessary to reach for opportunities. It's a cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they're seized.”

— Sheryl Sandberg, Business executive and COO of Facebook

Quotes to improve self development

Part of growing your skills is about developing your emotional intelligence in order to be the best leader you can be. The quotes below will keep you mindful of your habits and help you become the ideal version of yourself.

9. “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.”

— Sara Blakely, Businesswoman and founder of Spanx

10. “The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

— Stephen Covey, Educator and author

11. “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”

— Oprah Winfrey, Talk show host and media magnate

12. “I have a theory and I really believe it. I think your worst weakness can become your greatest single strength.”

— Barbara Corcoran, Businesswoman and Shark on ABC’s reality series

13. “Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.”

— Guy Kawasaki, Marketing leader and Silicon Valley venture capitalist

14. “If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you're setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time.”

— Chris Hadfield, Former Canadian Space Agency astronaut

15. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” 

— Steve Jobs, Business magnate and co-founder of Apple

16. “Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change.”

— Iyanla Vanzant, Inspirational speaker and lawyer 

17. “Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.”

— Phil Jackson, Former professional basketball player and coach

18. “Learning from each mistake requires self-awareness and humility, but it can be one of the biggest keys to reaching your full potential.”

— Amy Morin, Psychotherapist and mental strength trainer

19. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

— Bill Gates, Business magnate and co-founder of Microsoft

20. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

— Henry Ford, Industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company

21. “You renew yourself every day. Sometimes you’re successful, sometimes you’re not, but it’s the average that counts.”

— Satya Nadella, Business executive and CEO of Microsoft

22. “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt, Political figure and former First Lady

Quotes to help you achieve success

Success isn’t obtained overnight. It takes hard work and dedication to achieve your dreams. However, success comes in many forms. Whether it be your business, your work, your family, or something completely different, these quotes will guide you through finding success.

23. “Success is very much the intersection of luck and hard work.”

— Dustin Moskovitz, Co-founder and CEO of Asana

24. “Don't worry about failure; you only have to be right once.”

— Drew Houston, Entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Dropbox

25. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

— Helen Keller, Author and disability rights advocate

26. “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.”

— Arianna Huffington, Businesswoman and CEO of Thrive Global

27. “You don’t achieve success, you attract success.”

— Farshad Asl, Entrepreneur and CEO of Top Leaders

28. “Be brutally honest about the short term, and optimistic and confident about the long term.”

— Reed Hastings, Businessman and co-CEO of Netflix

29. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

— Maya Angelou, Poet and civil rights activist

30. “I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.”

— Madeleine Albright, Politician and former Secretary of State of the United States 

31. “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”

— Abraham Lincoln, Politician and 16th president of the United States

32. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

— Albert Einstein, Physicist known for developing the theory of relativity

33. “Success is a decision. Dare to choose it.”

— Jill Konrath, Sales strategist and author of the book Selling to Big Companies

Quotes about building—and achieving—dreams

Everyone has a dream that they’ve always wanted to achieve. For some, those dreams may be harder to accomplish. With a little bit of courage, dedication, and inspirational quotes, you can ensure those dreams are within reach.

34. “First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.”

— Walt Disney, Entrepreneur and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company

35. “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

— Thomas Edison, Inventor and businessman

36. “You never lose a dream. It just incubates as a hobby.”

— Larry Page, Entrepreneur and co-founder of Google

37. “A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.”

— Mary Kay Ash, Businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

38. “They tell you: Follow your dreams... Dream and dream big. I think that's crap. I think a lot of people dream. And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, powerful, engaged people? Are busy doing.”

— Shonda Rhimes, Television producer and screenwriter

39. “Most ideas are born and lost in isolation.”

— Scott Belsky, Entrepreneur and co-creator of Behance

Tips to empower your team

Along with sharing inspiring business quotes to motivate your teammates, there are a few other ways you can take it to the next level. From encouraging intrinsic motivation using team bonding activities to leading by example, you have the capability to empower your team to do great work.

Here are three ways to get started:

Encourage intrinsic motivation : Intrinsic motivation refers to behavior driven by internal rewards. Examples of this include participating in a team building game because you want to, not because you have to, and learning new skills because you like to be challenged. By encouraging intrinsic motivation in the workplace, you can empower your team to be their very best.

Lead by serving your team: Servant leadership is an approach that focuses on serving others rather than managing for results. This helps create an environment where team members can thrive. Characteristics that you can embody include strong listening skills, empathy, self-awareness, and the desire to create a healthy work environment—all of which will help your team feel heard and empowered.

Establish group norms: Group norms are the spoken or unspoken rules that guide how team members interact, collaborate, and work. By identifying group norms, you can build and empower your team in order to take them to the next level. Some examples include creating meeting agendas, tracking to-dos, and communicating in shared tools—all of which can help build clarity and successful group norms.

These three ways to empower your team can have a lasting impact on the success and overall happiness of each of your team members. Plus, they can help foster a collaborative, productive, and efficient workplace.

Inspire your team with these business quotes

These inspirational business quotes can be the motivating factor to push your team members out of their comfort zones and explore new possibilities within your organization. While they may not be the only way to foster team empowerment, sharing motivational quotes can positively impact your teammates. 

Not only that, but the right business quotes can shape your own work ethic and leadership style . From offering business insight to sharing helpful resources, quotes from successful entrepreneurs could just be the push you need. 

If you’re looking for additional ways to support your team through collaboration, check out 45 team building games to improve communication. Or, try collaboration software to manage your work more productively. 

Related resources

How to give and take constructive criticism

Data-driven decision making: A step-by-step guide

Listening to understand: How to practice active listening (with examples)

How executives and individual contributors differ when it comes to AI

14 Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan

10 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

There’s no question that starting and running a business is hard work. But it’s also incredibly rewarding. And, one of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of success is to have a business plan.

A business plan is a foundational document that is essential for any company, no matter the size or age. From attracting potential investors to keeping your business on track—a business plan helps you achieve important milestones and grow in the right direction.

A business plan isn’t just a document you put together once when starting your business. It’s a living, breathing guide for existing businesses – one that business owners should revisit and update regularly.

Unfortunately, writing a business plan is often a daunting task for potential entrepreneurs. So, do you really need a business plan? Is it really worth the investment of time and resources? Can’t you just wing it and skip the whole planning process?

Good questions. Here’s every reason why you need a business plan.

• 1. Business planning is proven to help you grow 30 percent faster

Writing a business plan isn’t about producing a document that accurately predicts the future of your company. The  process  of writing your plan is what’s important. Writing your plan and reviewing it regularly gives you a better window into what you need to do to achieve your goals and succeed. 

You don’t have to just take our word for it. Studies have  proven that companies that plan  and review their results regularly grow 30 percent faster. Beyond faster growth, research also shows that companies that plan actually perform better. They’re less likely to become one of those woeful failure statistics, or experience  cash flow crises  that threaten to close them down. 

• 2. Planning is a necessary part of the fundraising process

One of the top reasons to have a business plan is to make it easier to raise money for your business. Without a business plan, it’s difficult to know how much money you need to raise, how you will spend the money once you raise it, and what your budget should be.

Investors want to know that you have a solid plan in place – that your business is headed in the right direction and that there is long-term potential in your venture. 

A business plan shows that your business is serious and that there are clearly defined steps on how it aims to become successful. It also demonstrates that you have the necessary competence to make that vision a reality. 

Investors, partners, and creditors will want to see detailed financial forecasts for your business that shows how you plan to grow and how you plan on spending their money. 

• 3. Having a business plan minimizes your risk

When you’re just starting out, there’s so much you don’t know—about your customers, your competition, and even about operations. 

As a business owner, you signed up for some of that uncertainty when you started your business, but there’s a lot you can  do to reduce your risk . Creating and reviewing your business plan regularly is a great way to uncover your weak spots—the flaws, gaps, and assumptions you’ve made—and develop contingency plans. 

Your business plan will also help you define budgets and revenue goals. And, if you’re not meeting your goals, you can quickly adjust spending plans and create more realistic budgets to keep your business healthy.

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• 4. Crafts a roadmap to achieve important milestones

A business plan is like a roadmap for your business. It helps you set, track and reach business milestones. 

For your plan to function in this way, your business plan should first outline your company’s short- and long-term goals. You can then fill in the specific steps necessary to reach those goals. This ensures that you measure your progress (or lack thereof) and make necessary adjustments along the way to stay on track while avoiding costly detours.

In fact, one of the top reasons why new businesses fail is due to bad business planning. Combine this with inflexibility and you have a recipe for disaster.

And planning is not just for startups. Established businesses benefit greatly from revisiting their business plan. It keeps them on track, even when the global market rapidly shifts as we’ve seen in recent years.

• 5. A plan helps you figure out if your idea can become a business

To turn your idea into reality, you need to accurately assess the feasibility of your business idea.

You need to verify:

• If there is a market for your product or service
• Who your target audience is
• How you will gain an edge over the current competition
• If your business can run profitably

A business plan forces you to take a step back and look at your business objectively, which makes it far easier to make tough decisions down the road. Additionally, a business plan helps you to identify risks and opportunities early on, providing you with the necessary time to come up with strategies to address them properly.

Finally, a business plan helps you work through the nuts and bolts of how your business will work financially and if it can become sustainable over time.

6. You’ll make big spending decisions with confidence

As your business grows, you’ll have to figure out when to hire new employees, when to expand to a new location, or whether you can afford a major purchase. 

These are always major spending decisions, and if you’re regularly reviewing the forecasts you mapped out in your business plan, you’re going to have better information to use to make your decisions.

7. You’re more likely to catch critical cash flow challenges early

The other side of those major spending decisions is understanding and monitoring your business’s cash flow. Your  cash flow statement  is one of the three key financial statements you’ll put together for your business plan. (The other two are your  balance sheet  and your  income statement  (P&L). 

Reviewing your cash flow statement regularly as part of your regular business plan review will help you see potential cash flow challenges earlier so you can take action to avoid a cash crisis where you can’t pay your bills. 

• 8. Position your brand against the competition

Competitors are one of the factors that you need to take into account when starting a business. Luckily, competitive research is an integral part of writing a business plan. It encourages you to ask questions like:

• What is your competition doing well? What are they doing poorly?
• What can you do to set yourself apart?
• What can you learn from them?
• How can you make your business stand out?
• What key business areas can you outcompete?
• How can you identify your target market?

Finding answers to these questions helps you solidify a strategic market position and identify ways to differentiate yourself. It also proves to potential investors that you’ve done your homework and understand how to compete. 

• 9. Determines financial needs and revenue models

A vital part of starting a business is understanding what your expenses will be and how you will generate revenue to cover those expenses. Creating a business plan helps you do just that while also defining ongoing financial needs to keep in mind. 

Without a business model, it’s difficult to know whether your business idea will generate revenue. By detailing how you plan to make money, you can effectively assess the viability and scalability of your business. 

Understanding this early on can help you avoid unnecessary risks and start with the confidence that your business is set up to succeed.

• 10. Helps you think through your marketing strategy

A business plan is a great way to document your marketing plan. This will ensure that all of your marketing activities are aligned with your overall goals. After all, a business can’t grow without customers and you’ll need a strategy for acquiring those customers. 

Your business plan should include information about your target market, your marketing strategy, and your marketing budget. Detail things like how you plan to attract and retain customers, acquire new leads, how the digital marketing funnel will work, etc. 

Having a documented marketing plan will help you to automate business operations, stay on track and ensure that you’re making the most of your marketing dollars.

• 11. Clarifies your vision and ensures everyone is on the same page

In order to create a successful business, you need a clear vision and a plan for how you’re going to achieve it. This is all detailed with your mission statement, which defines the purpose of your business, and your personnel plan, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of current and future employees. Together, they establish the long-term vision you have in mind and who will need to be involved to get there. 

Additionally, your business plan is a great tool for getting your team in sync. Through consistent plan reviews, you can easily get everyone in your company on the same page and direct your workforce toward tasks that truly move the needle.

• 12. Future-proof your business

A business plan helps you to evaluate your current situation and make realistic projections for the future.

This is an essential step in growing your business, and it’s one that’s often overlooked. When you have a business plan in place, it’s easier to identify opportunities and make informed decisions based on data.

Therefore, it requires you to outline goals, strategies, and tactics to help the organization stay focused on what’s important.

By regularly revisiting your business plan, especially when the global market changes, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever challenges come your way, and pivot faster.

You’ll also be in a better position to seize opportunities as they arise.

Further Reading: 5 fundamental principles of business planning

• 13. Tracks your progress and measures success

An often overlooked purpose of a business plan is as a tool to define success metrics. A key part of writing your plan involves pulling together a viable financial plan. This includes financial statements such as your profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and sales forecast.

By housing these financial metrics within your business plan, you suddenly have an easy way to relate your strategy to actual performance. You can track progress, measure results, and follow up on how the company is progressing. Without a plan, it’s almost impossible to gauge whether you’re on track or not.  

Additionally, by evaluating your successes and failures, you learn what works and what doesn’t and you can make necessary changes to your plan. In short, having a business plan gives you a framework for measuring your success. It also helps with building up a “lessons learned” knowledge database to avoid costly mistakes in the future.

• 14. Your business plan is an asset if you ever want to sell

Down the road, you might decide that you want to sell your business or position yourself for acquisition. Having a solid business plan is going to help you make the case for a higher valuation. Your business is likely to be worth more to a buyer if it’s easy for them to understand your business model, your target market, and your overall potential to grow and scale. 

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• Writing your business plan

By taking the time to create a business plan, you ensure that your business is heading in the right direction and that you have a roadmap to get there. We hope that this post has shown you just how important and valuable a business plan can be. While it may still seem daunting, the benefits far outweigh the time investment and learning curve for writing one. 

Luckily, you can write a plan in as little as 30 minutes. And there are plenty of excellent planning tools and business plan templates out there if you’re looking for more step-by-step guidance. Whatever it takes, write your plan and you’ll quickly see how useful it can be.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

Table of Contents

• 6. You’ll make big spending decisions with confidence
• 7. You’re more likely to catch critical cash flow challenges early

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38 Inspiring Quotes About Business Growth

Every business faces pressure to grow, especially if they want to remain competitive in the industry. Every business owner and the team must take their businesses from point A to point B, then point C and forward.

The marketplace is always evolving, and you need to adapt to these changes if you still want to leave a good mark in your industry.

Therefore, while you focus on growing yourself as an entrepreneur, you should also focus on growing your business internally and externally.

In this article, I gathered the best quotes about business growth to inspire you to grow your business. For each quote, I gave valuable key lessons to learn about what it truly takes to grow your business into a success.

Inspiring Quotes About Growing A Business

When we talk about “business growth,” we don't just mean the business's physical size or the company's building structure. Instead, we mean expanding the company's market share, increasing revenues, and attracting more customers.

It is not easy to grow a business, but it is possible. This section contains inspiring quotes about business growth.

The journey of growth begins with our imagination and human intelligence. For example, the world evolved from the cavemen age to the technology age, where everything looks so different. This growth is a result of human intelligence and the ability to imagine.

Growing a business takes planning and effort. It could either be:

• Organic — physical expansion of the office space
• Strategic — using specific initiatives to foster long-term growth
• Internal — focuses on internal strategies to increase business revenue
• Through business partnership or merger.

To achieve excellence, you must be willing to take risks. Some risks are worth taking, while others are too risky and should be avoided. As an entrepreneur, it's important to distinguish between the two.

If you're unwilling to risk failure, you'll never achieve anything truly successful.

A stagnant business yields very little to no positive result. For a business to survive for long, it needs continuous growth. It's very important.

However, if your business is stagnant, you risk having issues like low employee morale, poor quality products and services, and even poor customer service .

Innovation is key for entrepreneurs. It separates them unnecessary competition and allows them to create value in the marketplace.

Your business needs to grow to accommodate the changes in the industry: every business industry changes and advances over time. If your business cannot grow to accommodate these changes, it will likely fall behind.

With so many new businesses springing up daily, it can be tough to stand out from the crowd and get noticed.

But with this in mind, you can get a head start; by offering something unique that your competition doesn’t. It could be a product, service, or a different way of doing things. Be the best at what you do. Focus on quality over quantity. Provide outstanding customer service.

Growth doesn't just happen. You need to plan for it. It takes time because it gives long-term results. Hence, you shouldn’t rush growth. When thinking about business growth, look beyond the present and focus on the future.

You need to have a clear vision for what you want to achieve. This will help you stay focused and motivated. Second, you need to set goals and create a plan of action . This will help you track your progress and stay on the right track. Finally, you need to persevere and never give up. This is the only way to guarantee success.

No matter how successful you become, it's important never to give up and to stay humble. Failure teaches you these lessons. Always stay focused, never give up, and remember that you are not invincible.

Failure holds many lessons you would never have known if you just went through. It opens your eyes to seeing loose ends that were never visible before.

Failure makes you plan properly. If you pay attention, failure will be a good teacher.

For entrepreneurs, growth comes from the willingness to take risks and think outside the box. However, these risks must be weighed against the potential rewards and downside. In business, conformity is the enemy of growth. This is because you will have nothing spectacular to offer. Entrepreneurs need to encourage creativity and innovation.

Effective growth and innovation are not one-time things. The effects — increased profits and customer base — is in its continuity. Therefore, conforming to the ordinary will kill any growth effect while confining you to a box.

A lot of things go into being an entrepreneur, but one of the most important is the ability to always be learning. No matter how successful you grow to be, there is always room for improvement and new knowledge. One of the best ways to do this is by seeking advice and mentorship from successful people.

Having a business mentor will help smoothen your growth journey. A successful business growth strategy has to be carefully planned. If not carefully planned, you risk making missteps that would harm your business.

Hence the importance of a business mentor. A business mentor will walk you through the process of progress and guide you from making mistakes.

As entrepreneurs, mistakes are inevitable, but how you react to them matters. Use them as motivation to keep trying. Failure isn't a dirty word. It's a learning experience that helps you grow wiser and stronger. You can view mistakes as negative or positive.

Growing a business requires skills, and it is not a one-person job. It requires that every team member is on board with the project. The action plan will be broken down into smaller tasks, and each team member will be responsible for at least one. With the right task management software , you can keep track of all the tasks you need to accomplish in your growth strategy.

There are a lot of things that go into being a successful entrepreneur, but one of the most important is learning how to make a real difference in other people's lives.

Sure, you can make a lot of money by building a successful business, but it's the impact you have on others that will make you proud.

So what is it that you're passionate about? What problem do you want to solve? Once you have a clear idea of that, you can start building a business that will change lives for the better.

In times of chaos, it's important to remember that there is always an opportunity for something new to emerge. This is what entrepreneurs do; they see the opportunity in change and chaos and use it to their advantage .

So next time you're feeling stressed out by the chaos in your life or business, remember that it might be the perfect time to get creative and grow your business in new ways.

Growing your business without any clear reason makes you directionless. You start to work hard with no direction to follow, and in the end, you simply waste energy and resources.

Leadership is not just about occupying a top position and telling people what to do. It is primarily about inspiring your team members to stay motivated and give in their 100% best efforts towards achieving the shared goals.

This is why the best leadership style is the democratic style. It boosts productivity and encourages creativity and innovation.

Employees just don't want someone who will tell them what to do. That is what a boss does. They want someone to show them what to do and how to do it. This is what an excellent leader does.

As a leader, you must show your team members that you are goal-oriented and success-driven.

Hire individuals who lead by example and create a culture of inspiration within your company. Encourage transparency and two-way communication, so everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and suggestions.

Finally, make sure you walk the talk. Be the change you want to see in your business , and watch as your employees follow suit.

Starting a company to solve a problem that you have experienced yourself is more likely to be successful than if you are starting it to solve a problem that you don't care about. If you care about the problem you are trying to solve, you will be more motivated to stick with your company through the tough times

It is funny how many young entrepreneurs think the best way to overcome a problem is to avoid it. This is one of the funniest and most ridiculous misconceptions I have ever heard.

Mistakes are inevitable. Trying to avoid one doesn't mean the other won't come. Mistakes are lessons we learn along the way. You learn from your mistakes and find better ways to solve problems.

As entrepreneurs, it is important to learn from the mistakes made and try to avoid them in the future. It is not about moving forward with a “defeatist” attitude; rather, it's about how you deal with your mistakes and learn from them.

Mistakes do not have to be a negative thing; they can be an excellent learning opportunity. Mistakes are a part of life, but what matters most is what you do with them.

When you make a mistake, you have an opportunity to learn from it and improve your business. But when you make a sale, you also have an opportunity to learn how to replicate that success.

Feedback from your most unhappy customers can teach you what you likely miss to get that satisfying product or service. Pay attention to every feedback you receive.

Quotes About Business Growth and Transformation

This section contains quotes about business growth from successful entrepreneurs to well-known business leaders that will give you the motivation you need to take your business to the next level.

A growth mindset believes one's ability can be improved through dedication and effort. Employees with a growth mindset are more motivated, productive, and satisfied with their work and life in general .

For entrepreneurs, having a growth mindset is essential for business success because starting and growing a business requires you to always learn and try new things. In comparison, a fixed mindset does the exact opposite.

Having a growth mindset is not just enough. Your employees should also have a growth mindset. When you are unavailable, you have a team ready to keep moving with their best efforts.

One sure way to help them develop such a mindset is to expose them to powerful growth mindset quotes daily at the workplace.

You cannot grow a successful business without encountering dragons (challenging situations). They will keep coming, and your work is to keep slaying. All you have to do is to remain focused on your abilities and develop yourself.

If you're constantly worried about failing, it's hard to accomplish anything. Unequivocal self-confidence is a critical success factor. And though it may seem like something that only some people are born with, it can be learned. The good news is that you can develop self-confidence.

Every great business started from somewhere — the ground. They didn't just fall from the sky. Someone made the bold decision to take a step and never stop.

An idea sparks, a business plan is created, and a first step is taken. That first step can be terrifying, but it’s the most important. It’s the one that will lead to the thousandth. You’ll need to take that first step to success. Having an idea is not enough; you must act on it. Likewise, it’s not enough to make a plan. You have to execute it. It’s not enough to start; you have to keep going.

When creating your business development plan and framework, ensure you clearly understand why you need to expand your business. A clear vision or reason will help you make the right decisions, especially when challenges arise. Additionally, you will be able to know if you are on the right track or not.

Many businesses do not know exactly why they want to expand or what results they hope to get. Hence, they end up wasting both financial and human resources.

Your plan must have a vision and a clear goal before executing it. You should also have a business development framework to improve resource management and effectively plan.

Being an entrepreneur, you are probably always looking for ways to grow your business. But it is important to remember that your own personal growth is just as important as business growth.

As you develop your business, develop yourself and increase your capacity to take on new tasks. Most business owners become so occupied with growing their business and attending meetings that they forget their personal growth is very important.

This is a grave mistake!

You cannot lead a 100-man company with a 20-man mindset . No. It won't work. You have to expand your knowledge. Read more entrepreneurial books about growth, attend seminars or webinars , and discuss with your network.

Remember, your goal is to sharpen your mind.

Just the fact that you want to grow your business is a risk on its own. Every strategy is a risk — whether it is a marketing strategy or a growth one.

Creating a vision for company growth is a risk. But without it, you and your team have no clear path to follow.

If you are afraid to take risks, you are not ready for growth. That is the sad, hard truth.

You cannot grow without taking these risky steps. The outcome is uncertain, but it is worth trying.

Every step you take is a risk if you are a first-generation entrepreneur and have to start from scratch to build a business empire.

Getting caught up in the daily activities of putting out fires and managing the status quo can be easy. If you want your business to grow, you need to focus on creating something new. This requires taking risks, being creative, and thinking outside the box. It might not be easy, but it’s necessary if you want your business to reach its full potential.

When it comes to business, growth is essential. Whether you’re a startup or an established company. Of all these growth strategies, growing your team is arguably the most important . After all, your team is what makes your business run.

Having a team with a growth mindset is important for business success. A team with a growth mindset is more likely to be innovative and open to new ideas. They are also more likely to be resilient in the time of setbacks.

There are many important things that entrepreneurs need to do to be successful. However, one of the most important things is to have their heart in their business.

This means you need to be passionate about what you are doing and believe in what you are trying to achieve. Additionally, you need to be willing to put in the hard work required to make your business a success. Finally, you need to understand the business world well and how to operate within it.

Like I said earlier, growth doesn't just happen overnight. It is a culmination of your little efforts and strategies.

In business, growth is essential for entrepreneurs. Without continual growth, your company will not improve or achieve success.

The industry is always evolving, and more businesses are springing up every day, each trying to be the best in the field. If you are not careful and focused on continual growth, you will not stand a chance to compete.

Even if your business is already recognized, it is only a matter of time before it loses its position.

Here are three key lessons for business growth that entrepreneurs should keep in mind:

• Set realistic goals and targets.
• Focus on what you can control.
• Be patient and persevere through tough times.

Happy employees are more engaged and productive. Employee productivity statistics show that productive employees take fewer sick days off and deliver better customer service. Better customer service leads to positive customer experiences, repeat patronage, and referrals.

So when creating your growth strategy, also include ways to boost employee productivity.

• Offer competitive pay,
• Provide opportunities for career growth,
• Encourage work-life balance, foster a positive work environment,
• Recognize and reward employees.

Businesses are constantly growing and evolving, and with that growth comes new challenges. These challenges can be difficult to overcome but are also growth opportunities.

Problems push you beyond your “perceived” limit and allow expansion. You go beyond what you thought was your limit and aim for higher . Entrepreneurs who view problems as gifts are more likely to find creative solutions and learn from their mistakes . This positive attitude can help you build a successful business.

For your business to grow, focus on being different rather than fitting in . There are too many fishes in the sea already, so what makes your business different and worth investing in?

Be innovative, think outside the box, and don’t be afraid to take risks . You can do this by starting to look at every challenge from a different perspective.

These qualities will help you attract attention and customers to your business. After all, successful businesses typically have found a way to stand out from the crowd and offer something unique.

What is that thing your business is known for? That could be your unique selling point (USP). It may not be a feature or physical product. It could be a unique service you offer. There are various ways you can offer something unique to your audience. All you have to do is think.

As the founder of a company, it's important to always be moving forward and growing. If you don't, you'll quickly fall behind and become irrelevant. This quote is a great reminder of that!

Risks surround our lives, and it is not different in business. Risks are uncertainties. You are not 100% sure of the outcome, but you take them anyway because there is no other way.

Your decision to take risks or not come with consequences. If you choose to take risks, you either make mistakes and learn from them or hit the jackpot immediately. But if you choose not to take risks and rather play it safe, you are in the “safe zone.” However, the safe zone is not the safest place to be in. In fact, there is no growth in the safe zone.

So which would you choose? To take risks and grow or to play it safe and stay mediocre?

Whatever decision you take has its results.

Working together effectively is one of the most important skills any business person can have. Teams that work well together can accomplish amazing things.

There are a few key things that make for an effective team.

First, it's important to have a clear and shared goal. Second, effective teams need to have good communication. You can achieve both and manage your team using excellent team management software .

Teamwork and collaboration are very important for business success. Hence, every team member needs to know the value of teamwork. All team members need to be able to express their ideas and listen to others.

Lastly, effective teams need to trust and support each other. Trust should be the foundation of teamwork. It would be best to encourage your team with effective teamwork quotes daily.

For entrepreneurs, this means finding ways to grow your business without sacrificing the quality of your product or service . It also means avoiding growth for growth, which can often lead to problems.

To sustainably grow your business, focus on these three things: Find new markets for your products or services. Develop new products or services that complement your existing offerings. Improve your operational efficiency so you can do more with less.

Before you do any of these, ensure you have carefully defined your target audience or customers and their needs. What you offer must be of benefit to them. Don't just create a new product or service for the sake of creating one.

This statement is a valuable lesson for all entrepreneurs. It means that someone else will control your destiny if you don't have a dream or a vision for your life. You will be working for someone else's dream instead of your own.

Hence, create a vision for yourself and focus on growing it.

You may not desire to start your own business but invest in another's. That is alright, as long as you will have positive results in the future years.

It can be painful to stay small and not take risks that could lead to growth. However, it is also risky to take too many risks and not have a solid plan for how to achieve success.

Entrepreneurs need to find a balance between these two things to be successful.

You can stunt your business growth by dwelling on past mistakes or failures. It is important to learn from these experiences, but it is also important to move on and focus on the present and future. Take risks and don't be afraid to fail, be passionate about your work, and Constantly strive to learn and grow.

Success comes from continuous effort and struggle. If you want to be successful in business, you need to be willing to put in the hard work and face growth challenges. Set a goal and make a plan, be persistent and don't give up, keep learning and growing and stay focused and take action.

It’s not just businesses that need motivation for innovation. Individuals do as well. To succeed as an entrepreneur, it is essential to be motivated. Without motivation, developing new ideas, taking risks, and persevering through tough times can be difficult. Set clear goals, find a role model, and care for yourself.

The result of success is fascinating and glamorous. You feel alive when you have finally succeeded at your goals. However, real happiness comes in the journey.

The journey was the real adventure, and the final destination is just the reward you get from completing the adventure.

Starting and growing a successful business is an incredibly challenging undertaking that requires immense dedication, critical thinking, hard work, and determination. However, the rewards of owning a successful business are always worth the sacrifices required to achieve success.

As an entrepreneur, you should always take the experience first and worry about the cash later. The experience will help you grow as a business person and learn valuable lessons that will help you in the future. The cash will come eventually, but it's not as important as the experience.

Be Motivated To Grow Your Business With These Business Growth Quotes

You probably know by now that being an entrepreneur is incredibly challenging. It can be scary and frustrating, and if you don't have the right skills or resources to succeed in the world of startups and small businesses, things could get rough very fast.

But if you have the drive and passion for starting your own business, you have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. All you need to do is set your goals, plan action, and work towards those goals with passion and persistence.

Also, let these quotes about business growth guide and inspire you in your journey to grow your business.

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Anastasia belyh.

Anastasia has been a professional blogger and researcher since 2014. She loves to perform in-depth software reviews to help software buyers make informed decisions when choosing project management software, CRM tools, website builders, and everything around growing a startup business.

Anastasia worked in management consulting and tech startups, so she has lots of experience in helping professionals choosing the right business software.

How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

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• Marketing 40 Inspirational Business Quotes for Any Professional

40 Inspirational Business Quotes for Any Professional

• Celeste has worked in the online marketing space for twenty years. She has written for sectors including tourism, sustainability, education, lifestyle, food, and marketing. You can find her work featured by Green Building Media South Africa, Stodels Gardening, and The Post House Hotel. In magazines, you may have seen her in The Cape Times, Oprah South Africa, and The Property Magazine. While you can find her writing up on the latest SEO trends and exploring digital techniques during the day, her love of story-telling carries on in enriched games and books after hours.

We have put together quotes for you to jot in your journal, print for your mantra, plonk on a presentation, or create a post for your team. These quotes will travel with you on your journey as an entrepreneur , business owner, manager, or individual.

We’ve also included a few extra at the end, just to remind you that a little laughter can go a long way in the world of business.

Keep reading to see our list of the top 40 inspirational business quotes!

Jump your quote!

Business quotes to inspire you

Business quotes to motivate your day, business quotes for professional growth.

• Business quotes for our team
• Extra 5 bonus quotes!

Waking up and being positive to your team can be a challenge. You have to find the energy and inspiration every day to lead them into the corporate battle and the success of quarterly goals for both themselves and the business.

Here are 10 quotes to inspire you in the right business mindset.

• “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” -Sir Richard Branson, Entrepreneur and co-founder of Virgin Group

• “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney, Animator and film producer
• “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” -Peter F. Drucker, Management consultant, educator, and author
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” -Mark Twain, Writer, publisher, and lecturer
• “In order to succeed. We must first believe that we can.” -Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer
• “The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.” -Aristotle, Greek philosopher
• “To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart.” -Thomas J. Watson, Chairman and CEO of IBM
• “One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” -Michael Korda, Editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster
• “Action is the foundational key to all success.” -Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor
• “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” -Hasidic Proverb

A great way to start your day is with a dose of motivation. Here are quotes from some of  the most successful people, and their words of encouragement. We’ve handpicked them based on their ability to energize, fuel, and push you to your fullest potential.

• “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill, Former prime minister of Britain
• “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” -Will Rodgers, Actor and comedian
• “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” -John D. Rockefeller, Industrialist and philanthropist
• “First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.” -Walt Disney, Animator and film producer

• “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” -Robert H. Schuller, Motivational speaker, and author
• “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” -Lao Tzu, Ancient Chinese philosopher and writer
• “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” -Albert Einstein, Theoretical physicist
• “Don’t give up, the beginning is always the hardest.” -Kemmy Nola, Motivational speaker
• “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great achievements.” -Demosthenes, Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens
• “Always give your best effort even when the odds are against you.” -Arnold Palmer, Professional golfer

If your goals are to understand and advance into the business world, these insights can help guide you. Each quote is a nugget of wisdom from previous business giants. Reflect on them and let them inspire you to grab every opportunity for growth.

• “Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” -Phil Knight, Co-founder of Nike, Inc.
• “There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” -Seth Godin, Author and business executive
• “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” -Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company
• “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, Alsatian polymath and theologian
• “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” -Estée Lauder, Businesswoman and co-founder of cosmetics company

• “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” -Vidal Sassoon, Hairstylist, businessman, and philanthropist
• “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr., American author
• “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine De Saint-Exupery, Writer, poet, aristocrat and journalist
• “Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” -Margaret Thatcher, British stateswoman and former British prime minister
• “The heart and soul of a company is creativity and innovation.” -Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney

Business quotes for your team

These quotes were selected due to their underlying message of teamwork. Working together and inspiring each other is often the most effective way to achieve a goal.

Share these words with your team to boost morale and enhance cooperation:

• “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” -Steve Jobs, Former CEO of Apple
• “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” -Albert Einstein, Theoretical physicist
• “ The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side .” -Margaret Carty, Author and executive director of MLA
• “Great things in business are never done by one person.” -Steve Jobs, Former CEO of Apple
• “ Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” -Ryunosuke Satoro, Japanese author
• “ One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” -Kareem Abdul-Jabber, American former professional basketball player
• “ The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” -Phil Jackson, Former NBA basketball player and coach
• “There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.” -Jason Fried, Founder & CEO at Basecamp
• “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. -Helen Keller, American author, activist and educator
• “A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman and founder

An extra 5 business quotes to make you smile

Of course, we know that laughter is often the best medicine or be the factor that makes your presentation or poster memorable. We’ve included these quotes as a little bonus to this article to share the lighter side of business:

• “Don’t take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” -Elbert Hubbard, Writer and publisher
• “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” -Douglas Adams, Writer, screenwriter and humorist
• “Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.” -Mallory Hopkins, Writer and author
• “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because, a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” -Bill Gates, Former CEO of Microsoft
• “Please note that I am self-employed. If you see me talking to myself, please do not disturb. I am having a staff meeting.” -Unknown

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Hear from HydroWorx, who saw a 131% increase in organic forms by partnering with WebFX

The message that connects them all

We’ve looked at inspirational business quotes, motivational ones, and professional quotes for your team. What do they all have in common? You have to be in the right mindset and strive to be:

You also have to be surrounded by people with similar mindsets to bring strengths and resources together. At WebFX know all about that.

For six years in a row, we’ve been named the #1 Best Place to Work due to our efforts to build a positive company work culture. We find that it fosters creativity, innovation, and determination that drivesr top-tier results for our clients.

Want to learn more about how we empower our team to drive results for our clients? Get a glimpse into the WebFX culture by checking out our POSITIVE company values !

WebFX is a full-service marketing agency with 1,100+ client reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Clutch! Find out how our expert team and revenue-accelerating tech can drive results for you! Learn more

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Table of Contents

• Business Quotes to Inspire You
• Business Quotes to Motivate Your Day
• Business Quotes for Professional Growth
• Business Quotes for Your Team
• An Extra 5 Business Quotes to Make You Smile
• The Message That Connects Them All

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69 Powerful Strategy Quotes For Planning Success (2024)

Mastering the art of strategy is a challenging feat. It requires a sharp mind and a strong will. But strategy is not limited to boardrooms or military operations; it influences many facets of our lives. Our collection of strategy quotes explores its importance and offers advice and tips to help you up your strategic game.

Strategizing transforms abstract goals into concrete realities, making it an indispensable skill across all spheres of life. This article explores key steps to craft a sound plan and outlines its relevance beyond the business realm.

So, kickstart a strategy by learning from the brains of industry leaders, authors, and many more.

Table of contents:

Best Quotes Defining A Sound Strategy

Notable strategy quotes about planning, making a clear strategy, quotes about careful strategy execution, quotes on why strategies fail, moving forward by restrategizing.

• Strategy Vs Tactics Quotes

Quotes About The Long-Term Benefits Of Strategizing Life

Strategy quotes from business leaders, eye-opening strategy quotes about giving value to customers, other strategizing quotes from various fields.

Understanding and building a sound strategy is similar to connecting puzzle pieces. It involves planning with our goals in mind. Additionally, instead of being sidetracked by what we lack, it focuses on what's readily available or what we can control. 

Subsequent sections discuss various aspects of a solid, workable strategy. But first, here are some of our favorite quotes about strategy.

"Strategy is style of thinking, a conscious and deliberate process, an intensive implementation system, the science of insuring future success." - Pete Johnson

"To be strategic is to concentrate on what is important, on those few objectives that can give us a comparative advantage, on what is important to us rather than others, and to plan and execute the resulting plan with determination and steadfastness." - Richard Koch

"Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less concerned about the later than the former. Space we can recover, lost time never." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Strategy is simply resource allocation. When you strip away all the noise, that's what it comes down to. Strategy means making clear cut choices about how to compete. You cannot be everything to everybody, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets." - Jack Welch

Though both contribute to our success, strategy and planning operate differently. Essentially, a strategy forms our game plan. It is about making crucial decisions to position ourselves or our organization for success. 

Conversely, planning is a blueprint. It creates a path complete with timelines, deliverables, budget, and other factors. In short, strategy forms the bigger picture while a plan materializes it.

Whether you want business success or to graduate with flying colors, the following strategy quotes remind us of the purpose of strategic planning.

"Always start at the end before you begin." - Robert Kiyosaki

"Sound strategy starts with having the right goal." - Michael Porter (Harvard Business School Professor)

"Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point." - Henry Mintzberg

"The entrance strategy is more important than the exit strategy." - Edward Lampert

"I believe that people make their own luck by great preparation and good strategy." - Jack Canfield

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." - Sun Tzu

After emphasizing the importance of planning, the next crucial factor of solid strategies is clarity of vision . Both guide us throughout while keeping us focused and avoiding unnecessary distractions . 

Whatever our blueprint is, it should be aligned with our vision. The quotes below emphasize this message.

"A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more." - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

"You build your own strategy. You don’t define it by what another competitor is doing." - Ginni Rometty

"A vision without a strategy remains an illusion." - Lee Bolman

"The only sustainable competitive advantage is your innovation culture." - Soren Kaplan

"The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do." - Michael Porter

"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." - Peter Drucker

Strategizing is only the starting point; action is the real game-changer. Yes, taking the first step is often the hardest part. Sometimes, we also get trapped in the planning stage. Success depends on more than just a smart strategy; it also depends on the courage and discipline to execute it. 

Here, we share insightful quotes to inspire action in the face of fear. These quotes remind us that a strategy, no matter how good, is only as effective as its execution.

"There's only one growth strategy: work hard." - William Hague

"In reality, strategy is very straightforward. You pick a general direction and implement it like hell." - Jack Welch

"Without a strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless." - Morris Chang

"Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art." - Peter Drucker

"Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different." - Michael Porter

"Strategy without process is little more than a wish list." - Robert Filek

"Execution is the ability to mesh strategy with reality, align people with goals, and achieve the promised results." - Larry Bossidy

"Designing a winning strategy is the art of asking questions, experimenting and then constantly renewing the thinking process by questioning the answers. No matter how good today's strategy is, you must always keep reinventing it." - Constantinos Markides

Strategy execution isn't something other people should worry about while you are doing something far more important. ~ Jeroen de Flander

Focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness. ~ Jim Collins

Even when we're brave enough to take action, failure can still be possible - fear, procrastination, poor execution, and overwhelming emotions can sometimes steer us off course. 

However, we must remember that failure is not a setback but a stepping stone. Each stumble offers valuable lessons that we can use to fine-tune our course of action. This selection talks about the missteps along the road of strategy development and execution as important lessons.

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." - Mark Zuckerberg

"A bad strategy will fail no matter how good your information is. And lame execution will stymie a good strategy. If you do enough things poorly, you'll go out of business." - Bill Gates

"When a plan or strategy fails, people are tempted to assume it was the wrong vision. Plans and strategies can always be changed and improved. But vision doesn't change. Visions are simply refined with time." - Andy Stanley

"Don’t give up. Obstacles can be overcome through strategy and learning." - Hidetaka Miyazaki

"Sticking with a plan when you are winning sounds simple, but it's easy to become overconfident and get caught up in events. Long-term success is impossible if you let your heat-of-the-moment reactions trump careful planning." - Garri Kimowitsch Kasparow

Like a human being, a company has to have an internal communication mechanism, a ‘nervous system', to coordinate its actions ~ Bill Gates

The most important thing about strategy is execution. If you have a great strategy, but you can't execute it, you're nothing. ~ Hamdi Ulukaya

Strategy execution is the responsibility that makes or breaks executives. ~ Alan Branche

As they say, “Change is the only constant.” In the following strategy quotes, we'll further realize the importance of adaptation.

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." - Sir Winston Churchill

"The process of developing superior strategies is part planning, part trail and error, until you hit upon something that works." - Constantinos Markides

"Let’s execute along this strategy, but know that we’ll probably get some of this wrong, so be open to changing it." - A.G. Lafley

"What we need to do is always lean into the future; when the world changes around you and when it changes against you - what used to be a tail wind is now a head wind - you have to lean into that and figure out what to do because complaining isn't a strategy." - Jeff Bezos

Strategy Vs. Tactics Quotes

Understanding the relationship between strategy and tactics is essential to effective execution. Strategy is the broad roadmap, giving us the big picture of our objectives. Conversely, tactics are the daily practical actions and decisions that help us maneuver in varying circumstances. 

Together, they provide a framework for responding flexibly to any situation. In the subsequent section, we'll explore quotes that discuss the difference and relationship between strategies and tactics.

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

"Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation." - Max Euwe

"Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy." - General George S. Patton Jr.

Success doesn't necessarily come from breakthrough innovation, but from flawless execution. ~ Naveen Jain

We have a strategic plan. It's called doing things. ~ Herb Kelleher

Balancing the present with the future can be tricky. Life has a mix of planned events and delightful surprises, with a fair share of unexpected challenges. While unpredictability adds spice to life, strategizing is essential in managing it.

Whether you schedule meet-ups with friends or invest money for retirement, planning life does not make it rigid. Instead, it helps us navigate it better. So, let the following strategy quotes remind you of this thought.

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett

"Minimizing exposure to miserable people is nothing short of a life strategy." - Carolyn Hax

"A strategy is necessary because the future is unpredictable." - Robert Waterman

"Manage the top line: your strategy, your people, and your products, and the bottom line will follow." - Steve Jobs

"The basic strategy is to stick to my core business and my area of expertise." - Henry Sy

"Every new change forces all the companies in an industry to adapt their strategies to that change." - Bill Gates

"Globalization means that business strategy and business ethics cannot be separated from each other." - Ofra Strauss

"A strategy is something like, an innovative new product; globalization, taking your products around the world; be the low-cost producer. A strategy is something you can touch; you can motivate people with; be number one and number two in every business. You can energize people around the message." - Jack Welch

"There's a fundamental distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness." - Michael Porter

"With the level of uncertainty we see today, more people are asking, how can you develop a strategy in a world that keeps changing so fast? They are afraid that a set of rigid principles will hinder their ability to react quickly. I argue that it is precisely at such times that you need a strategy." - Orit Gadiesh

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage. ~ Jack Welch

Building a visionary company requires one percent vision and 99 percent alignment. ~ Jim Collins

Bringing the focus onto customers, business strategies should always keep them at the center. This goes beyond simply understanding their wants; it's about providing value and exhibiting care. Customer satisfaction isn't just a metric. It fosters loyalty and drives business growth. 

You will surely relate to the quotes below if you have a start-up business. Afterward, check out this Ted Talk by Bill Gross on how time is a major factor in your success.

"The best marketing strategy ever: Care." - Gary Vaynerchuck

"A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all." - Michael LeBoeuf

"There is only one winning strategy. It is to carefully define the target market and direct a superior offering to that target market." - Philip Kotler

"Creating value for humanity should not be an afterthought but a core business strategy." - Unknown

"Only a few businesses will succeed by having the lowest price, so most will need a strategy that includes customer services." - Bill Gates

"In marketing I've seen only one strategy that can't miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last." - John Romero

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - Bill Gates

Indeed, strategy extends beyond the confines of the boardroom. For example, leaders across various fields strategize a path while leading a team to navigate it effectively. Synonymously, the worlds of sports and warfare acknowledge the value of strategizing.

Incorporating lessons from these powerful quotes can offer valuable insights not just professionally but personally, too. 

"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." - Norman Schwarzkopf

"Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there." - John P. Kotter

"Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy." - Sun Tzu

"Look at a football field. It looks like a big movie screen. This is theatre. Football combines the strategy of chess. It’s part ballet. It’s part battleground, part playground." - Steve Sabol

"Fighting is about a strategy. MMA is not all about brutality." - Royce Gracie

Isabela is a determined millennial passionate about continuously seeking out ways to make an impact. With a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with honors, Isabela’s research expertise and interest in artistic works, coupled with a creative mindset, offers readers a fresh take on different environmental, social, and personal development topics.

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Significant milestone as BHP’s SA copper plan set for assessment

Bhp has reached a significant milestone on a pathway that could see a more than doubling of copper production in south australia by middle of the next decade..

The State Government has made a declaration calling in BHP's proposed development to increase copper cathode production, and associated products, as an ‘impact assessed development’.

If approved, the proposed project would see a new, second copper smelting furnace built, which would augment and expand the existing facilities at Olympic Dam.

This upgrade would facilitate the processing of more materials from BHP’s portfolio of copper assets across South Australia, including Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.

In its FY24 full year results released this week, BHP also made a significant public statement about the size and quality of its mineral resource at its Oak Dam prospect, reinforcing the potential for South Australia as a leading copper jurisdiction.

BHP has outlined a strategy to further increase BHP’s copper production from South Australia from 322,000 tonnes of copper last financial year, up to 650,000 tonnes a year by the mid-2030s.

The assessment processes in place for impact assessed developments allow for the highest level of scrutiny under South Australian law, and can be aligned with the Commonwealth’s environmental assessment processes to ensure a robust scientific and technical assessment.

Attributable to Tom Koutsantonis

This declaration marks the beginning of a robust consultation and decision-making process.

It’s an opportunity for BHP to make a case for this proposal, and allowing the South Australian community to weigh up the benefits the project could bring against any economic, social and environmental impacts it could have.

It’s very encouraging to see BHP planning for ongoing significant investment in South Australia – as we’d expect, they’ve done a mountain of work before reaching this point and their public statements about the potential of this copper plan are significant.

However, we’ve been down this path before, and South Australians have a right to be sceptical. Following the assessment process, BHP’s final investment decision rests with them, and they have advised they plan to make a decision in the first half of FY27.

But we do know that this proposed development comes at a time when our state is ideally positioned to capitalise on the massive opportunity emerging in the global effort to decarbonise.

This proposed investment would align with the copper opportunity the Malinauskas Government has already outlined in the State Prosperity Project. Our state is home to more than two-thirds of Australia’s total copper resources, and its emergence as a Tier One copper province could ensure we have a significant role in meeting the predicted surge in international demand for copper required by the global energy transition.

For BHP, the proposal represents an opportunity to consolidate the huge investments the company has already made in South Australia’s copper assets and make significant returns to shareholders.

For South Australia, it could mean a huge boost to the value we add to the state’s natural resources right here in this state, meaning greater opportunities for South Australians.

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Harris and Trump Have Housing Ideas. Economists Have Doubts.

The two presidential nominees are talking about their approaches for solving America’s affordability crisis. But would their plans work?

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By Jeanna Smialek and Linda Qiu

America’s gaping shortage of affordable housing has rocketed to the top of voter worry lists and to the forefront of campaign promises, as both the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, and the Republican candidate, Donald J. Trump, promise to fix the problem if they are elected.

Their two visions of how to solve America’s affordable housing shortage have little in common, and Ms. Harris’s plan is far more detailed. But they do share one quality: Both have drawn skepticism from outside economists.

Ms. Harris is promising a cocktail of tax cuts meant to spur home construction — which several economists said could help create supply. But she is also floating a $25,000 benefit to help first-time buyers break into the market, which many economists worry could boost demand too much, pushing home prices even higher. And both sets of policies would need to pass in Congress, which would influence their design and feasibility.

Mr. Trump’s plan is garnering even more doubt. He pledges to deport undocumented immigrants, which could cut back temporarily on housing demand but would also most likely cut into the construction work force and eventually limit new housing supply. His other ideas include lowering interest rates, something that he has no direct control over and that is poised to happen anyway.

Economist misgivings about the housing market policy plans underline a somber reality. Few quick fixes are available for an affordable housing shortfall that has been more than 15 years in the making, one that is being worsened by demographic and societal trends. While ambitious promises may sound good in debates and television ads, actual policy attempts to fix the national housing shortfall are likely to prove messy and slow — even if they are sorely needed.

Here’s what the candidates are proposing, and what experts say about those plans.

Harris: Expand Supply Using Tax Credits.

Ms. Harris is promising to increase housing supply by expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, providing incentives for state and local investment in housing and creating a $40 billion tax credit to make affordable projects economically feasible for builders.

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