Business Quotes to Inspire | Vistaprint

Small business is a big deal. It takes passion, determination, and ingenuity. While incredibly rewarding, every entrepreneur has moments when she needs a pick-me-up or inspirational message to help her weather the latest storm.

Or, maybe you’re redesigning your business cards, and want to add something inspirational to the layout. Incorporate a business card quote into your design to send a message about your brand (and your entrepreneurial drive!).

We’ve compiled a list of 63 business quotes, that cover everything from your purpose in life to work ethic to quotes that speak directly to the life of an entrepreneur. Every quote was made by a notable entrepreneur, business leader or industry expert, so whether you’re looking for business card quotes or a motivational boost, you’ll find one that inspires you. Take as many of these pearls of wisdom as you need and revisit this page whenever you need a boost.

Life

  • Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. – Vivian Komori
  • The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey
  • Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it. – Lou Holtz
  • Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. – Alan. W. Watts
  • In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. – Robert Frost
  • Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy
  • Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner. – Les Brown
  • Love your family, work super hard, live your passion. – Gary Vaynerchuk

Work Ethic

  • Play by the rules, but be ferocious. – Phil Knight
  • Life offers few guarantees, but generally the harder and longer you work, the more likely you will succeed. – William Harley
  • Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford
  • Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. – H. Jackson Browne
  • Never, never, never give up. – Winston Churchill
  • Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can – Arthur Ashe
  • To win big, you sometimes have to take big risks. – Bill Gates
  • If you make a really good product that people want and are willing to pay for, money will come. – Forrest Mars, Sr.
  • Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best. – John C. Maxwell
  • Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. – John D. Rockefeller
  • Opportunities don’t happen. You create them. – Chris Grosser
  • If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. – Jim Rohn
  • Be so good they can’t ignore you. – Steve Martin
  • I find the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. – Thomas Jefferson
  • All progress takes place outside the comfort zone. – Michael John Bobak
  • Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. – Truman Capote

Entrepreneurial

  • The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. – Vidal Sassoon
  • I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. – Steve Jobs
  • Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier
  • The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect. – Adam Osborne
  • If you can dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney
  • Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. – Albert Einstein
  • Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dreams become impossible: the fear of failure. – Paulo Coelho
  • The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it. – Debbie Fields
  • Failure is just a resting place. It is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. – Henry Ford
  • Never be ashamed! There’s some who will hold it against you, but they are not worth bothering with. – J.K. Rowling
  • Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas A. Edison
  • Whatever you do, be different – that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out. – Anita Roddick
  • Motivation is the catalyzing ingredient for every successful innovation. – Clayton Christensen

Small Business Stats

  • About 70% of all small businesses in the U.S. are owned and operated by a single person. – eCapital: 20 Small Business Facts You Might Not Know
  • 60% of consumers says it’s important for a small business to have a social media presence. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • Email, websites, and social media are the top 3 tools for marketing small businesses. – Blue Corona: 29 Small Business Digital Marketing Statistics
  • 34% of consumers are unlikely to shop with a business that doesn’t have a website. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • Small businesses make up 99.7% of all U.S. employers. – U.S. Small Business Administration FAQ, June 2016
  • 36% of small business shoppers discover businesses for the first time online. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • 45% of consumers are unlikely to shop with a business that has a poorly designed website. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • 75% of small business shoppers say it’s important to read reviews before visiting a business. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • Nearly 70% of micro businesses market themselves both online and in print. – 2016 Vistaprint Digital Impact Report: Online Identity
  • 83% of micro business owners say having an online presence is important for marketing their business.
  • Showing appreciation is the way to reinforce the one thing you have that no one else does, namely, an already-solid relationship with your customers. – Steve Strauss
  • The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing. – Seth Godin
  • Marketing is telling the world you’re a rock star. Content marketing is showing the world you are one. – Robert Rose
  • Content is fire. Social media is gasoline. – Jay Baer
  • Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. – Marilyn Suttle
  • It takes just $325 to start a business in the United States. – eCapital: 20 Small Business Facts You Might Not Know
  • The key is, no matter what story you tell, make your buyer the hero. – Chris Brogan
  • You never lose in business, either you win or you learn. – Melinda Emerson
  • The number of small businesses in the U.S. has gone up 49% since 1982. – The U. S. Small Business Administration
  • Word of mouth marketing has always been important. Today, it’s more important than ever because of the power of the internet. – Joe Pulizzi
  • Be where the world is going. – Beth Comstock
  • Our online words are our emissaries; they tell the world who we are. – Ann Handley
  • Businesses are based on relationship and relationships are based on people. – Marcus Lemonis
  • When people put their kids to sleep, nobody tells bedtime facts. – Jonah Berger
  • Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you. – Tony Hsieh

Feeling motivated? That’s perfect! Share the love with your small business community and other entrepreneurs.