15 best women entrepreneurs quotes

Ahh, the power of a good motivational quote! Some days we could all do with some extra motivation or just some inspiration from some very successful people who are ahead of us in this journey and have many lessons to share with the world. In this blog post, I wanted to collect 15 inspirational quotes by women, for women entrepreneurs. 

 

Best 15 inspirational quotes for women entrepreneurs

 

• “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estée Lauder

 

 

This is such a good quote when it comes to doing the work, instead of just having dreams. I always talk about how some people seem to be an “overnight success”, or how they are considered lucky, or like success fell on their lap. But this couldn’t be further from the truth! If someone does seem like an overnight success and it looks like everything’s too good to be true, it usually is. There definitely are those kinds of people, but they don’t last very long; but here I’m talking about people who work REALLY hard behind the scenes, but then the world only gets to see their success. They don’t see the tears, the sweat, the failures and the many walls that were hit, before finally achieving success. So with this quote I want to encourage you to yes, dream; yes, hope for the best; but also, and most importantly, to do the work. There’s no other way around it.

 

 

 

• “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart

 

I love this quote so much, because it’s a reminder that the best time to start is NOW, you only need to take the first action. It looks and feels incredibly scary, and you’re not yet sure of where you’re headed or what the future holds, but if you only make that one step, everything else is going to fall into place. It’s easy to wish for something and say you’ve got big plans, but never take action. It’s easy to get caught up in the planning process and the perfectionist in you (no judgment here, I’m a recovering perfectionist), but not take that first step. What’s really hard to do, is to decide to act, but once you do that, you’re able to figure out everything else. You just have to keep going, through the highs and the lows, but start and take action.

 

 

 

• “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” – Barbara Corcoran

 

I know this is very straightforward and it might sound harsh too, but I guess the point is to motivate you and give you the extra kick you need to make your life amazing. Have you ever found yourself hosting your own pity party, where you were also possibly the only guest? Have you ever spent more time dwelling on how sorry you felt for yourself after something went wrong, rather than trying to find a solution and a way to try again? Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s completely OKAY to acknowledge your feelings and not feel 100% all the time, especially after something you tried doesn’t work. But then instead of sitting on your feelings for too long, to the point where you have no more motivation to keep going, you should get back up again and keep trying until things do work. That’s the secret to success.

 

 

 

• “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

 

This quote really does speak for itself. Taking a risk always involves some fear, insecurity, uncertainty. But the biggest risk of all is not taking any risks at all; because that way, you risk living a life of regrets, a life where you know there could have been something more, but instead you’re living an “okay life” because you decided to settle and stay in your comfort zone. Just like Nike’s famous slogan says: Just do it!, don’t wait until it’s too late or until you’ve missed your chance. Take that risk, start that business, book that trip, text that friend. Take a risk because even if things don’t go exactly how you thought or hoped for, you will still be able to learn a lesson from it, but it will always be better than taking no risks at all.

 

 

 

• “If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don’t, you’re simply ducking your responsibilities.” – Ann Richards

 

Do you know that burnout is a very common experience among women, especially women entrepreneurs? Maybe you have experienced it in your life at one point or another, and that is why I’m here today to remind you that taking care of yourself is not selfish! In fact, it’s very much needed, otherwise how are you supposed to meet all your responsibilities and demands of life? I find this quote to be incredibly true and a very important reminder, for whenever we think that practicing self-care is selfish or that we don’t have time for it. The truth is, if we don’t do that, we will HAVE TO make time for burnout and the recovery after that. So today my encouragement is that you become more intentional with scheduling “me time” to really improve the quality of your life and of those around you.

 

 

 

 

• “Done is better than perfect.” – Sheryl Sandberg

 

Yes yes yes to this! Way too many times I let perfectionism and the fear of making mistakes get in my way, resulting in me not taking any action, missing out on opportunities, and then regretting it after. The best piece of advice I received in my life was to take action, no matter how imperfect and messy it looks. There is always room for growth, but there can’t be any growth if there is no action, so I really encourage you to change this today if you want to make progress in your life and achieve success, whatever that looks like to you!

 

 

 

 

• “I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” – Louise Hay

 

This is another very inspiring quote that makes me think of how short life is and how we can’t take for granted a minute of it. Yes, maybe we didn’t start off with the easiest circumstances, maybe we made mistakes along the way and even felt like a failure at some point, but as long as we are here, we have a chance to make things better. We might not be able to control everything that happens to us and in the world, but we can definitely control how we react, and we can choose to take action every single day and work to create the best life for ourselves. That will look different to all of us, but as long as everything we do is in alignment with our vision and dreams, then we have a chance to create the best life.

 

 

 

 

• “Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” – Simone de Beauvoir

 

In case you hadn’t noticed yet, I’m big on taking action. Why? Because I’ve seen too many people being crippled by fear, procrastination, insecurities, and never be satisfied with their life and never live up to their full potential. And that kind of grieves me in a way. I love how Simone de Beauvoir said “don’t gamble on the future”, she is so right! I feel like sometimes we think that we have control over time and over the future, but the truth is, we don’t. We never know what tomorrow will look like, and we can’t put things off for some point in the future, because anything could happen! But, the one thing we know for sure is that our future will 100% be influenced by the choices we make today, so we don’t have time to procrastinate, dream without taking action, and let the days go by. We have control of our present, of today, and it is our responsibility to do something about it. Otherwise, we might end up spending our whole lives with regret.

 

 

 

 

 

• “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” – Arianna Huffington

 

This is for all the ladies that struggle with comparison. Especially in the world of social media, it’s so easy to look at what everyone else is doing and feel bad if we are not at that level, or even feel jealous about where they are. The truth is that we are not other people, and we also don’t know what their behind-the-scenes looks like and what struggles they went through before they got to where they are now. All we do know is where we come from, where we want to go, and what we are facing. Our journey is unique and comparing it to others will only slow us down and prevent us from fulfilling the purpose over our life. Comparison is the thief of joy, so instead of looking at what everyone else is doing, let’s focus on ourselves, and on improving ourselves every single day.

 

 

 

 

 

• “It’s not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it. Sometimes you’ve got to blast through and have faith.” – Emma Watson

 

Gosh, I love Emma Watson. I used to think that people who are confident and successful just don’t suffer from fear. I was wrong. They absolutely do, just like everyone else, but they feel the fear and do it anyway. That is what courage means to me. It means looking at fear in the eyes, and still do what we know we are supposed to do, because we don’t want to allow fear to take over our lives. My life motto is faith over fear; I know that I can live having both of them, but I also know that my faith has to be bigger than my fears if I truly want to make it through the challenges I encounter in my life.

 

 

 

 

• “Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” – Jennifer Lopez

 

JLo doesn’t get it wrong! Doubt will kill you at your core. It will make you question who you really are, if you really have value, if you are really that talented and gifted, if you are actually that good or you’re just a fraud. It will literally make you question everything, that’s why it’s important to know who you are. Especially in the digital age, it’s very easy to let others and society define who you are and who you are supposed to be, but don’t let that be your story! Just be very intentional in your personal journey, and once you are firm in your identity, don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.

 

 

 

 

• “Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama

 

This is for you if you think that your level of success is defined by the money you have in your bank account. It’s not defined by that, or by your job title either. Success is defined by the lives you change, how you change them, how you love people, how you help those in need, and what impact you make in the world. We have to start rethinking the definition of success because we definitely got it wrong for way too long. So the next time you are tempted to think that you are as successful as your monthly salary, think again, and remind yourself that true success is a completely different story.

 

 

 

 

• “I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” – Ginni Rometty

 

Do you have a plan to intentionally and consistently put yourself out of your comfort zone? If you said no, you should. You can be comfortable AND expect to grow, at the same time, it’s just not possible. It’s like stretching yourself in two different directions, but there’s only one you, so you have to choose where you want to go. If you ask me, I am determined to get uncomfortable often, I might hate it in the moment but the growth and progress I see after never make me regret it. Choose to do something that makes you uncomfortable at least every week. If you are not used to it, start small and then add something every time after. And don’t forget to celebrate your progress every step of the way!

 

 

 

 

• “Who you are surrounded by often determines who you become.” – Vicky Saunders

 

This is such an important reminder! I read once that the kind of person you will become is given on average by the 5 people that surround you, and that is very powerful. So if you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people. Be inspired by them, grow with them, learn from them. This can be compared to plants. Not all of them can grow in the same environment and with the same weather conditions. Plants need the right environment to grow and thrive, and we do too! If we want to grow and create the life of our dreams, we have to be very careful with who we surround ourselves with.

 

 

 

 

 

• “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” – Sarah Blakely

 

For my final motivational quote, I’ve chosen one from the amazing Sarah Blakely. I’ve listened to her story several times, and every time I feel even more inspired by her. I used to be very insecure when I was in University because everyone seemed to know what they were doing, but I didn’t and I felt really out of place. Fast forward a few years, I know now more and have experienced more, and I’m building my business in the same field I knew nothing about back in University. My point is, I was able to learn what I know now through personal experience, but the bonus point is that I’m doing this with my own unique gifts and from my own perspective. So don’t let what you don’t know stop you from getting where you want to get. And remember that sometimes, what looks like a setback is actually your setup!

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles: 

• How to start practicing self-care

• How to achieve your goals in life

 

 

Final thoughts on the best women entrepreneur quotes

 

I hope that you have been inspired by these quotes from successful women and that you will come back to this post whenever you need that little extra kick to get some daily inspiration to go and build your dream life!