Inspirational quotes for small business owners

Becoming self-employed can be one of the most rewarding decisions you make. Being your boss, choosing your own hours and projects can be exciting. But managing everything alone can soon become overwhelming, and you can question why you’ve even bothered to try.

So, if you are considering full-time job positions, this blog is for you. Sure, being a sole trader can be challenging, but even the smallest wins can motivate you to push forward and achieve your dream of self-employment.

Here’s a selection of the most inspirational quotes for small business owners to stay motivated and on track!

1. "You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea."

— Larry Page, Google Co-Founder

Although Google now employs a staggering 180,000+ people, the company was only started by two — Larry Page and Sergey Brin, while studying at university. You can develop your idea on a much smaller scale.

So if the thing stopping you from developing your business further is the belief you have to have an entire team behind you, leave that assumption at the door and see what you can achieve on a smaller and slower scale initially.

2. "If you don't build your own dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs."

— Tony Gaskins, Motivational Speaker and Author

This one is a good motivator for any business owner. If not working for others was one of your reasons for starting your business, don’t ever forget that. Supporting yourself and generating your own income can be a powerful motivator to try and do everything you can to make your business work.

3. "Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that."

— Anthony Volodkin, Founder of The Hype Machine

This quote is a great example of why building a good business foundation is key to success. Even if you do have success with a social media campaign, it doesn’t necessarily represent success or longevity. Sit down and work out what kind of business you are, your values, your mission, and why people should buy from you.

Building a solid product or service from the ground up and appealing to a genuine customer need helps you build brand authenticity — something people will remember.

4. "Either you run the day, or the day runs you."

— Jim Rohn, American Entrepreneur

As a small business owner, time can easily run away with you. With so many hats to wear and so many skills and processes to accomplish (i.e. tax returns and accounting), your day can disappear so fast without having actually done anything useful.

Consider splitting your day the night before using a time management app like Trello or Monday.com. Create specific tasks that lead to achieving specific goals. Goal setting can help keep you on track to achieve them and keep each day productive.

5. "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."

— Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-Founder

If you've had a few bad reviews, try not to be despondent and instead use it as an opportunity to improve your product or service. In business, you'll always get your fair share of poor reviews—it's human nature to complain. But look closely at the reviews you're getting. Is there a pattern? Is the problem something you can address quickly? Don’t give up; make changes and come back stronger.

6. "Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead."

— Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

It’s easy to focus only on your bigger goals, but you should celebrate any milestone you pass. Whether it’s getting a new client, securing funding for your business, or simply launching a new marketing campaign. Whatever you achieve should be celebrated because even though it might seem insignificant, you won’t reach your overarching goal without the smaller achievements.

7. "In order to succeed. We must first believe that we can."

— Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer

If you don’t have the support of your family and friends, running your business can feel like an uphill battle. But you know your business idea better than anyone; after doing market research, costing up materials or services, and writing a business plan, you must believe that you can make this business successful. Prove everyone who doesn’t believe in your idea wrong.

8. "Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field."

— Brian Tracy, Canadian-American Motivational Speaker

Learning new skills isn’t something you can’t avoid as a small business owner; you have to learn otherwise, your business can’t be set up and run successfully. For example, you can't build a social media presence if you don’t learn how to create social media accounts. You can outsource all these tasks, of course, but initially, working capital is at a premium, so you might find you turn your hand to all kinds of tasks, learning on the job just until you can afford to outsource.

9. "The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time."

— Joe Girard, American Motivational Speaker

There’s no fast lane to success; it’s something you build over time after many mistakes. And accepting that’s the way forward is key to a successful small business. Business owners are no strangers to burnout, which is something that can happen relatively quickly when you pour your heart, soul and every ounce of energy into your new business.

Plan growth strategically and be patient.

10. "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."

— Winston Churchill, Former UK Prime Minister

As a small business owner, you'll always make mistakes, but how you deal with those low periods helps drive your business forward with a better offering than before. You need to accept that you’re going to make mistakes and realise that mistakes don’t mean you’re failing; they just mean you’re learning.

Hopefully, these quotes have given you some perspective on business success and how to achieve it. Motivation can be difficult to find, particularly when battling through your first few years of business ownership.