Linda McMahon

We went bankrupt one time and lost everything. When I tell that story at my Women's Leadership LIVE conferences, people are shocked. I mean, our house was auctioned off and the car repossessed in the driveway. We had to start over again.

My number one philosophy for leadership is leadership by example. If you are not willing to do it yourself, how can you show others how to do it?

Being under the political spotlight is far different than anything I'd experienced before. Every word is a critical word. Sometimes you really aren't allowed to get your full thought out. A lot of it is about having a 30-second sound bite.

I have kids in high school that don't know how to balance a checkbook. We need to have that fundamental understanding of economics as we move forward to develop the next generation of young people.

It is past time for Democrats and Republicans to join together to create a bipartisan coalition for courage and common sense.

As a CEO, I want to show women that there are no limits to what they can achieve, whether through entrepreneurship, government, science or any path they choose, and there is plenty of room for women at the top.

I'm not going to take any special interest money or any PAC money... when I get to Washington I want to be the voice for the people of Connecticut and not owe special favors.

You cant be afraid to take a risk. You can't be afraid to take a risk because you think you might fail.

Someone asked me recently if marriage is 50-50 - it averages out to be 50-50, but sometimes it's 75-25, sometimes it's 90-10. In the end, it has to average out to be 50-50; that's how you support each other.

I never really thought about the fact that there weren't female role models, because I had them in my life. The women I knew in my life were so strong.

More entrepreneurs are looking to come back to start businesses, and that is where SBA is perfectly positioned to be helping more people to realize their dreams.

We want to create more jobs. We want to qualify more lenders and expand lending markets. But also, I want a very different SBA - it's not your father's SBA. I want to modernize it and reposition it so when people think about jobs, they think about how the Small Business Administration would really be helpful.