32 Entrepreneur Quotes Every Business Owner Should Bookmark
32 hand-verified entrepreneur quotes from Drucker, Jobs, Ford, Branson, and Welch — split by starting, leading, and shipping.
Curated May 2026 · Sources: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), Goodreads, AZQuotes
Leading Teams
“The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things.”
“A manager sets objectives, organizes, motivates and communicates, measures, and develops people.”
“One cannot hire a hand; the whole man always comes with it.”
“Business has to be fun. For too many people, it's 'just a job.'”
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. ”
“Money is only a tool in business. It is just a part of the machinery.”
“Profit is not a cause but a result.”
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. ”
“The system is that there is no system.”
“When a business is bought, it is bought for its potential — for its future, not its past.”
Shipping Anyway
“Real artists ship.”
“We're gambling on our vision, and we would rather do that than make 'me too' products.”
“You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.”
“Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.”
“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do. ”
“Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.”
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Starting Out
“There is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer.”
“Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.”
“Entrepreneurship is the art of finding profitable solutions to problems.”
“If you can run one business well, you can run any business well.”
“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”
“A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now.”
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”
“Nothing is particularly hard if you subdivide it into small jobs.”
“The key to success for everything in business, science and technology is never to follow the others.”
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have.”
“Creativity is just connecting things.”
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