Business Advice for Young Entrepreneurs, from Those Who’ve Been There

As a young entrepreneur, you are following in the footsteps of some of the most famous and successful business owners in history. What wonderful company you’re in! 

Few, if any, successful entrepreneurs got where they did through so-called “overnight success.” It takes hard work, patience, grit, perseverance, and some old-fashioned know-how to reach those levels of success.  

From coming up with ideas to work-life balance, here’s some advice for those of you just starting your entrepreneurial path…from those who walked it before you. 

GETTING STARTED 

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney 

“The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.” – George Koufalis 

“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madam C.J. Walker 

“The things you regret most in life are the risks you didn’t take.” – Lewis Carroll 

“Dream big, start small, but most of all, start.” – Simon Sinek 

“In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love.” – Warren Buffett 

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of, ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” – Marissa Mayer 

“The key to success is to start before you’re ready.” – Unknown 

“People don’t take opportunities because the timing is bad, the financial side unsecure. Too many people are overanalyzing. Sometimes you just have to go for it.” – Michelle Zatlyn 

“Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.” – Wayne Huizenga 

“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” – Scott Belsky 

“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer and have a burning desire to succeed.” – Dave Thomas 

“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” – Sheryl Sandberg 

“The longer you’re not taking action the more money you’re losing” – Carrie Wilkerson 

“There are lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.” – Phil Libin 

STAYING MOTIVATED 

“My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — every day I’m learning something new.” -Richard Branson 

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs 

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou 

“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t. So that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” – Unknown 

“Quality is the best business plan.” – John Lasseter 

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs 

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar 

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk 

“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth 

FAILURE IS NOT THE END 

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford 

“I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” – Audre Lorde 

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.” – Richard Branson 

“It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed. You only have to be right once.” – Mark Cuban 

“The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.”– Seth Godin 

“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” – Oprah Winfrey 

“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.” – Vince Lombardi 

“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.” – Debbi Fields 

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie 

WHAT IS SUCCESS? 

“When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say ‘wow, that was an adventure,’ not ‘wow, I sure felt safe.’” – Tom Preston-Werner 

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell 

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Adair 

“Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” – Joyce Brothers 

“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.” – Richard Branson 

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius 

“In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love.” – Warren Buffett 

“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” – George S. Patton 

The Kantner Foundation awards college scholarships to young entrepreneurs in Florida. Click here to learn more and apply.