If there’s one thing that proves a healthy economy, it’s small businesses. Start-ups have been a foundational aspect of national and global businesses, and it’s pretty obvious that they’re here to stay. In the U.S. alone, Statista reports that over 266,000 small businesses were started in Q4 of 2019. That’s a 3.4% growth rate compared to the previous quarter.
However, starting a business is easier said than done, and in a quickly changing world, it’s essential for start-ups to stay ahead of the pack. While every company’s path to success is different, there are a few things that entrepreneurs need to keep in mind. If you’re looking for tips on how to keep your company on the path to success, then here are a few good ones.
1. Plan Your Journey
Every business owner big or small knows one thing: it’s better to plan for success. A plan means you have a direction and vision for your company. It means you’re forward-thinking, prepared for setbacks, and willing to put in the work for the long-term. But as it turns out, whether you have a plan or not isn’t the only thing that matters. It also matters when you put that plan together.
According to the Harvard Business Review, writing a business plan isn’t the only thing that’s important. HBR found that the most successful start-ups were those that wrote their business plans between six and 12 months after deciding to start their businesses. Entrepreneurs need to remain flexible while staying focused. Sometimes, that means waiting a little while before plotting out the next steps.
2. Engage Your Audience
Another thing you need to do is to make sure your audience is always engaged. How enthusiastic are your customers about your brand? How much of a presence do you have in their lives? Keeping your market interested might look easier than it is, but it’s definitely something you need to put the work into.
If you need a little refresher, you can look at our article on ‘How to Ensure You Have an Engaged Audience Online’. We talk about the importance of communicating with your market, whether through social media or other methods, as well as creating quality content and products that keep them coming back. You’ll also need to make use of data and data analytics to find out what works and what doesn’t. Engaging your customers might seem like a lot of work on top of running a business, but it’s absolutely worth the effort.
3. Make Use of All Available Tools
Finally, if you’re running a start-up you know that it’s important to keep creative. This means making use of all the tools you have in your arsenal. Nobody expects you to be good at everything at once, but with a limited budget and resources, you need to make the most of what’s available to you.
This means you need to invest in methods that give you the best returns. Take returning customers, for example. Are you really investing in getting them to come back? Marketing specialists Triadex Services suggest using methods like direct mail retargeting or Look Back programs to keep customers interested. Thinking out of the box and exploring methods like these are a surefire way to keep you in competition and ahead of the pack.
Every business is mostly as good as the owner. An entrepreneur’s qualities determine the growth and success of a business. As an employee, it is more straightforward to handle each specific task assigned to you, but as an entrepreneur, managing tasks is only basic to succeed. There are numerous soft skills a business owner must harness to move to the next level; else, success remains only a vision.
What are Soft skills?
Soft skills are personal traits and habits that shape how you work as an entrepreneur and with others. Effective communication and negotiation, for example, are vital soft skills for any successful business. Some others include active listening, positive mindset, initiative, or networking.
When we talk of hard skills vs. soft skills, we realize that soft skills are essential to personality qualities that can’t be learned from a textbook. In comparison, hard skills are necessary to perform technical tasks in a business.
Top Soft skills every entrepreneur must have to succeed in business
10 essential soft skills include:
Initiative
Negotiation
Leadership
Positive mindset
Networking
Communication
Creativity
Active listening
Discipline
Customer orientation
1. Initiative
To have initiative is to face new challenges flexibly, present ideas, resources, and innovative methods, and combine them to create a new order. An entrepreneur with the initiative is one that always knows when to compromise and make swift decisions. As an entrepreneur, the initiative to face every situation is essential to take your business forward.
Without these soft skills, it becomes very challenging to undertake tasks, especially unexpected tasks. As a team leader and an employer, you have to be able to work independently, take the first step, be adventurous, and be ready and willing to employ new methods/approaches.
2. Negotiation
The constant decrease in sales will put any business owner out of business. Without sales, there is no business. The ability to negotiate excellently comes naturally to some, but it can pretty much be learned with little intentional practices. Each time you converse with customers and clients, your ability to convince and give them a fair deal while getting what you want is the perfect soft skill to make higher sales.
The most vital soft skill that makes up an excellent negotiator is understanding both your body language and your customer’s. In a conversation, body language often matters more than the words spoken. When speaking to a customer, regardless of their stance on a deal, you can usually change their mindset with a show of confidence.
3. Leadership
Leadership is a quality that all entrepreneurs must develop. It is not enough to have a perfect idea or the ideal strategy to go about your business; those are hard skills. An entrepreneur must be able to influence other people’s decisions to accomplish a set goal. This is where we have hard skills vs. soft skills. You should be able to blend your hard skill and your soft skill to succeed in your business.
An entrepreneur should support and motivate others, mostly through exemplary actions and not just words. To demand and to give orders is easy, but the challenge is to show the example as a leader. To be a successful leader and entrepreneur, you must know your team, and they must be able to rely on you for support and morale.
4. Positive Mindset
Some soft skills are more generally acclaimed in a challenging business environment than a positive and optimistic mindset; nevertheless, it is very critical. You should note that a positive mindset isn’t about overlooking mistakes, or ignoring the negative impact of wrong decisions, just to remain positive. It is about the level of resilience and attitude your team brings into solving tasks and problems.
As an entrepreneur, it is vital to create a business environment and culture where change is accepted, embraced, and celebrated. Your team should be made up of resourceful individuals with flexibility and optimism.
5. Networking
The way you present yourself, say goodbye, or start a conversation is critical when building a business. Effective networking can lead to certain levels that few can imagine. Any entrepreneur that attends a networking event and goes unnoticed loses a gold mine of relationships and contacts. Networking is crucial and required to expand opportunities for business and professional growth.
Networking is a soft skill needed to increase your network of professional contacts. Without the right connections, there is no growth, and there is no business.
6. Communication
With the right communication level, you can easily transit the content of a product or an idea to employees, customers, other companies, or partners. As an entrepreneur, you must be aware of the importance of communication as an element of business strategy, and its improvement of the company.
To be an effective communicator, you must consider that every person has their different perception of the world. A business environment where there is an excellent level of communication is an open environment. Make no mistake: a free environment doesn’t just communicate ideas and strategies; it should also improve problem-solving.
7. Creativity
Creativity is one of the most necessary soft skills at a small and large scale because building from scratch with little funds demands to be imaginative in every detail. Also, the changes throughout the exercise require several gifts of imagination to face several unexpected challenges.
Someone capable of adding value to his or her business would be able to adapt and compromise anytime. A creative entrepreneur is one who knows to utilize limited resources to expound growth.
8. Active Listening
Active listening is an essential quality on the soft skills list for an entrepreneur looking to maintain the right level of communication and collaboration between employees, customers, and partners. It is vital for getting feedback from customers. Today, most businesses are customer-centric and are beginning to go to several lengths to pay attention to their customers to meet their needs. An excellent example of this is the famous taxi company – Uber. After complaints and several requests from users, the company added a 911 feature to their application.
When a customer gives feedback with an issue, as a business owner, you have to respond or consider the report if it requires an impending product or service improvement.
9. Discipline
The backbone of successful leadership is the steady discipline that profoundly does its job through both ups and downs. A successful business isn’t all about enthusiasm and passion. Those qualities and drives could deplete at any time, and that’s why every successful business owner, at some point, had to learn the skill of discipline. On the soft skills list, discipline is that skill that keeps you going even when the morale is down – there are days when the enthusiasm to push forward would be down.
At times when others are giving up or relenting to carry on, you as a business owner can’t afford to fall back. You have to keep making that push until you get to the desired level. Discipline is how you carry out every task and manage the business resources, including employees.
10. Customer Orientation
It is necessary to know and understand your customers to offer personalized experiences, and that is where there are enormous difficulties for business owners. Today customers are not a mass; they are individuals with differentiated and specific behaviors and tastes to whom personalized experiences must be offered. This soft skill is key to improving sales, the reputation of the business, and its image. It is required to differentiate the company from competitors
As a customer-oriented business, the customers should come first in the decision making process. To offer your customers personalized services, you and your team must have customers at the center of every strategy at an integral level.
Hard Skill vs. Soft Skill
Hard skills are associated with specific technical training and knowledge, while soft skills are personality traits such as creativity, communication, or a positive mindset. Both skills are necessary to grow and advance in business successfully.
Below, let’s look at the difference between hard and soft skills.
The difference between hard skills and soft skills
The significant differences between hard skills and soft skills are based on how they are acquired and used in the business and workplace. Hard skills are mostly acquired through specific training and education. They include competencies and abilities like how to use particular software, machine, or another tool. This is knowledge of how to handle a task technically.
While soft skills are seen as personality traits, you may have developed your whole life. They are required when you manage your time, communicate with others, or face difficult situations for the first time. Simply put, hard skills are better explained as your technical knowledge, while soft skills are your overall habits and attitude at work.
Finally
In conclusion, every successful business has its own success story, which can be spontaneous from the outside. Still, it does not necessarily display the qualities and sacrifices made by the owner.
Behind each success story lie an astounding number of soft skills honed until they became second nature. To shape your business story and forge ahead towards sustainable growth, you’ll be grateful to learn and cultivate as many soft skills as possible.
Tony Robbins is the number one coach on motivation and success in the world. He has created tons of videos, audios, and seminars to empower millions of people across the globe. Tony Robbin’s youtube channel has become an extremely popular source of getting some inspiration and learning how to cope with stresses. It is hard to imagine but four million people have already attended Tony Robbins live seminars. He is the author of such bestsellers as Awaken the Giant Within, MONEY Master the Game, Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook.
Moreover, Tony Robbins coached such famous people as Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. His quotes are powerful, inspiring, and motivate people to live their life to the fullest. Here is the collection of the best Tony Robbins quotes on motivation, change, and success.
55 Best Quotes By Tony Robbins That Will Motivate You
“Goals are like magnets. They’ll attract the things that make them come true.” – Tony Robbins
“If you can’t you must, and if you must you can.” – Tony Robbins
“Where focus goes, energy flows.” – Tony Robbins
“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.” – Tony Robbins
“In life, you need either inspiration or desperation.” – Tony Robbins
“Your past does not equal your future.” – Tony Robbins
“Every problem is a gift – without problems, we would not grow.” – Tony Robbins
“Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.” – Tony Robbins
“You can’t have a plan for your day, ‘til you have a plan for your life.” ― Tony Robbins
“If you talk about it, it’s a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.” ― Tony Robbins
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” ― Tony Robbins
“I’m here to tell you that it’s not important initially to know how you’re going to create a result. What’s important is to decide you will find a way, no matter what.” ― Tony Robbins
“Every man dies. Not every man lives.” ― Tony Robbins
“Know that it’s your decisions, and not your conditions, that determine your destiny.” ― Tony Robbins
“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself” ― Tony Robbins
“Whatever happens, take responsibility.” Tony Robbins
“Leaders are those individuals who live by empowering beliefs and teach others to tap their full capabilities by shifting the beliefs that have been limiting them.” ― Tony Robbins
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” ― Tony Robbins
“Money is nothing more than a reflection of your creativity, your capacity to focus, and your ability to add value and receive back.” ― Tony Robbins
“It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean.” ― Tony Robbins
“Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” ― Tony Robbins
“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy.” ― Tony Robbins
“If you do what you have always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” ― Tony Robbins
“Belief in limits creates limited people.” ― Tony Robbins
“Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning we give it.” ― Tony Robbins
“Some very wealthy people gain significance by hiding their wealth.” ― Tony Robbins
“Live with passion!” – Tony Robbins
“How you feel is not the result of what is happening in your life—it is your interpretation of what is happening.” – Tony Robbins
“Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” – Tony Robbins
“I do believe I am special. My special gift is my vision, my commitment, and my willingness to do whatever it takes.” – Tony Robbins
“Everything we do, we do for a reason.” – Tony Robbins
“The real joy in life comes from finding your true purpose and aligning it with what you do every single day.” – Tony Robbins
“The best opportunities come in times of maximum pessimism.” – Tony Robbins
“Life is really about creating meaning. And meaning does not come from what you get, it comes from what you give.” – Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins Quotes on Success
“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you.” – Tony Robbins
“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins
“Success comes from taking the initiative and following up… persisting… eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life?” – Tony Robbins
“You become what you do most of the time.” – Tony Robbins
“Success is buried on the other side of rejection.” – Tony Robbins
“Achievers rarely, if ever, see a problem as permanent, while those who fail to see even the smallest problems as permanent.” – Tony Robbins
“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” – Tony Robbins
“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” – Tony Robbins
“The road to success is always under construction. It is a progressive course, not an end to be reached.” – Tony Robbins
“The secret to wealth is simple: Find a way to do more for others than anyone else does. Become more valuable. Do more. Give more. Be more. Serve more. And you will have the opportunity to earn more—whether” – Tony Robbins
“Success is simple. First, you decide what you want specifically; and second, you decide you’re willing to pay the price to make it happen—and then pay that price.” – Tony Robbins
“That’s the whole secret: earn more, spend less, and automate it.” – Tony Robbins
“Success is processional. It’s the result of a series of small disciplines that lead us into habitual patterns of success that no longer require consistent will or effort.” – Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins Quotes on Change
“We aren’t in an information age, we are in an entertainment age.” – Tony Robbins
“Enjoy making decisions. You must know that in any moment a decision you make can change the course of your life forever” – Tony Robbins
“For changes to be of any true value, they’ve got to be lasting and consistent.” – Tony Robbins
“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.” – Tony Robbins
“You can be rich by having more than you need, or by needing less than you have.” – Tony Robbins
“Which do you tend to focus on more — what you have or what’s missing from your life?” – Tony Robbins
“I’ve found that 20 percent of any change is knowing how, but 80 percent is knowing why. ” – Tony Robbins
“The world we live in is the world we choose to live in, whether consciously or unconsciously. If we choose bliss, that’s what we get. If we choose misery, we get that, too.” – Tony Robbins
“Music can change the world because it can change people” Bono
Music has magic power. It affects our emotions and movements. Have you ever noticed how your favorite song could make you feel better after an awful day? Music can really heal. There is a practice in medicine called music therapy. As it was proved by scientists that music affects the human central nervous system and can evoke positive thoughts. Music can motivate and inspire. A motivating playlist listened either in the morning before the working day starts or during the day can improve your productivity in business, stimulate positive thinking and inspire you to do more. After the next tough day, each entrepreneur needs some relaxation, a bit of motivation and inspiration to move forward tomorrow, generate new ideas and inspire others. It is time for good music! What are the best motivational songs? I would like to share with you my playlist with motivational and inspirational songs that, in my opinion, should be listened to by every entrepreneur. This motivational playlist sounds so often from my phone that I almost know it by heart. So, here are 40 best motivational songs for entrepreneurs, let’s go!
If you like this motivational playlist, feel free to share it with your friends! And what are your favorite inspirational songs you usually listen to get some motivation?
Martin Luther King Jr. is highly known for his powerful speech “I Have a Dream”. He was an American activist and the Civil Rights Movement leader who influenced the flow of history. Today millions of people get inspired by his works and quotes that are spread worldwide. I would like to share with you the most powerful and inspiring Martin Luther King quotes on life, leadership, education, equality, and peace. Enjoy the collection and stay inspired!
Inspiring Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes
“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“No person has the right to rain on your dreams.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Love your enemies” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The Universe is on the side of Justice” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The richer we have become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The worst of all tragedies is not to die young, but to live until I am seventy-five and yet not ever truly to have lived.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We cannot walk alone.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”- Martin Luther King Jr.
“Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you’re nobody.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must use time creatively.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes On Leadership
“There is no gain without a struggle.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Courage faces fear and thereby masters it” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes On Education
“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The group consisting of mother, father, and child is the main educational agency of mankind.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Intelligence plus character; that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes On Equality
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out of the true meaning of its creed: “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes About Peace
“Be the peace you wish to see in the world!” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the existence of justice for all people.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Please be peaceful. We believe in law and order.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes About Freedom
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“There is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest. That’s all.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Freedom has always been an expensive thing. History is a fit testimony to the fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes About Love
“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Everybody can be great; you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Hate is too big of a burden to bear. I have decided to love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.”
Simon Sinek is one of the most famous motivational speakers in the world. He inspires entrepreneurs to achieve success by being a leader and following their passion. Simon Sinek is the author of five bestsellers, such as ‘Start With Why’, ‘Leaders Eat Last’, ‘Together Is Better: A Little Book Of Inspiration’, ‘The Infinite Game’, and ‘Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team’. His advice on how to become successful is being actively promoted via all the media channels to motivate millions of starting entrepreneurs. For that reason I decided to collect the most insightful Simon Sinek quotes to show what it means to be a true leader and run a successful business.
The Best Simon Sinek Quotes On Leadership, Change, And Success:
“Don’t quit. Never give up trying to build the world you can see, even if others can’t see it.” – Simon Sinek
“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” – Simon Sinek
“If you can clearly articulate the dream or the goal, start.” – Simon Sinek
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
“It doesn’t matter when we start. It doesn’t matter where we start. All that matters is that we start.” – Simon Sinek
“It is better to disappoint people with the truth than to appease them with a lie.” – Simon Sinek
“Bad leaders believe that they have to project control at all times.” – Simon Sinek
“Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting and, most importantly, a way of communicating.” – Simon Sinek
“A leader’s job is not to do the work for others, it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.” – Simon Sinek
“No matter when or where, always bring your ‘A’ game, because you never know when it will open doors for you.” – Simon Sinek
“When you are an optimist, life has a funny way of looking after you.” – Simon Sinek
“100% of customers are people. 100% of employees are people. If you don’t understand people you don’t understand business.” – Simon Sinek
“The quality of a leader cannot be judged by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks.” – Simon Sinek
“The cost of leadership is self-interest.”– Simon Sinek
“If no one ever broke the rules, then we’d never advance.” – Simon Sinek
“Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that doesn’t yet exist and the ability to communicate it.” – Simon Sinek
“Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start.” – Simon Sinek
“If you have a gift, it is called a gift for a reason: you have to give it away.” – Simon Sinek
“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it, or you can inspire it.” – Simon Sinek
“There are two kinds of experts: academic experts and practical experts. One is not better than the other, but they are very different, and each offers a very different value.” – Simon Sinek
“You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.” – Simon Sinek
“Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or do. Life is beautiful because of the people we meet.”– Simon Sinek
“There is a difference between giving directions and giving direction.” – Simon Sinek
“The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.” – Simon Sinek
“The only way to ‘find out if it will work out’ is to do it.” – Simon Sinek
“If you want to feel happy, do something for yourself. If you want to feel fulfilled, do something for someone else.” – Simon Sinek
“When we try to please everyone, we end up pleasing no one… least of all ourselves.” – Simon Sinek
“Nike doesn’t want to make products for everyone – they want to make products for champions.” – Simon Sinek
“Innovators are the ones whose dreams are clearer than the reality that tells them they’re crazy.” – Simon Sinek
“The goal is not to be perfect by the end, the goal is to be better today.” – Simon Sinek
“If you have the opportunity to do amazing things in your life, I strongly encourage you to invite someone to join you.” – Simon Sinek
“The responsibility of leadership is not to come up with all the ideas. The responsibility of leadership is to create an environment in which great ideas can thrive.” – Simon Sinek
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, you are a leader.” – Simon Sinek
“A boss has the title. A leader has the people.” – Simon Sinek
“We are not victims of our situation. We are the architects of it.” – Simon Sinek
“If you want to achieve anything in this world, you have to get used to the idea that not everyone will like you.” – Simon Sinek
“Safe is good for sidewalks and swimming pools, but life requires risk if we are to get anywhere.” – Simon Sinek
“To succeed takes more than the desire to win. It also takes the acceptance that we could fail.” – Simon Sinek
“Most of us live our lives by accident—we live as it happens. Fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose.” – Simon Sinek
“Value is not determined by those who set the price. Value is determined by those who choose to pay it.” – Simon Sinek
“Don’t give to get. Give to inspire others to give.” – Simon Sinek
“Leadership is not a license to do less; it is a responsibility to do more.” – Simon Sinek
“Let us all be the leaders we wish we had.” – Simon Sinek
“The greatest contribution of a leader is to make other leaders.” – Simon Sinek
Richard Branson is an inspiring serial entrepreneur, a billionaire, an author of bestsellers, and a true leader for millions of people. He gained success in business when he was 16 and managed to grow a Virgin-branded empire since that time. Richard Branson is a founder of hundreds of successful companies in such spheres as Retail, Mobile, Health Care, Aviation, Radio, Internet, Finance, and others. His quotes are being published and promoted worldwide by international media companies to inspire entrepreneurs and show how many opportunities each of us has in business.
So here is the list of the most powerful Richard Branson quotes for entrepreneurs on business, employees, leadership, and success.
Richard Branson quotes on business
“I have always been driven by the desire to change things for the better.” – Richard Branson
“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson
“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Richard Branson
“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard Branson
“As your business expands, you’ll find that however successful a quarter has been, you can always do better next time. Rather than being discouraged, view this as an opportunity – another go at making a lasting, positive contribution to the world.” – Richard Branson
“There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” – Richard Branson
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over, and it’s because you fall over that you learn to save yourself from falling over.” – Richard Branson
“Business isn’t about ties, suits, and briefcases. It’s about adventure.” – Richard Branson
“If you aren’t proud of what you’re doing, why should anybody else be?” – Richard Branson
“There’s no point in starting a business unless you’re going to make a dramatic difference to other people’s lives. So if you’ve got an idea that’s gonna make a big difference to other people’s lives, then just get on and do it.” – Richard Branson
“A delegation is a balancing act but when you get it right, that’s when growth happens.” – Richard Branson
“Listen. Take the best. Leave the rest.”- Richard Branson
“Any successful entrepreneur knows that time is more valuable than the money itself.” — Richard Branson
“One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.” – Richard Branson
“Starting your own business isn’t just a job – it’s a way of life.” – Richard Branson
“Whenever you are setting up a new project, the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who are better than yourself, have different skills and a healthy combination of enthusiasm and experience.” – Richard Branson
“I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn’t really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going.” – Richard Branson
“All ideas are second-hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources.” – Richard Branson
“If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.”– Richard Branson
“If your business is focused on solving a problem that everyone has, it stands a really good chance at being successful.” – Richard Branson
“Every referral you receive is a potential business opportunity.” – Richard Branson
“From my very first day as an entrepreneur, I’ve felt the only mission worth pursuing in business is to make people’s lives better.” – Richard Branson
“Be or become an agent of positive change in your own enterprise and adopt responsible practices to eliminate the risks that often lie at the root of inequality and poverty.” – Richard Branson
Richard Branson quotes on employees
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson
“I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers” – Richard Branson
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”- Richard Branson
“There’s so much to be gained from working with a collective of people who support each other to achieve great things.” – Richard Branson
“When hiring somebody, I never ask to see a curriculum vitae. I feel that since I didn’t have one myself, it would be a bit presumptuous to ask to see anyone else’s.” – Richard Branson
Richard Branson quotes on leadership
“Only a fool never changes his mind.” – Richard Branson
“Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.” – Richard Branson
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Richard Branson
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” – Richard Branson
“Listen – it makes you sound smarter.”– Richard Branson
“I believe that listening is one of the most important skills for any teacher, parent, leader, entrepreneur or, well, just about anyone who has a pulse.” – Richard Branson
“Respect is about how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.” – Richard Branson
“The way to become a great leader is to look for the best in people – seldom criticize – always praise.”- Richard Branson
“And once we decide to do something, we should never look back, never regret it.” – Richard Branson
“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Richard Branson
“…with extreme wealth comes extreme responsibility. And the responsibility for me is to invest in creating new businesses, create jobs, employ people, and to put money aside to tackle issues where we can make a difference.” – Richard Branson
“All you have in business is your reputation – so it’s very important that you keep your word.” – Richard Branson
Richard Branson quotes on success
“As soon as something stops being fun, I think it’s time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live.” – Richard Branson
“…to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running” – Richard Branson
“Whatever your goal is you will never succeed unless you let go of your fears and fly.” – Richard Branson
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” – Richard Branson
“The most important thing I think I can say is just to look for the best in people all the time. If you look for the best, you’re going to draw out the best in people.” – Richard Branson
“Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.” – Richard Branson
“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson
“Long-term success will never come if profit is the only aim.” – Richard Branson
“Success for me is whether you have created something that you can be really proud of.” – Richard Branson
“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 era of procrastination is coming to a close. In its place, we are entering a period of consequences.” – Richard Branson
“Well, I think that there’s a very thin dividing line between success and failure. And I think if you start a business without financial backing, you’re likely to go the wrong side of that dividing line.” – Richard Branson
Richard Branson quotes on family
“Being able to spend as much time as possible with your loved ones is absolutely vital, especially early on.” – Richard Branson
“Business and awards don’t mean that much. There is nothing more important than the health of you and your loved ones. Life is certainly too short not to appreciate people who have been significant in it.” – Richard Branson
“I cannot remember a moment in my life when I have not felt the love of my family. We were a family that would have killed for each other – and we still are.”- Richard Branson
Almost every person can find at least one introvert’s feature that is similar to his own.
Either you don’t like seeing unknown phone numbers calling to you, or you could feel uncomfortable in the crowded place, or maybe, you enjoy being alone for some time.
Nevertheless, true introverts really suffer a lot, because the modern world dictates its own rules of a successful living where everyone strives to be in the center of attention, wants to be loved by the society and enjoys being carefully followed.
Introverts hate being in the center of attention. They go through hell every time they have to ask unknown people something and almost are ready to die visiting a party.
But in fact, introverts have more strengths, than weaknesses. They can be good leaders and can easily build any business they want.
And I’ll try to explain my point.
Introverts vs Extroverts
All our actions are driven by inner energy. The main difference between introverts and extroverts lies in the source of this energy.
Introverts get energy spending time alone and lose it when they are among people for a long period of time.
While there is an opinion that introverts are shy people it is not really so. Introverts’ problems are connected with the necessity to socialize. And the only reason why introverts don’t feel comfortable among people long is that they need to recharge being alone with their thoughts. There is a quote by Charles Bukowski that describes introverts the best, – ‘People empty me. I have to get away to refill.’
As for extroverts, they recharge while socializing and feel the lack of energy after spending too much time alone.
Extroverted people boost their energy by communicating with other people. They are the stars of public meetings and socializing is a breath of fresh air for them.
Can introverts become extroverts?
How an introvert can become an extrovert is one of the most popular questions on the web. A great desire of introverted people to get extraverted characteristics is connected with the necessity to be in an active social position today. If you want to succeed in business you need to develop your personal brand, show up in videos, be an active speaker, and run effective communications.
So, can introverts become extroverts? No. By saying ‘no’ I mean that introverts cannot change their nature and one day just start getting energy from being in crowded places. Being alone with own thoughts is a genuine way to recharge for them.
But introverts can develop extroverted skills and this is how:
Become a leader and help other people to achieve results in your niche
Introverts feel comfortable among people they know. Taking an active leadership position in a team will give an opportunity to develop new habits of mentoring others, and as a result, public speaking.
Leave your comfort zone
Take challenges and leave your comfort zone in order to develop new extraverted traits. If you hate networking visit one event and take initiative in communication during this meeting. If you don’t like public speaking try this skill during the next business event.
Find extroverted leaders
Create a list of people you follow who are extroverts. Define what you love the most about them and what characteristics you would like to develop yourself.
Push yourself to spontaneous actions
Introverts are deep thinkers and spontaneous activities are not their cup of tea. What if you give it a try?
Plan your networking activities beforehand
If you are planning to visit an event learn the list of visitors, find these people on social media and say hi before the meeting. This will give an opportunity to feel more energized for some time.
Why introverts succeed in business
1. Introverts generate ideas that solve problems
Do you know where a startup starts? It starts with the idea.
But there are millions of ideas generated every day and only tens of them can be really worthy of attention.
The problem is that it is not enough to have any creative ideas. Your future product should be valuable, go in pace with time and help people to solve problems.
Introverts are creative thinkers. Besides, they have a passion for deep analysis of everything that happens in the world.
And that is the reason why introverts have more successful ideas for startup projects.
They not only create ideas but analyze them. They can easily find the root of the problem and focus on its solution.
As a result, startups created by introverts are more likely to succeed.
2. Introverts run effective communications
Starting any startup requires networking and active collaboration.
Social obligations are a real challenge for introverts. They hate being involved in public speeches, cold calls, and overcrowded meetings.
But! Fortunately, there are so many ways to avoid calls and meetings but stay in touch and run discussions.
And that is where introverts win.
Introverts think first, talk later. They run effective communication paying more attention to analysis and staying focused on details. They are perfect writers and researchers. In such a way, any collaboration can be even more productive.
According to Carmen Nobel, a Harvard Business school professor, “An introverted leader is more likely to listen to and process the ideas of an eager team”.
Introverts have more influencing power than anybody else. They never talk a lot, but when they make a decision, it is always well-thought-out.
Introverts are proved to be strong CEOs. Here is the list of top leaders and celebrities who are introverts:
Mark Zuckerberg
Bill Gates
Marissa Mayer
Barack Obama
Guy Kawasaki
Tom Ford
Steven Spielberg
J.K Rowling
Mahatma Gandhi
Hillary Clinton
You definitely know these people, don’t you?
So, leadership is another strong quality of introverts opening a door to successful entrepreneurship.
10 best side hustles for introverts
Blogging
One of the best decisions for introverts is starting a blog. Introverts are thinkers and can easily analyze and structure tons of information. This skill gives an opportunity to generate fresh valuable content that is highly important for a successful blogger.
Design
Introverts are creative people. People who like spending time with their thoughts have a good imagination. Additionally, introverts have their own perception of the world and it helps them to create unique designs and develop their own style in work.
Web development
Web development is a highly profitable way of making income online. Actually web development is a perfect side hustle for introverts as a computer is everything that a developer needs to work and get the results.
Freelance writing
Content creation is a part of a digital marketing strategy for any business. If you love writing and feel inspired creating quality content consider taking freelance orders.
Online surveys
Online surveys don’t bring lots of money but you can make some extra cash daily doing this job. Just keep in mind that some online surveys have regional restrictions and are not available for all the countries, so you need to check if your country is on the list before starting to work.
Virtual assistant
Most successful virtual assistance businesses started from doing virtual assistant jobs. You can be an assistant to a blogger, or find companies that don’t have their own marketing department and need professional help with social media.
Translating
If you know at least one foreign language consider translation as a profitable side hustle. Select a niche you would like to work in and find companies that can be interested in translation services.
Digital marketing
Targeting manager, social media manager, content strategist, or SEO specialist – it is only some jobs for introverts that can bring a regular income.
Online tutoring
Start a tutoring business from home and you won’t need to visit classes anymore. Use Instagram or YouTube to deliver quality content and attract new clients.
Handmade
If you love creating something with your hands handmade is a perfect niche. Fortunately, nowadays there are no problems with getting clients for your products – just open an online shop on Etsy.com or sell products on Instagram.
Sum up
If you are an introvert and suffer because of that, stop doing this. You have so many strengths that entrepreneurship is definitely your cup of tea.
Just one advice I followed one day:
Start believing in yourself and you’ll feel stronger and more confident.
In conclusion, I would like to share one of my favorite videos for motivation. Enjoy it!
Albert Einstein is not only a theoretical physicist and father of physics, but he is also a legend of all times who inspires the modern generation to study science and get an education. There is hardly a person in the world who knows nothing about Albert Einstein. He is a deep thinker and high achiever whose talent and works made a great impact on the history of science. So, I decided to share with you the list of my favorite Albert Einstein’s quotes on technology, education, and imagination since they are very inspiring and still relevant today.
1. “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein
2. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein
3. “The only source of knowledge is the experience.” – Albert Einstein
4. “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” – Albert Einstein
5. “Once you stop learning, you start dying” – Albert Einstein
6. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
7. “I never teach my pupils, I only provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein
8. “I CAN is 100 times more important than IQ.” – Albert Einstein
9. “The more I study science the more I believe in God.” – Albert Einstein
10. “I have no special talents, I am just passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein
11. “The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library” – Albert Einstein
12. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein’s quotes on technology
13. “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” – Albert Einstein
14. “I fear the day the technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” – Albert Einstein
15. “Technological progress is like an ax in the hands of a pathological criminal.” – Albert Einstein
16. “The human spirit must prevail over technology.” – Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein’s quotes on imagination
17. “All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
18. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
19. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” – Albert Einstein
20. “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.” – Albert Einstein
21. “The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
22. “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
23. “Imagination is the highest form of research.” – Albert Einstein
24. “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” – Albert Einstein
25. “A ship is always safe at shore but that is not what it’s built for.” – Albert Einstein
26. “Failure is a success in progress.” – Albert Einstein
27. “Everybody is a genius. But is you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
28. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
29. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
30. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein
31. “You never fail until you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein
32. “Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity. …and I am not sure about the universe.” – Albert Einstein
33. “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
34. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
35. “What is right is not always popular., and what is popular is not always right.” – Albert Einstein
36. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
37. “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein
38. “If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is playing, and z is keeping your mouth shut.” – Albert Einstein
39. “It is not that I am so smart, it is just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
40. “A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.” – Albert Einstein
41. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
42. “A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.” – Albert Einstein
43. “Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.” – Albert Einstein
44. “I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.” – Albert Einstein
45. “Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore.” – Albert Einstein
Elon Musk is the number one person in the modern business world who is associated with the word “innovation”. Tesla Motors and SpaceX have already become the companies of the future where everyone will use electric cars and plan travels to space.
According to Forbes, Elon Musk’s net worth is currently $20B! And I think there are no entrepreneurs who wouldn’t be inspired by this true genius and a powerful leader.
Elon Musk inspires millions of people worldwide to become creators of the future and I think this is what every successful leader should do.
As a true fan and follower of Elon Musk, I would like to share my favorite list of his business quotes on innovation and success. Hope you’ll get a dose of energy to achieve your goals just like me.
Elon Musk business quotes on innovation and success:
1. “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.”
2. “Don’t be afraid of new arenas.”
3. “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.”
4. “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”
5. “My motivation for all my companies has been to be involved in something that I thought would have a significant impact on the world.”
6. “Great companies are built on great products.”
7. “If humanity doesn’t land on Mars in my lifetime, I would be very disappointed.”
8. “Starting a business is not for everyone. Starting a business – I’d say, number one is have a high pain threshold.”
9. “Any product that needs a manual to work is broken.”
10. “A failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
11. “If something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor”
12. “I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.”
13. “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.”
14. “If the rules are such that you can’t make progress, then you have to fight the rules”
15. “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change as the alternative is a disaster.”
16. “I want to be able to think about the future and feel good about that — that we’re doing what we can to have the future be as good as possible, to be inspired by what is likely to happen and to look forward to the next day.”
17. “I think life on Earth must be about more than just solving problems… It’s got to be something inspiring, even if it is vicarious.”
18. “I always have optimism, but I’m realistic. It was not with the expectation of great success that I started Tesla or SpaceX…. It’s just that I thought they were important enough to do anyway.”
19. “In order for us to have a future that’s exciting and inspiring, it has to be one where we’re a space-bearing civilization.”
20. “I think most of the important stuff on the Internet has been built. There will be continued innovation, for sure, but the great problems of the Internet have essentially been solved.”
21. “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
22. “We’re already cyborgs. Your phone and your computer are extensions of you, but the interface is through finger movements or speech, which are very slow.”
23. “I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact”
24. “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”
25. “When somebody has a breakthrough innovation, it is rarely one little thing. Very rarely, is it one little thing. It’s usually a whole bunch of things that collectively amount to a huge innovation.”
26. “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”
27. “What makes innovative thinking happen? I think it’s really a mindset. You have to decide.”
28. “If we drive down the cost of transportation in space, we can do great things.”
29. “You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.”
30. “Things are going to grow exponentially, so there’s a big difference between five and 10 years.”
31. “I always invest my own money in the companies that I create.”
32. “Company death – not succeeding with the company – causes me a lot more stress than physical danger”
33. “The path to the CEO’s office should not be through the CFO’s office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design”
34. “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.”
35. “My biggest mistake is probably weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.”
36. “If you want to grow a giant redwood, you need to make sure the seeds are OK, nurture the sapling and work out what might potentially stop it from growing all the way along. Anything that breaks it at any point stops that growth.”
37. “There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.”
38. “Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40-hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100-hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.”
39. “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But a brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.”
40. “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?”
41. “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.”
42. “Optimism, pessimism, f*ck that – we’re going to make it happen.”
