Top 62 Empowering Quotes For Female Entrepreneurs

Pat Walls

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Updated: January 19th, 2023

Top 62 Empowering Quotes For Female Entrepreneurs

Starting a business comes with its fair share of challenges.

Sometimes, all we need is a little motivation and words of wisdom to focus in on what's really important.

We put together a list of 62 empowering quotes for female entrepreneurs.

Here they are:

Inspirational Quotes

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“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, Co-founder of CloudFlare
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as a survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it’s about trading: buying and selling.” – Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” – Madonna
“A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” – Melinda Gates
“Walt Disney told his crew to ‘build the castle first’ when constructing Disney World, knowing that vision would continue to serve as motivation throughout the project. Oftentimes when people fail to achieve what they want in life, it’s because their vision isn’t strong enough.” – Gail Blanke, President and CEO, Lifedesigns
“So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” – Caterina Fake, Co-founder, Flickr
“Making the decision to not follow a system, or someone else’s rules has allowed me to really dig into what my own strengths and gifts are without spending time feeling jaded or wasteful.” – Ishita Gupta, founder of Fear.less Magazine
“Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected.” – Lynda Barry
”The glass ceiling that once limited a woman’s career path has paved a new road towards business ownership, where women can utilize their sharp business acumen while building strong family ties.” – Erica Nicole, who left Corporate America to start YFS Magazine.
“Entrepreneurship is the last refuge of the troublemaking individual.” – Natalie Clifford Barney
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou

Professional Quotes

“There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.” – Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female entrepreneur millionaire
“You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.” – Tina Fey
“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou
“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.
“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” – Anaïs Nin
“I’m not a businessman — I’m a business, man.” – Jay-Z
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” – Roseanne Barr
“Don’t just stand for the success of other women – insist on it.” – Gail Blanke, President and CEO, Lifedesigns
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” – Madeleine Albright
“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.” —Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post
“Follow your passion — and if you don’t know what it is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it.” —Oprah Winfrey
“I want every little girl who’s been told she’s bossy to be told again she has leadership skills.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook
“The difference between skill and talent: A skill is something you learn. Talent is what you can’t help doing.” —Caroline Ghosen, founder and CEO of career site Levo
“Build your business success around something that you love — something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.” —Martha Stewart, businesswoman, writer, and television personality
“In whatever you do, you’re not going to stand out unless you think big and have ideas that are truly original. That comes from tapping into your own creativity, not obsessing over what everyone else is doing.” —Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal

Life Quotes

“Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference.” —Alison Pincus, cofounder of One Kings Lane
“Life-fulfilling work is never about the money — when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it.” —Eileen Fisher, fashion designer
“I wake up every morning and think to myself, ‘How far can I push the company forward in the next 24 hours?’” —Leah Busque, founder and CEO of TaskRabbit
"People respond well to those that are sure of what they want." -- Anna Wintour, editor-in-Chief, American Vogue
"Whatever it is that you think you want to do, and whatever it is that you think stands between you and that, stop making excuses. You can do anything." -- Katia Beauchamp, co-founder and CEO, Birchbox.
"Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist: While you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!" -- Lori Greiner, inventor, QVC host and 'Shark Tank' investor.
"With kids, they don't do what you want them to do when you want them to do it. Organizations don't necessarily, either. You've got to listen. You've got to learn how to influence." -- Ellen J. Kullman, formerly Chair and Chief Executive Officer of DuPont.
"As a leader, it's a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow." -- Himanshu Bhatia, Founder and CEO, Rose International.
"Invite people into your life that don't look or think like you." -- Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments.
"This is what will change the world...a ground swell of people pouring their energy into manifesting their "preferred future" instead of being worn down by disillusion and disappointment." -- Molly Carlile, "The Deathtalker®" and international speaker/author.
"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." -- Estée Lauder
"The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves." -- Barbara Corcoran, real estate magnate and 'Shark Tank' investor.
"Life-fulfilling work is never about the money -- when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it." -- Eileen Fisher, fashion designer.
"Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference." -- Alison Pincus, co-founder, One Kings Lane
"Leadership is the ability to guide others without force into a direction or decision that leaves them still feeling empowered and accomplished." -- Lisa Cash Hanson, Snuggwugg CEO

Positive Quotes

"What I wanted was to be allowed to do the thing in the world that I did best--which I believed then and believe now is the greatest privilege there is. When I did that, success found me." -- Debbi Fields, the creator of Mrs. Fields.
"Find the smartest people you can and surround yourself with them." -- Marissa Meyer, CEO, Yahoo!
"Don't be intimidated by what you don't know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else." -- Sara Blakely, founder, Spanx
"Your job as leader is to stay as close in touch as possible with those closest to the action." -- Kat Cole, president, Focus Brands
"One of the most important things I have learned is that businesses don't fail, entrepreneurs give up. Now sometimes, giving up is the right decision. But usually you just need to dig in and figure out how to make things better. Remember: Every day is a new opportunity to get up and do it better than yesterday!" -- Adda Birnir, founder and instructor, Skillcrush
"True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed... Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection." -- Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
"Build something you're passionate about. As an entrepreneur, you have to have the passion and drive to stay the course." -- Alexandra Chong, CEO and founder, Lulu
"I know society says you should be a certain way, but I think [you should] stop and look at what is your natural way of being who you are." -- Ari Horie, founder, Women's StartUp Lab
"It's up to us to all challenge our own boundaries, our own comfort zones, and get out and see what else is out there in the world and what else is possible, and give ourselves a shot to go a little bit deeper, a little bit further." -- Jennifer Kushell, founder and CEO of Young & Successful Media and YSN.com (Your Success Now)
"Our fear of the unknown and our fear of making mistakes trick us into focusing on what we don't know or can't do. When we give ourselves the freedom to be uncertain and less than perfect, then we can start thinking, 'What do I know? What can I do?' That's when the adventure starts -- learning, thriving, conquering, failing, recouping, and having a ton of fun." -- Kristin Smith, COO, Dolly, Inc.
"If you are committed to creating value and if you aren't afraid of hard times, obstacles become utterly unimportant. A nuisance perhaps, but with no real power. The world respects creation; people will get out of your way." -- Candice Carpenter Olson, Co-CEO, Fullbridge
"Treating people with kindness and respect seems elementary but is not always reciprocated. I often run into people who tell me a story about how I impacted their life -- most often by an act of kindness that they never forgot." -- April Uchitel, chief brand officer, Spring
"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, Co-founder of CloudFlare
"Making the decision to not follow a system, or someone else's rules has allowed me to really dig into what my own strengths and gifts are without spending time feeling jaded or wasteful." -- Ishita Gupta, founder of Fear.less Magazine
"So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard." -- Caterina Fake, Co-founder, Flickr and Hunch.

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Starting A Women's Clothing Line: Everything You Need To Know

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meet the author

Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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