As an import entrepreneur, sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated. It’s not a normal job with 9-5 hours and a guaranteed pay cheque at the end of the month; you don’t have employees, bosses and co-workers to fall back on; there’s no security net. You’re on your own and you can’t rely on or blame anyone else. All the work and risk falls to you.
But so do all the rewards.
It’s a tough road, definitely; however, in the end, it’s also one of the most rewarding. Building your dream from the ground up, watching it succeed and knowing that every goal your business smashes is because of you is an incredible achievement. Here at Shippo, we have the privilege of being able to work alongside small business owners and entrepreneurs every day. We understand the challenges you face and the difficulty of staying focused and motivated – so we wanted to share a few motivational business quotes to inspire you to keep going!
23 Inspiring Quotes For Small Business Owners and Import Entrepreneurs
- “You were born to win. But to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.”
One of the toughest challenges people face is expecting failure. When you eradicate failure as an option, you leave yourself with no other option than to win. Plan, work and expect to succeed. - “If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs.”
If this isn’t motivation to build your dream, what is? It may be hard work – but the alternative is working for someone else helping them achieve theirs. - “The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
Unless you’re exceptionally lucky, chances are you aren’t going to off the bat become a viral sensation and earn a ridiculous amount of money. We wish it were that easy. Success comes as a product of hard work – often, years of it! Use this quote as a reminder to not get dejected when you aren’t rocketed to instant fame, or when something isn’t quite as successful as you first dreamed. In the real world, success takes work. You’ll get there in the end. - “Entrepreneurialism is being willing to spend a few years of your life how everyone else won’t so you can live the rest of your years like everyone else can’t.”
When your friends are out partying while you tweak your website design, you may feel like you’re missing out. They might call you boring, or try to encourage you to just skip out on your work. You may even be tempted – but remember: work hard now and reap the benefits later. It will all pay off in the end. - “Entrepreneurs are like sharks – they die when they stop moving forwards.”
One thing all entrepreneurs have in common is that they’re always plotting, planning and expanding. To stop generating ideas and new pathways is to stop growing, which is when your business starts dying. - “Just keep growing.”
Making sure that you don’t give up at the first hurdle is essential for running a successful business. As an entrepreneur, you should see everything as a lesson to learn and another chance to grow. - “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm”
It is inevitable that your business will face challenges. In an interview with one of our loyal customers, he explained how a lot of the failures he overcame ended up growing his business – “the transition to a new order fulfillment provider was difficult and I saw my costs go up. But it was hugely necessary in the long term and looking back it was a really good move.” – Olly, Panda eBikes (you can read the whole thing here) - “What’s the point in being alive if you don’t at least try to something remarkable?”
“What’s the point in being alive if you don’t at least try to something remarkable?”
Whether you fail or succeed, at least you’ve tried. In the end, looking back with the knowledge that at least you tried is far better than letting a brilliant idea slip away. 
“Focus on being productive rather than busy.”
Sometimes you need to tune out the background noise so that you can concentrate on what’s important. Make sure you attune your focus to being productive as a pose to just being busy; spending hours out of your day on little things that have no overall impact on your business is not going to help you grow.
“You haven’t failed; you’ve simply found 1,000 ways that don’t work. For future reference. Naturally.”
There aren’t enough times we can reiterate this message: failure is fine. Failure is even good. Failure shows that you’re trying and figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t. Don’t be afraid to fail – embrace it.
“There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”
Unfortunately, we all know that there’s no shortcut to success. You need to be ready for the grunt work; the long hours; the struggles – and you have to have your eyes set on the prize ahead of you to keep you going.
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
The key to success is hard work and lots of it; you need to persevere and continue through the tough times to reach the good.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new and daring things. Sure, they may not work – but they’re definitely not going to if you don’t even try.
“People that say it can’t be done should stop interrupting those doing it.”
Nothing is impossible; it’s all about your mindset. If people are dragging you down and saying it isn’t possible, then they’re clearly never going to achieve it. Don’t fall into the trap of dooming yourself to failure.
“Wake up with determination. Go to sleep with satisfaction.”
You have a lot of work to do – and you might feel a little daunted. It might seem overwhelming, long and extremely demotivating, but all you need is a change of perspective. Wake up with determination to get your important work done and when you do it don’t feel begrudged; feel satisfied!
“I never dreamt about success, I worked for it.”
Put that work in!
“It’s not about ideas; it’s about making ideas happen.”
You can be full of ideas, lack the execution and achieve nothing. Having ideas is great – but it’s implementing your ideas that makes you a success.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal.”
The market is constantly moving and changing; this means that reaching “success” doesn’t guarantee that you’ll stay there, but failing doesn’t mean it’s the end either. Constant change means there’s always room for improvement and always room to try new things – and that there’s always room for recovery.
“A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan next week.
We all know that “planning” is just another synonym for procrastination. Having a plan is good; it can help you stick to a schedule, maximize your efficiency and help create a clear vision for your business. What a plan doesn’t beat, however, is work. Having a good plan that you actually carry out is far better than having a perfect plan you don’t.
“If opportunity doesn’t come knocking, build a door.”
Sometimes it’s tempting to sit back and wait for things to happen; to trust that you’ll one day get your business’s big break and everything will snowball from there. Don’t wait for opportunity to come to you – create your own opportunities.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Direction and willingness to work is paramount. An idea is nothing without the execution – and your goals aren’t goals unless you’re working to reach them.
“Ambition is the path to success; perseverance is the vehicle you arrive in.”
- “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.”
Making sure that you don’t give up at the first hurdle is essential for running a successful business. As an entrepreneur, you should see everything as a lesson to learn and another chance to grow.
“Focus on being productive rather than busy.”
“You haven’t failed; you’ve simply found 1,000 ways that don’t work. For future reference. Naturally.”
“There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
“People that say it can’t be done should stop interrupting those doing it.”
“Wake up with determination. Go to sleep with satisfaction.”
“I never dreamt about success, I worked for it.”
“It’s not about ideas; it’s about making ideas happen.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal.”
“A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan next week.
“If opportunity doesn’t come knocking, build a door.”
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
“Ambition is the path to success; perseverance is the vehicle you arrive in.”
Contact Shippo
We hope you find these quotes helpful and motivating; remember that perseverance is the key to success so don’t give up now! Rome wasn’t built in a day and good things take time, hard work and a lot of lessons to grow. If you found this helpful, then other people surely will too – so don’t forget to share it!
Let Us Help You!
If you’re a small business owner importing your goods from overseas (China, India, etc.) then get in contact with us – we can help shave the costs off your importing with things like LCL Shipping and we give great advice. Don’t hesitate to give us a ring, or drop us an email and we would absolutely love to help!
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