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| Photo by Cliff Booth |
Over the past years we’ve seen a steady growth of women in business taking up space and creating revolutionary brands that spans for decades. Estée Lauder built her empire one door at a time. She literally knocked and asked people to try her creams. Elizabeth Arden did something similar with sheer persistence and grit and turned a small salon into a name everyone knew worldwide. Neither of them had it easy, and neither pretended otherwise, which might be why their words still hold up decades later.
In celebration of these strong women, we pulled together 30 quotes from women entrepreneurs across different industries and eras, and instead of just listing them one after another, we grouped them by theme: resilience, grit, confidence, courage, leadership, and branding. Some of these women you’ll recognize immediately. Others you might not, but their advice hits just as hard.
Resilience & Learning from Failure
What separates women who build lasting businesses from those who give up after the first setback often isn’t talent, it’s how they relate to failure itself. Ann Handley’s reminder that your early work doesn’t have to be good takes the pressure off starting; Oprah pushes that further, framing the inevitable stumble as proof you’re actually on the wire instead of watching from the sidelines.
Melinda Emerson reframes the entire win/lose binary, in her view, a loss that teaches you something isn’t really a loss at all. Mary Anne Radmacher’s quieter definition of courage feels almost like the emotional companion piece to that idea: resilience isn’t a dramatic comeback, it’s just showing up again tomorrow. And Ariana Huffington ties it together, success was never about getting it flawlessly right, it was about refusing to stop.
1. “Be amateur. Not everything you do has to be good especially at first..”
Ann Handley
2. “Do the one thing you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never truly tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This it you moment. Own it..”
Oprah
3. “You will never lose in business, either you win or you learn..”
Melinda Emerson
4. “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
5. “Success is not about perfection. It’s about perseverance..”
Ariana Huffington
Grit & Hard Work
There’s a persistent myth that entrepreneurship is glamorous from day one, and also that success arrives through some polished master plan. Anita Roddick pushes back on that hard, calling entrepreneurship what it actually is for most people: survival, the scrappy business of buying and selling before it’s anything more sophisticated.
Madame C.J. Walker echoes that same sentiment, she never found a shortcut, only the willingness to put in the work. Estée Lauder’s two quotes here bookend the idea nicely: she sold hard because she believed hard, and she never dreamed her way to success, she worked her way there. Charlene Walters rounds it out with a number that feels almost like relief, it’s mostly hard work, only a sliver of it is luck or timing, which means the outcome is actually in your hands.
6. “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
7. “I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it and I sell it hard
Estée Lauder
8. There is no royal-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..”
Madame C.J. Walker
9. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it..”
Estée Lauder
10. “You can never follow exactly what someone else did and expect it to work. You have to find your own route, leaning heavily on your confidence, trial and error, patience and persistence. It’s about 90 percent hard work and ten percent timing and luck..”
Charlene Walters
Confidence & Authentic Self
Confidence in business isn’t about mimicking what already works, it’s about trusting the version of yourself that doesn’t look like anyone else’s template. Ari Horie’s advice cuts against the instinct to conform, urging women to notice their natural way of being rather than forcing themselves into a mold society hands them.
Sara Blakely takes that a step further: the things you don’t know aren’t a liability to hide, they’re often the exact reason you’ll approach a problem differently than everyone who came before you. Coco Chanel frames that same independence as an act of bravery, thinking for yourself is one thing, but saying it out loud is what actually takes nerve.
Tina Fey’s line reframes the whole competitive landscape; you’re not sizing yourself up against other women, you’re simply in the arena with everyone else, full stop. And Amanda Kahlow brings it back to something steadier than confidence for its own sake, staying anchored to your own vision, listening to input without being knocked off course by it.
11. “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
12. 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
13. “The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud..”
Coco Chanel
14. “You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone..”
Tina Fey
15. Stay true to yourself and your vision. Don’t let any person’s opinion move you; listen. But be confident
Amanda kahlow
Courage to Act
Knowing what to do isn’t the hard part for most aspiring entrepreneurs, starting is. Ali Brown gets at why the leap matters so much: no personal development tool teaches you faster than actually running the business yourself, which means the growth only starts once you begin.
Meg Whitman makes the cost of hesitation explicit, waiting feels safer than making a mistake, but inaction quietly costs more than any misstep would. Catherine Cooke puts it even more bluntly: delay isn’t neutral, it curdles into regret if you let it sit too long.
Audre Lorde’s question flips the fear itself into a tool, naming the worst-case outcome usually makes it smaller than it felt in your head, and clears the way to push past it. Caroline Cummings closes the loop with the plainest instruction of all: comfort might feel good, but it’s not where anything grows, so the leap has to happen sometime.
16. “There is no better personal development tool than running your own business..”
Ali Brown
17. “The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of a mistake..”
Meg whitman
18. “To any entrepreneur: if you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it..”
Catherine Cooke
19. Next time, ask: what’s the worst that will happen? Then push yourself a little further than you dare..”
Audre Lorde
20. “The comfort zone is a nice place, but nothing grows there. Take a leap today and start your business..”
Caroline Cummings
Branding, Vision & Selling
A product can be excellent and still go nowhere if nobody understands why it matters or who it’s for, which is why branding and selling aren’t separate skills from building the business, they’re part of it. Elizabeth Arden’s line about repetition becoming reputation gets at something people underestimate: customers don’t trust a brand after one impression, they trust it after enough consistent ones.
Amber Hurdle builds on that with a more concrete formula, a strong culture and clear, low-cost branding can command attention even without a massive marketing budget behind it. Anna Wintour’s observation is blunter still: certainty is magnetic, and people respond to founders who know exactly what they want, even before they’ve proven anything yet.
Mary Kay Ash pushes the ceiling on all of this higher — the limits most people hit aren’t external, they’re self-imposed, and belief tends to precede achievement rather than follow it. Tamara McCleary ties the whole theme together, a brand isn’t a logo or a tagline, it’s a story, and the founders who build something lasting are the ones who know their story well enough to keep sharing it.
21. “Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers..”
Elizabeth Arden
22. “A bombshell commands attention for her business with a strong culture, consistent branding, and simple, no-to-low cost marketing..”
Amber Hurdle
23. “People respond well to those that are sure of what they want..”
Anna Wintour
24. “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind let’s you. What you believe, you can achieve..”
Mary Kay Ash
25. Building a brand means knowing your story and building and sharing that story
Tamara McCleary
Leadership & Team Culture
Once a business grows past a single founder, the real work shifts from having good ideas to building the kind of environment where other people can do their best work too. Mellody Hobson’s advice sets the tone early, surrounding yourself with people who don’t think like you isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s what keeps a company from calcifying into one perspective.
Kat Cole widens that further, tying leadership to empathy for everyone a decision touches, not just the bottom line it protects. Mary Barra strips away the ego that often blocks good leadership, admitting what you don’t know and actually listening to the people you lead isn’t weakness, it’s the job.
Caterina Fake’s observation about optimism fits here too; leading a team through uncertainty takes someone who can hold hope even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. And Sheryl Sandberg brings it back to the people themselves, a team that feels respected and genuinely bought into the mission will carry a company further than any strategy alone.
26. “Invite people into your life that don’t look or think like you..”
Mellody Hobson
27. “Leadership is about the team – the culture they keep and embrace, it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business, it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect..”
Kat Cole
28. “It’s okay to admit what you don’t know. It’s okay to ask for help. And it’s more than okay to listen to the people you lead – in fact, it’s essential..”
Mary Barra
29. “The most successful entrepreneurs I know are optimistic. It’s part of the job description..”
Caterina Fake
30. “Make your team fell respected, empowered and genuinely excited about the company’s mission..”
Sheryl Sandberg