Category Archives: Famous Business Quotes

40 Bible Quotes and Biblical Strategies for Business, Money and Wealth

What has the bible got to do with running a business? What is God’s stance with respect to doing business and making money? How does my spiritual life affect my business? Does wealth actually come from God? Does God give money? Well, i believe this article will help answer your questions.

As an entrepreneur, i have found the bible very helpful in certain situations. Now i study the bible regularly to strengthen my faith and seek spiritual guidance from God. Though i am not a religious fanatic, i acknowledge the sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus Christ; the author and finisher of our faith.

In the course of studying the bible, i always come across some quotes that added value to my life and business. These are famous bible quotes with respect to business, wealth and money. It is quite thrilling to know that the Holy Bible has many things to say about business, money and wealth.

So without wasting much of your time; below are God’s stand point with respect to business, money and wealth. For easier understanding, I will present them in form of quotes. Here are the famous biblical quotes I extracted while studying the bible.

 40 Bible Quotes and Biblical Strategies for Business, Money and Wealth

“Go to the ants, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. It has no guide, overseer or ruler, yet it provides its meat in the summer and gathers its food in the harvest.” – Proverbs 6: 6-8

2.   “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.” – Proverbs 10: 15

“But thou should remember the Lord your God; for it is he that gives the power to make wealth.” – Deuteronomy 8: 18

4.   “The blessings of the Lord make you rich and he adds no sorrow with it.”

5.   “A gracious woman retains honor; and strong men retain riches.” Proverbs 11: 16

6.   “In all labor, there is profit, but talk of the lips tends only to penury.” – Proverbs 14: 23

“For I know the thoughts I have towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah 29: 11

8.   “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber and a little folding of hands to sleep; so shall your poverty come.” – Proverbs 6: 10-11

“He that trusts in his riches shall fall.” – Proverbs 11: 28

“I wish you above all things that thou prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.” – 3rd John Vs 2

11.  “Wealth gotten by vanity shall diminish; but he that gathers by labor shall increase.” – Proverbs 13: 11

12.   “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” – Proverbs 13: 22

“For every beast of the forest are mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine” says the Lord of Host. – Psalm 50: 10-11

14.  “Where there are no oxen, the crib is clean but much increase is by the strength of the ox. – Proverbs 14: 4

“Ask and it shall be given unto you. If your son asks you for bread, will you give him stone? If he asks for fish, will you give him serpent? If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 7: 7-12

16.  “The poor is hated even by his neighbors; but the rich has many friends.” – Proverbs 14: 20

“Come let us reason together” says the LORD. ‘If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the fruit of the land.” – Isaiah 1: 18-19

18.  “The crown of the wise is their riches but the foolishness of fools is folly.” – Proverbs 14: 24

“Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace: thereby good shall come to thee. Then you shall lay up gold as dust; and the gold of O’phir, as the stones of the brooks. The LORD Gold Almighty shall be thy defense and thou shall have plenty of silver.” – Job 22: 21-25

20.  “Before honor is humility.” – Proverbs 15: 33

40 Bible Quotes and Biblical Strategies for Business, Money and Wealth

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” – 1st Corinthians 1: 25

22.   “He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man and he that loves wine shall not be rich.” – Proverbs 21: 17

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct all thy paths.” – Proverbs 3: 5-6

“It is better to trust in God than to put confidence in man.” – Psalm 118: 8

25.  “And it shall come to pass afterward; I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions ” Joel 2: 28

“Riches are with me, durable riches. My fruits is better than gold, and my revenue is better than choice silver.” – Proverbs 8: 18-19

“The silver is mine, the gold is mine” says the LORD of host.” – Haggai 2: 8

28.  “The poor and the rich meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.” – Proverbs 22: 2

“Give and it shall be given unto you. Good measures, press down, shaking together and running over, shall men give unto your bosom.”

“He that gives to the poor shall not lack.” – Proverbs 28: 27

40 Bible Quotes and Biblical Strategies for Business, Money and Wealth

“By strength alone, shall no man prevail.”

32.   “To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.  A time to plant and a time to harvest that; which is planted.  A time to break down and a time to build up” – Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

“He that observes the wind shall not sow and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.“

“The race is neither to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither is bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all.” – Ecclesiastes 9: 11

35.  “See thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before vain men.” – Proverbs 22: 29

“For whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave.”  – Ecclesiastes 9: 10

37.   “In the morning, sow your seed and in the evening, with hold not you hand; for you know not which one will prosper.“

38.  “For Wisdom is a defence and money is a defence.” – Ecclesiastes 7: 12

39.   “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” – Psalm 23: 1

40.  “I am the Lord your God, creator of heaven and earth. Is there anything too hard for me to do?

40 Famous Mafia Quotes about Life and Business from Mafia Manager

Have you read the book “The Mafia Manager?” If you are an entrepreneur or business owner and you have not read The Mafia Manager, then you are probably denying yourself knowledge of some no-nonsense leadership and business management techniques for accelerated business growth.

Today, I want to share with you 40 famous mafia quotes about life and business from The Mafia Manager. These famous mafia quotes about life and business are just a tip of the iceberg with respect to what is contained in The Mafia Manager. I have read The Mafia Manager time and over again because its lesson can be applied to business and life in general. I use the lessons learned from The Mafia Manager to improve my personal life and strengthen my business.

The Mafia Manager is a book containing the distilled wisdom of men who have managed one of the largest, most profitable and long lived cartels in the history of capitalism. The Mafia Manager gathers for the first time in one book the knowledge and percepts of the ruthless bosses whose genius at organization and management contributed far more to profitability and growth than the brute strength or conventional wisdom of the legitimate CEO.

So if you are ready to learn from the unconventional wisdom of The Mafia Manager; then read on as I share with you 40 famous quotes about life and business from The Mafia Manager.

 40 Famous Mafia Quotes about Life and Business from the Mafia Manager

1.            “The best way to enter our business is to be born into it.”

2.            “The business of the mafia is business.”

3.            “If the pot is boiling over, use a long spoon. If the house is on fire; warm yourself.”

4.            “Our principles are highest; honor, solidarity and vengeance. We know there’s no justice for us except we earn it. We earn respect.”

5.            “All problems resolves themselves; given time.”

6.            “Extreme problems often require extreme solutions.”

“Men stumble on stones, not mountains.”

8.            “Friends are not as important as family. Do not confuse the loyalty of friendship with the bond of blood.”

“The problem with friends is their candor. They will betray you if you let them and then they will tell you to your face why: ‘it’s nothing personal, just business.”

10.          “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”

11.          “A man without enemies is a man without qualities. Even Jesus Christ had many enemies.”

12.          “The world belongs to the patient man.”

13.          “If you can’t win by fighting fair, fight foul. Or have a third party do your fighting.”

“Even a mouse keeps three holes.”

15.          “God will provide, but you must provide till he does.”

40 Famous Mafia Quotes about Life and Business from the Mafia Manager

16.          “It takes a thousand blows to drive a nail in the dark.”

17.          “The best defense against the treacherous is treachery.”

18.          “A thousand enemies is not enough; a single enemy is. There is nothing as a ‘harmless’ enemy.”

“The best armor is to keep out of range.”

20.          “The best friend of a hungry buzzard is a dead horse. That is in another way of saying; even the son of a bitch has his uses.”

“When you are riding a fast fresh horse, don’t get off and walk it. Ride it as long as it lasts.”

22.          “Eagles don’t hunt flies.”

“When you skate on thin ice, skate fast.”

24.          “In a storm, pray to God but row for shore.”

25.          “When you must cut, persuade the victim you are a surgeon.”

26.          “Good medicine is always bitter.”

27.          “Every remedy of a bad situation has its bad side effects. Choose the remedy with the least.”

28.          He who pays well is well served.”

29.          “The big drum sounds good only from a distance.”

30.          “Never worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow, you might inherit a million dollars or be run over by a truck. Or inherit a million dollars and be run over by a truck.”

 40 Famous Mafia Quotes about Life and Business from the Mafia Manager

31.          “Money never goes to prison.”

“You can be rich without knowing how to be powerful but you cannot be powerful without money.”

33.          “Never reinforce failure; never marry a losing hand.”

“If you are the anvil, be patient. If you are the hammer; strike.”

35.   “When you compromise, you lose. When you seem to have compromise, you have taken a step towards winning.”

36.  “Fortune is on the side of the strong.”

37.  “For peace to reign, be ready for war.”

38.   “Better your enemies overestimate your stupidity than your shrewdness.”

39.   “After a victory, sharpen your knife.”

40.   “When you hunt, let the game come to you.”

Giorgio Armani Quotes on Business, Fashion and Life

Today, I will be sharing with you some business quotes from one of the richest drop out billionaires in the world and founder of the Armani fashion line; Giorgio Armani. Without wasting time, below are Giorgio Armani’s quotes on business, fashion and life.

                Giorgio Armani Quotes on Business, Fashion and Life

1.            Remember that, in the end, the customer doesn’t know or care if you are small or large as an organization. He or she only focuses on the garment hanging on the rail in the store.

2.            The world is changing and so is fashion.

3.            It would be difficult not to be a free agent. I am used to deciding things on my own. The choice of a partner who could work with me would be difficult. Maybe impossible!

4.            Our house was bombed and destroyed and my father didn’t make enough money to support us. There were five of us. Looking back, I realize that we didn’t even have enough to eat, just like many Italian families back then.

5.            My mother was the main reason I developed an interest in fashion. Though we grew up in post-war Italy and were very poor, she always ensured that my brother, sister and I were immaculately dressed. She was herself an innately elegant woman. In memory of her I named my yacht Mariu, which is the southern Italian dialect for Maria.

6.            My mother dressed in her best clothes, which were always simple but so elegant and sophisticated.

7.            There were planes flying over us and we were under bombs all of the time. Our parents used to wake us up at night to take us to the shelter.

8.            If you were a man you had to be a notary, a lawyer, or a doctor. I was feeling frustrated in the service, and was thinking about what else I could do with my life.

9.            I believe in destiny.

10.          Remain true to yourself and your philosophy. Changing in the face of adversity will in fact diminish your credibility with your customers.

11.          I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical.

12.          You have to think of the future. If not, we would close down!

13.          I find that fashion recently has been a little too hasty. Often times, it’s put together quickly to catch the attention of the media, and I didn’t want to do that.

14.          It’s much easier to make something that’s spectacular and showy than to make something that’s classic but at the same time current.

15.          I find it gratifying that I have launched a lasting style. But of course, I feel the need to reach forward to question myself, to take risks. I always want to refresh and renew.

16.          I pioneered a way of dressing that emphasized comfort, at a time when clothes were still being made in an old-fashioned and rigid way.

17.          I supposed it would have been great to invent something as classic and enduring as the tuxedo. But if I was collecting royalties, I wish I’d invented the corkscrew.

18.          At the beginning I loved westerns and Italian comedies, but later; I fell in love with the neorealist films that inspired my good friend Martin Scorsese. It was like being transported from the harsh reality of life in post-war Italy to this magical place. The stars were so glamorous and lager than life that I wanted somehow to share in that.

19.          I established an office in Los Angeles to provide an additional service to our film industry friends because I’ve always been passionate about film.

20.          As a designer, it’s always good to stretch yourself and the challenge of dressing people whose bodies are fine-tuned and developed is one that I particularly enjoy.

                Giorgio Armani Quotes on Business, Fashion and Life

 

21.          When I began making jeans, the press was skeptical that someone who made luxury ready-to-wear could start something so commercial. But I considered it a medium to speak with a less affluent clientele.

22.          I have always paid great attention to having brands that don’t overlap. I choose a brand for a particular market and balance my collections in terms of look, price, distribution and location.

23.          When the supply of fashion items becomes so enormous, the consumer tends to choose the leading brand, which means that others are left behind. And to establish real credibility is no simple matter.

24.          They have top designers but you can’t become credible overnight just on the basis of huge advertising campaigns.

25.          My work is my life. Even though it is good to take a holiday, after two vacations; it is boring.

26.          It’s a long process, the preparation of the hair and make up and it almost seems like I really shouldn’t be here sort of; people might think it’s a waste of my time. But, I need to have a presence here to sort of control what’s going on in terms of hair and make up.

27.          It gives me the freedom to pursue projects and initiatives that I feel passionate about; even if in the short term they may not deliver a financial return. Yes, but it would have kept me from seeing just what I myself cold accomplish. This kind of work is my entire life and the idea of seeing others manage it would have been very difficult, no, impossible.

28.          At the moment we are perfectly able to finance our projects without going onto the stock market to raise capital. If we were to become a listed company, I would have to be constantly justifying certain expenses to my shareholders, expenditures that are sometimes absurdly enormous but which can produce an enormous return. And I don’t see why I should.

29.          We children didn’t have many chances to daydream. It was wartime. There were very real, everyday problems. I didn’t have time to think about my dreams for the future. We were concerned with certain, very basic things: eating, getting cheap schoolbooks and being able to go to the cinema on Sundays.

30.          It is a fact that in the West, we live in a capitalist society, but that does not mean that we cannot be guided by the idea of a social conscience in our work. Yes, fashion design requires consumers to consume, but we can do out bit for society by running our companies in a socially responsible way, and by creating products that promote respect for social and environmental issues.

31.          The best way to make a contribution in fashion is to promote the idea that a fundamental interest in preserving the environment is itself fashionable.

32.          Anything that helps to prevent the spread of HIV in Africa must be encouraged.

33.          In this business you can’t have a destination, an arrival point. Otherwise your competitors will overtake you, or you become complacent.

32.          With fashion you have to renew yourself; you’re only as good as your last collection.

33.          The long and short of it for me is that the entrepreneur is the one who at the end decides yes or no and I like that even though it’s a lot of responsibility. It would be very hard for me to do things somebody else’s way.

34.          At this point I think of myself more as an entrepreneur than a designer. This is my life’s work and I’m more passionate about it than ever.

21 Great Business Quotes from 21 Great Entrepreneurs

Do you need daily motivation and business tips? What does it take to build a successful business from scratch? Who are the great entrepreneurs? Well, the answer to this question has been provided by 21 great entrepreneurs. In this article, I will be sharing with you 21 great business quotes from 21 great entrepreneurs and captains of industry. If you are ready to learn, then read on.

21 Great Business Quotes from 21 Great Entrepreneurs

1.            “Building a business and becoming a billionaire is it’s not championship. It’s the competence; the competence in your sector with other companies not looking to have some kind of records in this issue.” – Carlos Slim Helu

2.            “My friends, I tell you that unless you have a vivid picture in your mind of what you want to create; you will not be passionate about pursuing and actualizing the goal. The Coscharis Group’s journey to becoming a conglomerate is the actualization of a dream.” – Cosmos Maduka

3.            “You know, Mrs. Fields was never a business. It was a part of me…and I never separated, oh, well, business from personal because to me they all blended together.” – Debbi Fields

4.            “Businessmen must move with the times…the correlation between knowledge and business as the key to success is closer than ever.” – Li Ka Shing

5.            “And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret. Concentrate your energy, thoughts and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged in. Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line; to lead in it. Adopt every improvement, have the best machinery and know the most about it.” – Andrew Carnegie

6.            “I started The Body Shop in 1976 simply to create a livelihood for myself and my two daughters, while my husband, Gordon, was trekking across the Americas. I had no training or experience and my only business acumen was Gordon’s advice to take sales of £300 a week. Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking.” – Anita Roddick

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

8.            “Know your numbers’ is a fundamental precept of business.” – Bill Gates

9.            “Starting a business is like building a ship and embarking on a voyage, armed with a plan, a map and a team. You have to sail with uncertainty against storms and unpredictable weather. If your ship sinks, it’s either you quit or you swim back to shore, build a new ship and sail again.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

10.          “A business absolutely devoted to service will have one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.” – Henry Ford

11.          “Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationship.” – Henry Ross Perot

12.          “Patience; this is the greatest business asset. Wait for the right time to make your moves.” – J. Paul Getty

13.          “There’s no mystery in business success. If you do each day’s task successfully and stay faithfully within these natural operations of commercial laws which I talk so much about and keep your head clear, you will come out all right.” – John D. Rockefeller

14.          “Both my mother and I were determined that we weren’t going to stay on welfare. We always worked toward doing better, toward having a better life. We never had any doubts that we would.” – Larry Ellison

15.          “What was your greatest challenge? Staying alive as a business, staying ahead of the game, and melding my business life with my personal life.” – Lilian Vernon

16.          “I just started a business called HDNet. There never is one area that has a door open to everyone. Try to find an area with something you love to do and do it. It’s a lot easier to work hard and prepare when you love what you are doing.” – Mark Cuban

17.          “One of the things I benefited from when I started this business was that I didn’t know anything. I was just instinct with no preconceived notions. This enabled me to learn and change quickly without having to worry about maintaining any kind of status quo, like some of my bigger competitors.” – Michael Dell

18.          “Starting a business is like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. In mid air, the entrepreneur begins building a parachute and hopes it opens before hitting the ground.” – Rich Dad

19.“Individuals don’t win in business, teams do.” – Sam Walton

20.   “Accounting is the language of business.” – Warren Buffett

21.  “I believe in God, family, and McDonald’s. And in the office, that order is reversed.” – Ray Kroc

15 Business Quotes on Adversity from 15 Famous Entrepreneurs

What will you do in the face of adversity? How do you handle business challenges or failures? Do you think you are limited by your place of birth, race or surrounding circumstances? Then read these 15 business quotes on adversity from 15 famous entrepreneurs.

                15 Business Quotes on Adversity from 15 Famous Entrepreneurs

 

1.            “I am convinced that all this poverty in Mexico and in Latin America, like it’s happening in China is the opportunity to grow. It’s an opportunity for investment; it’s an economic activity and to take out poverty is the best investment any person or a person can do in any place.” – Carlos Slim Helu

2.            “We did not become a conglomerate right away. The journey has been long and hard. Many times we were tempted to throw in the towel but we has a clear vision; a dream.” – Cosmos Maduka

3.            “I open up the store. I’ve got all these cookies. I had brownies. And I wait for the most amazing cookies sales. I just know it’s going to be a smashing success. And here I am waiting, waiting, and the day’s starting to wear, and it’s getting closer to mid afternoon, and I had a couple of customers walk in to see what was going on, but nobody actually made a purchase. I thought everything I had worked for, everything I had dreamed of, everything I had thought was possible wasn’t happening. It was pretty hard.  I’m not going to close the book on history and say, “If only…” I’m going to do whatever I have to make this thing work.” – Debbi Fields

4.            “I am very prudent financially because of those hard times I went through. I spent nothing. I had a haircut every three months. I shaved my head like a monk. I needed to save every penny…I needed to be strong, and needed to find some way to secure a future. That’s why I am always conservative. I never forget to maintain stability while advancing, and I never forget to advance while maintaining stability.” – Li Ka Shing

5.            “I began to learn what poverty meant. It was burnt in my heart then that my father had to beg for work and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man.” – Andrew Carnegie

6.            “I did as much as I could: raising chickens, pushing an ice-cream cart, bagging walnuts, driving a tractor on a beet farm, working on the railroad. I think this eclectic career helped me a lot in life.” – Charles Schwab

7.            “Everyone who achieves success in a great venture solves each problem as they came. They helped themselves and they were helped through powers known and unknown to them at the time they set out on their voyage. They keep going regardless of the obstacles they meet.” – W. Clement Stone

8.            "Behind every adversity is an opportunity. If you lament over the adversity, you will miss the opportunity." – Ajaero Tony Martins

9.            "If I lose a billion dollars, I will have it back in less than five years." – Henry Ford

10.          "What's coming will come and we will just have to meet it when it does."  - J. K. Rowling

11.          “Both my mother and I were determined that we weren't going to stay on welfare. We always worked toward doing better, toward having a better life. We never had any doubts that we would.” – John Johnson

12.          “I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations….I have built my own factory on my own ground.” – Madame C. J. Walker

13.          “I know I have a very tough five months ahead of me, but I understand, too, that I will get through those months knowing that I have the ability to return to my productive and normal life, my interesting work and future business opportunities.” – Martha Stewart

14.          "Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always, America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward." – Thomas Edison

15.          “We ran out of money in 1969, and the board of directors said: Let’s just shut this down. And I said: I’ll pay all the costs out of my own pocket and work for nothing to see if we can get this thing going. And fortunately, it did go.” – Herb Kelleher

24 Famous Quotes and Strategy for Creating Competitive Advantage

Today, I will be sharing with you some famous quotes and strategy for creating competitive advantage from successful entrepreneurs. Do you do business in a competitive industry or environment? Do you want some good competitive advantage strategy? Then read on as I share with you strategies for creating competitive advantage.

                Famous Quote and Strategy for Creating Competitive Advantage

1.            “Good enough never is. Set your standards so high that even the flaws are considered excellent.” – Debbi Fields

2.            “We brought prices down, down, down so they are now essentially commodities. So if we want to succeed in this business, we have to move in a direction of adding other value to the relationship with our clients. And so where I might have said 15 years ago, ‘We want to be the best discount brokerage,’ today I want to be the best ‘relationship company’ in financial services.” – Charles Schwab

3.            “To succeed in business, you must build a brand and never destroy it. One competitive advantage I had when I ventured into manufacturing was my brand “Dangote,” which I diligently built in the course of my trading commodities.” – Aliko Dangote

4.            “The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competitors, the best way to put distance between you and the crowd is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose.” – Bill Gates

5.            “There is always competition. Whatever you do, there will be competition, and you have to decide how you’re going to play. For me, I had to be the very best. I had to be the very best. Because, if I was not the very best, I would end up being number two.” – Debbi Fields

6.            “Our organization just has to outfox our larger competitors by really emphasizing our value proposition, which is really outstanding compared to them. The good news is we are a highly flexible organization. We have a national footprint, we have low costs, we’re efficient; so we can compete at this point with almost anybody and do a great job for our clients.” – Charles Schwab

7.            “The competition to hire the best will increase in the years ahead. Companies that give extra flexibility to their employees will have the edge in this area.” – Bill Gates

8.            “Your greatest and most powerful business survival strategy is going to be the speed at which you handle the speed of change. That speed of change is trend.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

9.            “A company’s ability to respond to an unplanned event, good or bad is a prime indicator of its ability to compete.” – Bill Gates

10.          “The IKEA spirit is strong and living reality. Simplicity in our behavior gives us strength. Simplicity and humbleness characterize us in our relations with each others, our suppliers and our customers.” – Ingvar Kamprad

11.          “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Jack Welch

12.          “There are multiple ways to be externally focused that are very successful. You can be customer-focused or competitor-focused. Some people are internally focused, and if they reach critical mass, they can tip the whole company.” – Jeff Bezos

13.          “An organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage.” – Jack Welch

14.          “Don’t try to be all things to all people. Concentrate on selling something unique that you know there is a need for, offer competitive pricing and good customer service.” – Lilian Vernon

15.          “Information is power, particularly when the competition ignores the opportunity to do the same.” – Mark Cuban

16.          “Our business is about technology, yes. But it’s also about operations and customer relationships.” – Michael Dell

17.          “Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you.” – Mark Cuban

18.          “We look for opportunities where we can offer something better, fresher and more valuable and we seize them. We often move areas where the customer received a poor deal and where the competition is complacent. And with our growing e-commerce activities, we also look to deliver old products in new ways. We are proactive and quick to act, often leaving bigger and more cumbersome organizations in our wake” – Richard Branson

19.          “Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitor.” – Sam Walton

20.          “Pretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart, we make it by innovation.”

21.“We have the best customer satisfaction record, based on Transportation Dept. statistics, of any airline in America, the fewest complaints filed per 100,000 passengers carried. So you’re not just getting low fares, you’re also getting wonderful customer service.” – Herb Kelleher

22.   “Our business practices are no different than those of our competitors. But we are bigger, and thus more visible, so we get more flack.” – Philip Knight

23.  “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” – Rupert Murdoch

24.          “Be big and fast and flexible.” – Reed Hastings

Carlos Slim Helu Quotes and Advice for Running a Business

Today, I will be sharing with you some advice and quotes for running a business from Carlos Slim Helu; one of the richest men in the world. Without wasting your time, below are Carlos Slim Helu’s quotes and advice for running a business.

                Carlos Slim Helu Quotes and Advice for Running a Business

 

1.            I think when you are involved in a business first of all; you need to know the business. After you know the business, you can let the numbers tell you what is happening.

2.            Building a business and becoming a billionaire is it’s not championship. It’s the competence; the competence in your sector with other companies not looking to have some kind of records in this issue.

3.            I really don’t care about my ration. What they do is know how much share of the companies that we have investments and we are managing, and has the market price. The market price changes everyday, every time with a lot of volatility and you cannot make balance sheets of what is happening.

4.            Some people are very good with letters and others have a good grasp of numbers. You can manage numbers in different ways; you read the numbers and you understand what is happening in the companies.

5.            I think that anything that has privileges has responsibility. All this is responsibility and compromise.

6.            Money is not a goal. The goal is to make companies grow, develop, be competitive, be in different areas, be efficient to have a great human team inside the company.

7.            I think the wealth should be reinvested to create more wealth. The fruit of wealth is income and it is important to develop the distribution of income.

8.            Compromise and responsibility are not only for me and my family, but also the management team to have the responsibility to know the importance of what we are doing and that at the end of temporarily managing this; we don’t take anything when we pass away.

9.            In ’82, there was a big crisis in Mexico and that meant that nobody was investing. And we invested in paper; we invested in tires for cars, we invested in auto parts and aluminum and copper combustion. Actually we were focusing.

10.          When we do profitable business, we don’t get crazy; putting expenses all around or making fancy things. Then, we didn’t have corporate offices until now.

11.          I am convinced that all this poverty in Mexico and in Latin America, like it’s happening in China is the opportunity to grow. It’s an opportunity for investment; it’s an economic activity and to take out poverty is the best investment any person or a person can do in any place.

42 Life Lessons and Business Quotes from Li Ka Shing

Today, I want to share with you some life lessons and business quotes from Li Ka Shing; a Hong Kong business tycoon. Li Ka Shing is one of the richest drop out billionaires in the world; but he wasn’t so few years ago.

In this article, Li Ka Shing will be sharing with us some life and business lessons he picked up in the entrepreneurial process of starting a business from scratch. So if you are ready to learn, then below are 42 life lessons and business quotes from Li Ka Shing.

 42 Life Lessons and Business Quotes from Li Ka Shing

1.            I was facing life for the first time. I was 12 years old, but I felt like a 20 year old. I knew then what life was.

2.            This was actually a more difficult job, but the prospects were better. I was confident about the bright prospects of the plastics industry and I told my boss that I would like to start my own business. I already knew a lot about the plastics business, including the technology, the market and sales.

3.            The first year, as I didn’t have much capital, I did everything myself, which kept my overhead low.

4.            Buying land is not like buying antique. It is not the only deal available.

5.            Despite my achievements, I can still remember poverty. I told my children and grandchildren that ‘The fruit that you eat will never taste as beautiful as the fruit that I ate during the turmoil of war. You will never cherish it as much as I do.’

6.            I am very prudent financially because of those hard times I went through. I spent nothing. I had a haircut every three months. I shaved my head like a monk.

7.            I needed to save every penny…I needed to be strong, and needed to find some way to secure a future. That’s why I am always conservative. I never forget to maintain stability while advancing, and I never forget to advance while maintaining stability.

8.            But how many times have you heard that Cheung Kong’s finances were in trouble over the last fifty years? Never; the reason is, we are always prepared for the worst. That is my policy.

9.            I wasn’t lucky. I worked hard to achieve the goals I set for myself.

10.          Vision is perhaps our greatest strength. It has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries; it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.

11.          I had a clear intention of taking over one of these companies with underperforming assets and developing it into a multinational corporation.

12.          I bought land with my own cash. If somebody invites me to be a partner, and I take only 15% to 20% as a minority stakeholder, they would perhaps get a loan from the bank. But I had no personal debt. At that time, when Cheung Kong went public in 1972, the company had almost no debt. Even if the company had to borrow from the bank, we would have alternative arrangements, such as buying government bonds equivalent to the bank loan amount, to ensure that we can readily cash out at anytime. The interest income would continue to accumulate, while interest expense on the loan would be repaid monthly. So you see; our corporate finance is very conservative and prudent.

13.          You can believe in Fung Shui if you want, but ultimately people control their own fate. The most important thing is to improve yourself and give it your best. Then many things previously thought to be impossible will become possible.

14.          Broaden your vision, and maintain stability while advancing forward. That is my philosophy.

15.          Times were really tough in the beginning. When I started my business in 1950, I only had HK$50,000, so I was in a tight spot financially. I already had some work experience, but I had an advantage in competing with other companies. I was willing to learn the latest industry trends.

16.          Businessmen must move with the times…the correlation between knowledge and business as the key to success is closer than ever.

17.          I was already keeping an eye on the political developments within china, and I also had a firm grasp on economics, industry, management and the latest development and productions of the plastics industry. Not many people in Hong Kong at that time were aware of the potential. It was still quite new.

18.          You must know and understand your business like the back of your hand. Otherwise, your company would be here today, gone tomorrow.

19.          Reputation is the key to success. You have to be loyal to your customers.

20.          I was once an employee myself, so I know what employees want.

 42 Life Lessons and Business Quotes from Li Ka Shing

21.          I have set boundaries for myself. There are certain business I won’t get into…This is my principle and I will stick to it.

22.          In the Han Dynasty, Xiang Yu was very brave and won many battles, but in the end he failed. Treat people with sincerity and build a good organization. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter how famous or how capable you are.

23.          If you think, then you will be prepared. If you are prepared, then you will have no worries.

24.          Before the Asian financial crisis stuck, the signs of a bubble economy were already glaring.

25.          I wake up every day just before 6:00 am and exercise and play golf for an hour and a half. I insist on reading before I go to bed at night. I am still energetic during the day. Your energy comes from being interested in your work.

26.          The more you know, the more prepared you will be when opportunity knocks. If you are lazy and wile your time away, you would not know how to take advantage of opportunities even if they stared you in the face.

27.          I want to build a corporation that not only the Chinese are proud of, but that even foreigners are impressed with.

28.          If you have done your best to make meaningful contributions, when it is time for you to go, all you will feel is a little tired, just like when the sun sets you need to take a rest. I just hope that I lead a full life.

29.          I was very careful. I had no debt (actually, I was not qualified for a bank loan at the time), but I knew my company’s finances like the back of my hand, and I could answer any question that anybody asked.

30.          The first year, as I didn’t have much capital, I did everything by myself, including the first set of account books. I needed to go the Inland Revenue Department, and I asked my auditor if my accounts were correct, since I had no experience doing accounting. He said that it was complete and that I could take this to the government. I had no experience, but I learned by reading books on accounting. When you want to understand the balance sheet, you needed to know a little bit about accounting. I did so many things by myself, which kept my overhead low. I have made a profit every year since 1950. I have never lost a penny in any year.

31.          My father had tuberculosis, which was as devastating a disease as cancer is today. If you were rich and could afford proper care, you might have a better chance. We had no choice.

32.          On New Year’s Day, the boss announced that the bonus that year would be based on sales. At the end of the year, my sales figure was seven times higher than the second best. If they paid my bonus based on my sales, my bonus would have been higher than the general manager’s. The other salesmen were already jealous. So I said to my boss, “Just pay me the same as the second best salesman; it would make everyone happy.” As a result, I became a manager when I was 17 going on 18.

33.          During my father’s time, our family finances were deteriorating. My uncles did not make any contribution to the family after they came back from Tokyo. I always had a fighting heart. I only had a small amount of capital when I started my own business. That’s why I am always conservative. I never forget to maintain stability while advancing, and I never forget to advance while maintaining stability. Stability and advancement must always be in balance.

34.          Our principal policy is never to take financial risk.

35.          You have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. If nobody buys your property, can you support your debt? For 56 years, especially after we went public, Cheung Kong has never had any financial problems.

36.          Doing business may be tough, but I am willing to learn, to innovate, and to work hard, which are the reasons why my business can continue to grow. We focus on our core competencies while looking for new areas for expansion. New businesses sometimes fail, and sometimes succeed. But the ones that succeed can be very profitable. This has been my experience. Setbacks and difficulties are ways to build character.

37.          First of all, I am an optimist. When you study hard and work hard, your knowledge grows, and it gives you confidence. The more you know, the more confidence you gain. When I was 10 years old, I lost my schooling, but I still had plenty of hope to return to school.

38.          I have worked hard to establish my business over the past decades, and now we are seeing the fruits of our labor. Not only is my group reaping the benefits, I am also able to make greater contributions to worthy causes.

39.          The most challenging issue raised by globalization is how we can all get along with each other in our race against time. Corporate leaders must possess far-sighted vision, detailed action plans, macro-thinking, and a global outlook. To get ahead in the race, they must also possess a deep understanding of their own organization and that of their competitors.

40.          I would like to do more meaningful deeds. I don’t care how much money or how much energy it takes. I have very simple needs. With the blessings that I have received, I have no need for more wealth. But if I can do more for mankind, for our people, and for our country, I would be more than happy to do so.

41.          Well, I have my own definition for the term “retirement”. Life was extremely hard when I was young; today working without the burden of pressure to me is the same as the luxury of retirement. These few years, our Group has embarked on some new projects and is in exciting times. We plan all our projects meticulously. Our work is certainly challenging, but we are not under any pressure except for the pressure to outperform.

42.          Since many seem to be interested and concerned, I am happy to report that I am in good shape, and can rise to the opportunities and challenges of our times, and I embrace each project with enthusiasm. I also spend a lot of my time on education and medical care initiatives. This is a passion that I will never grow tired of. In fact, I consider it a lifelong endeavor.

Debbi Field Quotes for Building a Business around your Passion

Can I earn an extra income doing what I love to do? Can I make money from my passion? How do you build a business around your passion? If you desire an answer to any of the questions above, please read on.

In this article, I will be sharing with you Debbi Field’s quotes and strategies for building a business around your passion. Debbi Field’s was a housewife that took her passion for baking cookies and built a multi-million dollar business around it. How did she do it? Well, below are Debbi Field’s quotes for building a business around your passion.

                Debbi Field Quotes for Building a Business around your Passion

 

1.            I was really happy being a housewife. I was proud to be there for my husband, but it did not necessarily make me feel great.

2.            I had an opportunity for a big breakthrough.

3.            We arrived and instantly I knew how important this gentleman is because at the entrance to his home is this massive iron gate. And in front of our little house there is a small hedge. Then, I sat there and I thought, ‘You know, never again. Never again do I want to feel the way I feel right now.

4.            Because what nobody ever understood is that I, too, wanted to be a somebody. But how do you go through life wanting to be a someone and not knowing how?

5.            In that room, that evening, I made a decision that I was going to go into the cookie business, that that was my calling, that that was what I could do best.

6.            You know, all these years, all these years you’ve been eating my cookies. All these years you’ve been telling me how wonderful they are. Well, I’ve decided I’m going to go into the cookie business. My husband immediately said, ‘Oh sweetie, that is such a stupid idea.’ And then my mom and dad pipe up and say, ‘You don’t have any business going into the cookie business.

7.            I would tell them about my plan, the cookies, my dream, and sure enough, they would listen and eat the cookies. They would respond by saying ‘Thank you so much. Thank you for coming in, but no, we’re not interested.’

It was the cheapest money I could have, because it was the only money I could get.

8.            The greatest failure is not to try. Had I listened to all the people during the course of my life who said, “You can’t. You’ll fail. It won’t work. You don’t have…,” I wouldn’t be here today.

9.            The only thing I had was this recipe, and with that recipe was a dream. And those were the only things that I had to build my business: a recipe and a dream. And there was no way I wasn’t going to see this dream through. And, so, my journey began. I made the decision, and I was going to see it through.

10.          There’s magic in those words because when she said, ‘Debbi, just give up,’ I said giving up is the easiest thing any of us can do. I can always throw the towel in. The only thing that’s going to make a difference, the only thing that’s going to get me to my dream come true is don’t give up.

11.          You do not have to be superhuman to do what you believe in.

12.          The most important thing is for you to believe in what you are doing. Absolutely know there are people out there who want to say yes.

13.          You have to have passion when you’re finding a recipe for a career. If you love what you are doing, you’ll never work a day in your life.

14.          I loved it. And I sat there and I thought, ‘You know, I’m good at it. I’m really good at it. I could make people smile. All they had to do is eat the cookie. That was a magical thing.

                Debbi Field Quotes for Building a Business around your Passion

15.          The reason I wanted to find out about what they thought about the cookies was because if they would take a bit and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I love these,’ I knew I would never have to teach them how to sell, because if it came from the heart, that was passion, that was love, and that was something I never had to teach them.

16.          That’s how I found the best cookie people in the world, because if they would sing and belt out ‘Happy Birthday,’ I knew that smiles were going to be created, laughter, fun times; and we were going to have a relationship.

17.          Customer service comes from the heart.

18.          I learned how important what I call ‘try and buy’ was. I didn’t want to advertise and say my cookies are the world’s best. It would be presumptuous of me to say that. Instead I wanted people to actually experience the product, try the product, and if they thought it was worthy, if they liked it, then they could buy it.

19.          I was literally dialing for dollars.

20.          I would bake up batches of fresh-made cookies because I’m coming in to see you (lenders), and I’m talking about being in the cookie business. As far as you were concerned, as far as I was concerned, what makes mine special? You had to experience it. I wanted to show them that I was trying to make my product different. So I brought my product with me.

21.          I wanted to make my first investment in my customer. I wanted to give the product away.

22.          Try it and buy it. That was the way we really found customers.

23.          Good enough never is. Set your standards so high that even the flaws are considered excellent.

Maybe I had not taught the manger everything he needed to know to make the best cookies in the world.

24.          ‘What do you think of these cookies?’ He responded by saying, ‘Oh, Debbi, they’re good enough.’ Good enough? Good enough never is. We’ve over baked these cookies, and I want them to be perfect and whatever you are standing in line for, I will absolutely give them to you free plus I’ll match for free if you will come back.

25.          There is always competition. Whatever you do, there will be competition, and you have to decide how you’re going to play. For me, I had to be the very best.

26.          I added so many chocolate chips to the batter that I knew I had added enough when they would no longer fit in. I had achieved chocolate nirvana. The same thing was true of butter. I took the product and added so much butter, to the point where the cookies started to spread out like pancakes.

27.          You’ve got to strive to be the best in whatever you do.

28.          Oh my gosh, Randy. You know, I’ve got an annual goal. I’ve got monthly plans. But today I just want to get started. I just want to open up the store.

29.          I open up the store. I’ve got all these cookies. I had brownies. And I wait for the most amazing cookies sales. I just know it’s going to be a smashing success. And here I am waiting, waiting, and the day’s starting to wear, and it’s getting closer to mid afternoon, and I had a couple of customers walk in to see what was going on, but nobody actually made a purchase. I thought everything I had worked for, everything I had dreamed of, everything I had thought was possible wasn’t happening. It was pretty hard.  I’m not going to close the book on history and say, “If only…” I’m going to do whatever I have to make this thing work.

30.          I was a woman with a mission. I would stop people, even buses I would stop and say, ‘Here, you’ve got to taste these cookies. Just try them.’

31.          To me, failure is only a way of communicating that it is not working. Stop what you’re doing and try something else until it works.

32.          The one thing that I think is critical in the entrepreneurial spirit is that it’s all attitude. If you think you can, then you’re half way there. If you say, ‘I can’t,’ then you’re defeated.

33.          You know, Mrs. Fields was never a business. It was a part of me…and I never separated, oh, well, business from personal because to me they all blended together.

34.          To me what mattered most was never to register more sales in the cash register. The only thing that mattered to me was to register a smile on a customer’s face. If you can get a customer to smile, we will succeed.

35.          I had to be the very best. Because, if I was not the very best, I would end up to be number two.

36.          And, so, my message to each and every one of you is that I know that you all have dreams, and don’t ever lose sight of those dreams. And, more importantly, reach for the stars. And realize that it is never too late – not now, not ever – for you to pursue your passion, your pursuit of perfection. And most importantly, your perseverance for making it happen.

Charles Schwab Quotes and Advice on Life, Business, Investing

Today, I want to share with you some real life quotes and advice from Wall Street’s discount brokerage Whiz kid; Charles Schwab. Without wasting your time, below are Charles Schwab quotes and advice on life, business and investing.

                Charles Schwab Quotes and Advice on Life, Business and Investing

 

1.            I did as much as I could: raising chickens, pushing an ice-cream cart, bagging walnuts, driving a tractor on a beet farm, working on the railroad. I think this eclectic career helped me a lot in life.

2.            I bluffed my way through much of it, I’m sure. Fortunately, I have a pretty ‘up’ personality, and that helped me all the way through. I tried hard and I had pretty good communication skills, so I could persuade my teachers that I was a pretty good kid.

3.            To sit down with a blank piece of paper and write was the most traumatic thing that had ever faced me in life. I had ideas in my head, but I could not get the stuff down. It was a crushing time.

4.            I never perceived of myself as stupid; I can’t explain why. I just thought that if I worked harder, maybe something would happen.

5.            We brought prices down, down, down so they are now essentially commodities. So if we want to succeed in this business, we have to move in a direction of adding other value to the relationship with our clients. And so where I might have said 15 years ago, 'We want to be the best discount brokerage,' today I want to be the best 'relationship company' in financial services.

6.            I think we could double the company pretty easily in that time frame.

7.            You've got to understand that markets go both ways, up and down. Over longer periods, stocks generally have always gone up. But any specific stock may never come back.

8.            Buy an individual stock and you never know. You could go to zero.

9.            When celebration of noble failure becomes institutionalized, people within the organization are more willing to reassess earlier decisions.

10.          I’m sure luck helps every successful entrepreneur. But it doesn’t come without a lot of preparation and hard work.

                Charles Schwab Quotes and Advice on Life, Business and Investing

 

11.          We get emotional and do dumb things.

12.          I can't overemphasize that we have the right kind of client-relationship people who really have the interests of the client at hand first – not second, but first. We are willing to risk short-term revenue to do the right thing for the customer and ensure long-term success.

13.          Fundamentally, to help a lot of people. That really means making sure our clients have a sense that they are financially fit.

14.          We think we have a superior value, and we’d put that value up against any of the traditional firms. Even against the so-called discount firms. We want to be a superior value against any other financial service company, that's our ambition. And we maybe are not there in every component, but we're pretty close.

15.          Every company, a mature company, can look at their costs and redundancies. It's natural for every company that's successful to build up infrastructures that are inefficient. We're all human, we all do that. So that is number one. And you want to take whatever savings you can out of that and figure out how to get it back to your loyal clients. They will reward you with additional business, even if you mess things up.

16.          The value proposition is front and center to us. We've taken out the account fees, the minimums – all these things we've done the past couple of years have been very dramatic.

17.          At the end of every day, having a clientele that speaks well of you, that’s the largest source of business. I don't care what kind of business you're in. Clients referring us to their friends or relatives is so much more powerful than any advertising we could ever do.

18.          Our organization just has to outfox our larger competitors by really emphasizing our value proposition, which is really outstanding compared to them. The good news is we are a highly flexible organization. We have a national footprint, we have low costs, we're efficient; so we can compete at this point with almost anybody and do a great job for our clients.

19.          Will we own the technology?

20.          You’ve got to start with your gut, with something you are really passionate about, for a good reason. You won’t get there by sitting in a closet and thinking, ‘Boy I know the world must want this.’

                Charles Schwab Quotes and Advice on Life, Business and Investing

 

21.          When I read, I can feel myself converting the written code into sounds before I can process it. Fast readers don't go through all that.

22.          It's painful to think about it. You don't like to go back and review the pain. I don't think 20 years ago I would have talked about this. But someone's got to do it, and I felt sufficiently secure that I could.

23.          Along the way, I’ve frustrated some of my associates because I could see the end zone of a particular thing quicker than they could, so I was moving ahead to conclusions. I go straight from step A to Z, and say: ‘This is the outcome. I can see it.’

24.          When I started in this business, it was pretty crude to say the least. I had little or no resources. I have one favorite example of a guy who came in to complain about something. He was from Chicago and had an accounting background. And I said, well, if you’re so damn smart, come out of accounting and start working here. So he came around and started helping me out. It was very difficult. We were mavericks at best.

25.          I took anybody. They were a full collection of people. They took risks in their careers. Some were misfits at other places. I took a lot of misfits in. There were some strange people. Anybody who was a reasonable person and communicated well, I hired. I was one of the first businesses to hire women.

26.          The fact that I was out here and scrambling around as a little entrepreneur with no resources was fortuitous. I wasn’t encumbered by those old guys telling me what to do.

27.          A lot of things. But they're probably no different from when I had no money. It’s my business pursuits and my personal life, a good relationship with my wife and kids and grandkids.

28.          My goal is frankly to make sure our clients have every confidence to recommend Schwab to their friends and relatives if they are thinking about a place to do their saving and investing.

29.          I am the customer.

30.          The nasty little secret was that I couldn't read worth a darn. In my case, I still read very slowly to this moment.

31.          I like to think in terms of giving people an understanding of why they should have the same passion as I do – why their life has purpose working here and why they should believe as much as I believe. I want them to seek a higher level of satisfaction above just making a salary.

32.          I feel good every day about helping people invest; helping them achieve financial independence. It’s about the American dream.