Being an entrepreneur, in a world full of people joining the gig economy and creating their own businesses, it’s getting easier and easier to become discouraged. Now, add on being an African American woman in the entrepreneurial world. Believe it or not but most of us lack the resources that most are afforded, yet we still manage to make our dreams of owning our own businesses happen. Though the number of black women who own their own business is well over 2 million, according to American Express, for African American women, the average revenue dropped from $84,000 in 2007 to $66,400 in 2018, while for non-minority businesses, revenue rose from $181,000 to $212,300.

But today I’m not here to give you stats, instead I want to keep you motivated with a few of my favorite quotes aimed to encourage and to keep inspiring black women in. Just know you aren’t alone in trying to grow your business, find mentors and making your audience happy. Starting a business takes courage, dedication, hard work, patience, and strength. You also have to know that once you get your business going, that’s really when the work begins. It’s a lesson that never ends. You’ll come to face your own fears, deal with haters and overcome all negativity you feel within.

With that said I hope these quotes help!

1.) “A strong woman believes that she is strong enough to face her journey; and a woman of faith believes that it is in this journey that she will become strong.” Millie Leung

2.) “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” Michelle Obama

3.) “If you are starting your own business, the best shortcut is to find a good mentor.” Kim Kiyosaki

4.) “Think like a queen.  A queen is not afraid to fail.  Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” Oprah Winfrey

5.) “You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough.” Mae West

6.) “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” Madam C.J. Walker

7.) “Many people don’t focus enough on execution. If you make a commitment to get something done, you need to follow through on that commitment.” Kenneth Chenault

8.) “I knew what I wanted in life and I worked day and night to achieve it, and here I am.” Tabitha Karanja

9.) “Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. ” Cicely Tyson

10.) “Don’t sabotage your own greatness by succumbing to failure.” Terri McMillan

11.) “Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”  Wilma Rudolph

12.) “Keep working hard and you can get anything that you want. If God gave you the talent, you should go for it. But don’t think it’s going to be easy. It’s hard!”  Aaliyah

13.) “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.”  Marian Wright Edelman

14.) “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

15.) “I used to want the words ‘She tried’ on my tombstone. Now I want ‘She did it.” Katherine Dunham

16.) “I believe in destiny. But I also believe that you can’t just sit back and let destiny happen. A lot of times, an opportunity might fall into your lap, but you have to be ready for that opportunity. You can’t sit there waiting on it. A lot of times you are going to have to get out there and make it happen.” Spike Lee

17.) “There is nothing like a concrete life plan to weigh you down. Because if you always have one eye on some future goal, you stop paying attention to the job at hand, miss opportunities that might arise, and stay fixedly on one path, even when a better, newer course might have opened up.”  Indra Nooyi

18.) “At the end of the day, you are the only one that is limiting your ability to dream, or to actually execute on your dreams. Don’t let yourself get in the way of that.”  Falon Fatemi

19.) “What makes networking work is that it sets up win-win situations in which all parties involved get to take something home. Networking is a sharing process. Until you understand that, you won’t have much of a network.” Earl G. Graves Sr

20.) “I got lucky because I never gave up the search. Are you quitting too soon? Or are you willing to pursue luck with a vengeance too?”  Jill Konrath