Skip to main content
  • Claims Center
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • Brokers & Agents
Hiscox Insurance
Menu Toggle
  • Home
  • Small Business Insurance Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Why Hiscox Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Resources Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Policy Management Toggle Menu Toggle Menu
  • Claims Center
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • Brokers & Agents
  • About
  • Get a Quote Get a Quote
  • About
  • Get a Quote Get a Quote
  • Blog Home
    Start Your Business
    Grow Your Business
    Protect Your Business
    Celebrate Courage
    Search

    Small Business Insights

    Sign up to get the latest small business news delivered right to your inbox.
    Start Your Business
    Thinking about what makes a good small business owner

    10 Courageous quotes to inspire small business owners

    Small business inspiration | Entrepreneur
    By: Hiscox Blog

    Share Image

    Embed Image

    Copy

    Share Article:

    At Hiscox, we encourage courage. We know that starting a business involves risk, because without risk, nothing great can happen. We want business owners to have the courage to take the right risks so they can be successful. When you take the right risks, you also have to protect against risks you cannot control. That’s where general liability insurance comes in. Once you have protected yourself and your company against claims and lawsuits resulting from bodily injury, property damage and negligence, you can channel all that courage into running your business. We’ve compiled these quotes to inspire you to courageously continue along your path to success.

    Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. - Peter Drucker, management consultant and writer

    In this quote, the founder of modern management succinctly distills down the importance of courage in business.

    Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose. - Tom Krause, motivational speaker.

    Much has been written about the role of failure in entrepreneurship. A successful entrepreneur maintains the mindset that failure is just a step along the way, not the end of the journey.

    Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. - Mark Twain

    While not an entrepreneur, Twain had a lot to say about courage and numerous other topics. This quote provides an important reminder when we get overwhelmed and afraid.

    Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. – Bethany Hamilton

    Hamilton is a professional surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack and went back to compete and win as a surfer. She knows a thing or two about fear—and about courage.

    Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill

    Another classic quote about the courage it takes to try again after a failure.

    Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. – John Wayne

    American’s most famous cowboy personified courage on the big screen for decades.

    I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. – Nelson Mandela

    Twenty-seven years in prison on charges of conspiring to overthrow the state taught Mandela a lot about courage and overcoming fear. He later served as president of South Africa, having been elected in the country’s first-ever fully representative democratic election.

    I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. – Atticus Finch (in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

    Lee’s seminal novel includes this quote that speaks to perseverance and tenacity.

    You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore. – William Faulkner

    Writer and Nobel Prize laureate Faulkner never graduated high school, yet found the courage to write The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom! and other classics.

    Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. - John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President

    This quote gives a far more optimistic view of courage than many others, making it one of our favorites. Is your favorite courage quote on this list? If not, share it in the comments!


    Protect Your Business

    Protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build. Get a fast, free quote and your business could be covered today.

    Get a Quote
    Get a Quote
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Related Articles

    5 Min Read
    Female entrepreneur in office proud to be her own boss

    How to never get laid off again: Be your own boss!

    Entrepreneur

    Layoffs are bound to happen during our careers, however, there is a way to ensure that you never get laid off again – start your own business.

    Read More

    5 Min Read
    Female entrepreneur dreaming of elevating her small business to the Fortune 500 list

    Dream big! Devoted entrepreneurs now helm Fortune 500 companies

    Start up | Entrepreneur

    Not every startup company makes it to the Fortune 500 in the founder’s lifetime, but some do. Take some inspiration from these companies which are still being led by their founders, Dell, Tesla, and more.  

    Read More

    6 Min Read
    Female yoga instructor talking with two eager female students

    How to start a yoga business: Here's what you need to know

    Start up | Entrepreneur

    Have you been wondering how to become a yoga instructor? Discover all you need to know about what certifications you need, techniques to marketing your yoga studio, and more.

    Read More


    We’re here to help.
    We provide tailored insurance for the specific risks you face, so you can take the right risks to grow your business.
    Get a Quote
    Get a Quote

    Footer menu 1

    • What We Cover
      • Business Insurance
      • General Liability Insurance
      • Professional Liability Insurance
      • Errors and Omissions
      • Cyber Security Insurance
      • Workers Compensation
      • Other Coverage
    • Who We Cover
      • Small Business Owners
      • LLC
      • Sole Proprietors
      • Entrepreneurs
      • Side Hustle
      • Contractors
      • Home Businesses
    • For Our Customers
      • Refer a Friend Program
      • Covid-19 Response
      • Claims Center
    • For Business Owners
      • Save with our Partners
    • About Hiscox
      • About Us
      • Careers
      • Contact Us
      • Hiscox Corporate
      • Investors
      • Foundation
      • Newsroom
      • We Stand Together
      • Affiliate Partner Program

    Footer menu 2

    • Accessibility
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Legal Notices
    • Español

    Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    Feefo Reviews: Hiscox rated 4.7/5 with 1,067 reviews between January 1, 2022 - January 1, 2023

    © 2023 Hiscox Inc. All rights reserved. Underwritten by Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1760, Chicago, IL 60602. As of December 31, 2022, HICI had admitted assets of $1,458,861,470 and policyholders surplus of $380,056,863. Total liabilities were $1,078,804,607 (inclusive of $529,538,410 of loss reserves) and paid-up capital stock was $4,242,000.

    icon-facebook
    icon-youtube
    icon-twitter
    icon-linkedin