20 Courageous quotes to inspire small business owners

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.

1. 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 the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose."

2. 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 is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."

3. 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.

"Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you."

4. Peter Drucker, management consultant and writer

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

"Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision."

5. Winston Churchill

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

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

6. John Wayne

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

"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway."

7. 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 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."

8. Atticus Finch (in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee)

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

"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."

9. 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.

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

10. John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. President

This quote gives a far more optimistic view of courage than many others, truly making it one of our favorites. 

"Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air."

11. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and Pixar, argued that passion fuels staying power.  

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

12. Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe, Grand Slam tennis champion and humanitarian, reminded us that progress starts with the next step using what you have.  

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

13. Reid Hoffman

The co-founder of LinkedIn, said if you are hesitating to launch, perfection is not the goal; learning is.

“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

14. Steve Martin

The award-winning comedian, actor, and writer, showed that relentless craft and consistency are the best differentiators.  

"Be so good they can’t ignore you."

15. Wayne Gretzky

This Hall of Fame hockey player pointed out that action creates opportunity even when there are no guarantees.  

"You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take."

16. Sara Blakely

The founder of Spanx believed that not knowing the usual way can be a strategic advantage.  

"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."

17. Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, believed that adversity reveals strengths that good times cannot.  

“In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we’re made of.”

18. Confucius

Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher and teacher, believed that big goals are achieved through patient, incremental effort.  

"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

19. Sam Walton

The founder of Walmart said that the customer is the ultimate boss who determines every job with their spending.  

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

20. Esteé Lauder

The co-founder of Estée Lauder Companies was living proof that hard work turns vision into results.  

"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it."

Entrepreneurship is a journey, and you’ll need to bolster your courage many times along the way. Look to these quotes when you need some inspiration. Speaking of quotes, get one today to see what it will cost to protect your business from the risks you can’t see coming.