"What work would you love doing the most? Do you want to do the work, solve the problem, create the solution?" -Timjen Rumke, founder, business coach, podcaster.
"A ‘startup’ does not necessarily entail tech innovation or invention; it is centered on new 'business models.'" -Andy Areitio, founder, investor
"The secret of making something people use? Putting in the action."
-Bram Krommenhoek, product manager
"Whether you’re preparing to launch a new venture or have owned your company for years, there’s never a wrong time to craft a business plan." -Jodie Shaw, B2B marketer
"If you can learn what works and what doesn’t work, then you can adapt and change to create your own winning business development plan." -Darren Matthews, founder, writer, consultant
"An idea and fancy pitch deck won’t get you funded. This isn’t the ’90s. A catchy idea needs a clear business model and a strong team to back it up." -Matt Ward, founder, investor, startup advisor
"A well-designed deck is not as important as the product you’re pitching, but it can clarify and enhance your presentation. Compare it to wearing a tie and pressed button up to a job interview: it won’t get you the job, but it will prevent you from having to dig yourself out of the hole a wrinkled tee and cargo shorts would have created." -Daniel Eckler, founder, consultant
"As a business owner, good financial records will serve this same key purpose for you: telling the story of your business and helping you to recollect important details, easily."
"A strategy is deciding what you will and won’t do to achieve a result. My marketing strategy is based on decisions I’ve made based on research into my customers, my own experience and my core values." -Imogene Roy, business mentor, leadership coach
"Sometimes when things seem so confusing, basic physical acts like doing laundry feel comforting. When life gets messy, pulling a warm towel out of the dryer, holding it to my nose, and then matching the four corners together is manageable. " -Roxy's Road, entrepreneur
"I thought Gumroad would become a billion-dollar company, with hundreds of employees. It would IPO, and I would work on it until I died. Something like that. Needless to say, that didn’t happen." -Sahil Lavingia, founder and CEO
"Everyone has different peak hours. If you want to enhance your productivity, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, or if you go for a run at 6 am or 6 pm." -Aytekin Tank, founder, CEO, author
"Whether you’re looking for a new job or trying to climb the corporate ladder, a personal SWOT analysis can help you achieve your goals. " -Jodie Shaw, B2B Marketer
"You can always get more money. Even if you’re broke or poor right now. There are always ways. But the clock is ticking, time is passing, and one day we’ll run out of time." -GEC, content consultant, copywriter
"Value, skills, and earnings are each other's best friends." -Jari Roomer, founder, writer
"Getting up and drawing a Venn diagram is a great way to appear smart. It doesn’t matter if your Venn diagram is wildly inaccurate, in fact, the more inaccurate the better." -Sarah Cooper, writer, comedian
" Negotiation isn’t just about money; it’s about having more life and freedom. That being said, things can quickly go sideways." -Nick Wolny, writer, marketing consultant
"I have a friend who is the best networker I’ve ever seen. They’re that person who can get you tickets to the impossible show, who is one degree away from anyone in town, who people go out of their way to help." -Sean Johnson, investor, entrepreneur, professor
"You are a human resource designed for an employer to extract the maximum profit from, so the CEO can get rich and shareholders can make enormous returns off your labor. It is what it is. So don’t tie your identity to a dumb job that can be dead tomorrow." Tim Denning, writer
"It turns out that what actually separates thriving organizations from struggling ones are the difficult-to-measure attitudes, processes and perceptions of the people who do the work." -Seth Godin, founder, author, speaker