Working your way to the top takes a whole lot of hustle and an unshakable “can do” attitude. But in order to become an A+ girl boss, one of the smartest things you can do as a career-minded, entrepreneurial woman can do is learn from the fierce female role models who came before you.
So to help you conquer your dreams and follow in the footsteps of some of the smartest and most talented female entrepreneurs and CEOs out there, these 101 best women entrepreneur tips for career-focused women—which come straight from the pros themselves—can help you reach success.
101 Best Women Entrepreneur Tips
1. “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” — Oprah Winfrey
2. “Working out is a great way to network with current friends and meet new ones. It’s also the perfect way to get my endorphins up to take on the day.” — Jenny Fleiss, co-founder of Rent the Runway
3. “ […] I learned that with a company, if you’re not there every day, it’s never going to be done the way that you want.” — Sarah Michelle Gellar, co-founder of Foodstirs
4. “Show up in every single moment like you’re meant to be there.” – Marie Forleo, author of Everything is Figureoutable
5. “‘Trust the process!’ Building a company is full of ups and downs and lots of mistakes. It’s important to not get discouraged from the downs, learn from mistakes and stay focused on that end goal.” — Nicole Gibbons, founder of Clare Paint
6. “Whatever it is that you think you want to do, and whatever it is that you think stands between you and that, stop making excuses. You can do anything.” — Katia Beauchamp, co-founder and CEO of Birchbox
7. “I think the most important thing I want people to know is that if you love it, then you should do it, which really speaks to everything in life.” — Leanne Ford, star of HGTV’s Restored by the Fords
8. “I never really like to see myself as the queen. I’m not playing queen, I don’t want to be the queen. I’m the boss. I’m the mother, I’m the boss, I’m in charge of my decisions with my team. I try to make the best of myself, to accomplish something, to always put the bar as high as I can.” — Celine Dion
9. “Define success in your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” — Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks
10. “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.” — Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx
11. “Women still represent only 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. And more worrisome is that the number has been stagnant for a decade. What hasn’t changed fast enough is our acceptance and encouragement of female leadership. That’s goes for all of us—parents, teachers, managers, society, everyone.” — Sheryl Sandberg
12. “You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter creator and author
13. “We’re all born with innate qualities to lead, but it takes a lot of practice.” — Anna Maria Chávez
14. “What has always made our country special is that it doesn’t matter where you come from; it matters where you’re going. Our job is to make certain the pathways are open to both our boys and our girls.” — Condoleezza Rice
15. “The power lunch is no longer just for men. We all deserve a seat at the table.” — Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble
16. “If you want to be successful, and you want to have kids, hopefully you find a partner that believes in your success and wants to distribute that weight across the household.” — Lindsay Kaplan, co-founder of Chief
17. “When you’re coming up to the starting line of a really big race, I feel a lot of anxiety—and it’s a very similar feeling when walking into a big meeting and you’re hearing all of that self talk. Things like, ‘I’m not sure that I can do this.’ Your palms are starting to sweat, your heart is starting to rate. I just always tell myself, ‘I can do anything for 10 minutes, I can get through the next 10 minutes.’ And the reality is, you get into that big meeting and that 10 minutes go by and you’re in the groove, you’re calm, and you’re realizing you can handle it and you can just keep going. So I really talk to myself about getting through that first 10 minutes—whether it’s a meeting or a race.” — Naomi Furgiuele, founder of Nuria Beauty
18. “Be unwavering in the space you take up, and unapologetic about how you present yourself. We don’t all look the same, talk the same, or even share the same nationality, so be wary of anyone who tries to put you in a box. Embrace your uniqueness because that is ultimately why others will follow you.” — Emerald Pellot, founder of intersectional feminist accessories line GRL TRBL
19. “Many of us are very ambitious and it’s easy to overlook your personal life and to forget how important it is.” — Lisa Ling, reporter
20. “The icon and activist Dolores Huerta once gave me the best piece of advice: Know your story. When we are rooted in who we are, and truth of our own experience, then we can proudly tell our own stories and own our narrative instead of having others tell us who we are.” — Robyn Moreno, co-president @Latina, Emmy-nominated TV host, author and blogger at robynmoreno.com
Related: Get It, Girl! 15 Girlboss Quotes to Remember When You’re Hustling to the Top
21. “Say yes, and you’ll figure it out later.” — Tina Fey
22. “My best word of advice I have for upcoming bloggers: Don’t stop creating. No matter how small or how big your idea or content is, just don’t stop. Dedicate specific times of the week or day to plan and execute your ideas. I’ve learned this the hard way: if you don’t plan your content ahead of time, your work will suffer and will slow down. If you have a full-time job, that’s OK—just try to stick to a schedule so you won’t stop creating.” — Mercedes Sanchez, blogger, publicist, media personality and founder of BeChicMag.com
23. “I don’t have a ton of regret. I feel the matches, even ones I lost, were almost as important. I needed to learn. They fired me up. They got me motivated and made me look hard at myself. You can’t win them all. That’s probably for a reason.” — Venus Williams, tennis pro
24. “‘The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.’ It’s a quote that my sister and co-founder, Jacqueline Menjivar, said to me growing up when I’d feel paralyzed with self-doubt. I always go back to it when I catch myself being afraid. It reminds me to stop asking the world for permission to chase my dreams.” — Yesenia Garcia, co-founder of Diosa León Footwear
25. “We all may feel invincible, but part of teaching my girls to be independent is stressing the importance of being financially prepared.” — Brooke Shields, actress
26. “I stepped out of my comfort zone and took control of my own success by not conforming to what society expected of me. We are in control of our future, and I want the younger generation of Latinx, including my daughter, to see that.” — Sofia Boyer, brand stylist and web developer, Magnolia Creative Studio
27. “Listen to feedback, be open to change, leverage your strengths, accept your limitations, be persistent and never lose sight of your vision.” — Saskia Sorrosa, founder and CEO of Fresh Bellies
28. “Remember that you are creative beings and you can create your own terms, own business, own positions. Believe in yourself and find your tribe, a group of women that will inspire, empower and make you the best version of yourself. There are many of us out here standing with you!” — Carmen Perez, President and CEO of The Gathering for Justice, Co-Founder of the Women’s March movement
29. “You really have to work and have a clear idea of what your goal is. Make sure that whatever it is that you’re doing, you’re doing it authentically, and that you’re doing it because you like it—not just because you’re chasing a dollar.” — Mimi G, blogger and founder of MimiGStyle.com
30. “If things didn’t go your way, then make an adjustment, pick yourself up, and do it again. I lived by that in my home and in my career as well.” — Erin Condren, founder of LifePlanner
31. “Take a risk on yourself. You don’t know what you’re capable of unless you take a risk on yourself. And what’s the worst that can happen if it doesn’t work out? You can only go back to skills that you know you already have or the type of job that you know that you can do and that you’re strong in doing. But if you never take a risk on yourself, if you never give yourself the opportunity to prove what you can do, you’ll never know. And that’s hard for men and women to do. It was certainly hard for me. I had to really consciously tell myself, ‘I can do this, let’s give this a shot. Let’s see what I’m capable of.’” — Naomi Furgiuele, Founder of Nuria Beauty
32. “It’s easy to get stuck in the undertow of our inboxes, our text messages and our DMs—where all of the stimulus is coming from, so I just try to take a minute to be mindful.” – Sophia Amoruso, Nastygal founder and author of #GIRLBOSS
33. “Sheryl Sandberg said it best in her book, Lean In, but people think that the most important decision they make in their life is their career, but it’s absolutely choosing your partner. You just can’t be expected to have a full-time career and still manage all the housework and childcare yourself. You just can’t.” — Erin Condren, founder of LifePlanner
34. “There’s no one you can’t love—or at least understand—once you know where they’re coming from.” — Hannah Paasch, author of Millenneagram: The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self
35. ”Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect.” — Brené Brown, bestselling author TED Talk expert on the power of vulnerability
36. “The idea that a woman can be as powerful as a man is something that our society can’t deal with. But I am as powerful as a man and it drives them crazy.” — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
37. So, if you have a partner, truly partner with them at home, right from the beginning as best as your workplaces allow you.”— Lauren Smith Brody, founder of The Fifth Trimester and author of The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Success After Baby
38. “I really feel like your body will take care of you if you take care of it.” — Miranda Kerr, model
39. “A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” — Melinda Gates
40. “There’s always a second where I see my Sunday disappearing with the sunset. On the one hand, I wish it would just linger on but there’s the other part of me that kind of relishes turning everything back on and starting the new week with a glow!” — Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint
41. “If you want to be successful in this world, you have to follow your passion, not a paycheck.” – Jen Welter, the NFL’s first female coach
42. “I know that sounds cliché, but I literally had to face myself in the mirror and say, ‘This is where you are. This is your new normal. This is your starting point. We’re gonna work from here. We can acknowledge what we did in the past, but it’s all about the future.’ This is how I talk to myself every day now. I have to be more of a personal trainer in my own head – to get myself up and going.” — Jaz Jackson, influencer and founder of JSCULPT Fitness
43. “In women’s health and wellness in general, there’s often this lack of knowledge in that space. I think it’s important once you do learn something to share it with others,” Lauren Steinberg, founder of Queen V
44. “I love receiving advice and opinions from everyone! [Just ask my co-workers] But, in all honestly, I feel like the best piece of advice I have ever received, which I always maintain regardless of the situation, is to be transparent and truthful. Regardless of who, what, or why it’s critical to be honest in business. Your word is all you have at the end of the day. You have one reputation—so in my opinion, it’s not worth risking, ever.” — Samantha Cutler, founder of Petite ‘n Pretty
45. “As we were getting more and more senior, we were spending so much of our time managing teams and mentoring other people that we really just did not have a community anymore for ourselves. If it’s true that it’s lonely at the top, which I think it is, it gets lonely a lot earlier for a woman.” — Carolyn Childers, co-founder of Chief
46. “I think that we get in such a groove—I am certainly guilty of this, where we’re just on our phones, looking at Instagram before bed. It gets your mind all wound up! So I like to not look at a screen before bed—it mellows out the mind.” — Alison Brie, actress
47. “I believe that for most women as you become older, you learn to trust your gut. Everyone has built-in gut instincts and you’re not sure where it will take you, but we like hearing—it takes guts, or she’s got guts. Your brain can play tricks, your heart can blind, but your gut is always right.” — Felicity Huffman, actress
48. “I discovered mental health is the biggest asset or liability in your career. When it’s off it can bring you to your rock bottom but when it’s on point it can bring you more success.” — Nicole Lapin, author of Becoming Super Woman: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Go from Burnout to Balance
49. “My biggest piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to fail more. As women, especially Latinas, we don’t really have the privilege to fail. Unlike our Caucasian counterparts, we constantly feel the pressure to succeed, and the responsibility to our communities of color. Take the risk anyways. Welcome failure so you can learn the lessons early. And most importantly, bet on yourself because your vision matters.” — Patty Delgado, founder of Hija de tu Madre
50. “At the end of the day, it’s all about a bath. Bath and bed and maybe a glass of wine on the side of the tub.” — Hilary Duff, actress
51. “People respond well to those that are sure of what they want. What people hate most is indecision. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision.” — Anna Wintour, long-time editor-in-chief of Vogue
52. “Take a bath every night at the end of the day, even if it’s 4 a.m., I will crawl into that bathtub. I light my candles and no one’s allowed in there. It’s hard because as a mom, you are constantly trying to balance everything. So I do try to exercise and take care of my body and eat well.” — Sutton Foster, actress on Younger
53. “For me, I think it’s most important to be happy. Even if I’m selfish, I try to do things that make me happy because I give so much to my husband and to my children. So I make sure that I go salsa dancing or I make sure that I hang out with certain friends and walk around the city.” — Debi Mazar, actress on Younger
54. “I always feel like I’m running up the down escalator. But I do try to take care to keep in touch with my friends. Cause if you’re going to run up the down escalator, you want a good friend with you to make it fun.” — Miriam Shor, actress on Younger
55. “If I can’t focus on what I’m doing, I will change up the energy. Shift to something else, light a candle or incense or go for a walk. I find taking breaks is key to staying productive.” — Courtney Somer, founder of Lake & Skye
56. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘The meaning in life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.’ Giving through sharing. Letting go of whatever type of ownership we feel over our creativity and sharing it in order to inspire, and hoping that in being ourselves authentically we can then inspire others to be authentically themselves too.” — Jadi Collado, certified fitness instructor, dancer, actress and influencer
57. “Take it day by day and know when to set the reset button.” — Brooke Burke-Charvet, actress on Dancing With the Stars
58. “You got this. Early on, when I was raising money for Ritual I was told early on that I couldn’t start a company and a family. I decided to do both. I didn’t know just how much I was capable until I did it. It became my mission to show other women that they too can do both if that’s what they want. As women, we are so incredibly strong, resourceful and empathetic. Sometimes we just need a little push just to go for it.” — Katerina Schneider, founder of Ritual
59. “Just start!” — Sharon Chuter, founder of UOMA Beauty
60. “If you want to expand your worldview, read books about things you know nothing about and seek out others that challenge everything you think you know. The internet makes it easy to read only things that you already agree with, but that shrinks your world instead of making it bigger.” — Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and author of The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
Related: 12 Influential Hispanic Females Share Their #GirlBoss Tips
61. “No achievement in business or in life is going to make everything ‘perfect.’ New challenges come, always. So learn to enjoy the ride, enjoy the process, and roll with the highs and lows. Don’t look towards one goal as the answer, or you’ll miss the journey.” — Sarah Happ, lip care expert and founder of SarahHapp.com
62. “Being flexible with every person on your team and understanding what drives them is critical to achieving success. Communication skills are paramount, and developing your emotional IQ is equally important.” — Lo Bosworth, founder of Love Wellness
63. “My hack for being a working parent is to build a team of people to help you.” — Amy Nelson, CEO of Riveter
64. “Believe that there are no limitations, no barriers to your success — you will be empowered and you will achieve.” — Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox
65. “Fear is just an emotion. You can’t let your emotions rule your life or make decisions for you. You have to make those choices. You just have to do what you would do if you weren’t afraid and then go from there.” — Venus Williams, tennis pro
66. “So it’s weird—the fact that I work from home, people expect me to be able to run my website, go to my job one or two days a week out of the house, take care of my kids, and somehow be a sane human being all at the same time. It’s just not possible. So I guess what I’ve learned to do for myself and for my kids really so they are completely taken care of, is to get help when I know I can’t do it all. Because you just can’t. It’s impossible.” — Ali Fedotowsky, former reality TV star
67. “When we shame victims, we are perpetrating the violating behavior they experienced. We are exacerbating their trauma.” — Monica Lewinsky, advocate
68. “One cannot sustain a creative life without friends, family, food and culture that are outside of your own professional experiences. I wouldn’t know how to function without all of them.” — Sarah Jessica Parker, actress
69. “I take what’s good for me. I leave behind what is not good for me.” — Celine Dion, singer
70. “Trust yourself and trust there is a place at the table for you.” — Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale actress
71. “We are great multitaskers. But usually when something in your life is important and at the forefront, something else has to take a back seat and suffers a little bit. And it’s OK not to do everything perfectly and realize that things will come back around. You won’t be as busy business-wise and have more time at home. And sometimes you have less time at home and more time in business. It’s a cycle and it’s also a balance that means that sometimes, it’s more of like a sliding scale. Everything is not always in perfect balance.” — Trisha Yearwood, singer
72. “Sometimes you put something in and give all the context in the world and then people will contort it and twist. But you don’t get to control how other people read things and what they take away and what they choose to characterize.” — Tara Westover, author of Educated
73. “For my daughters and all the girls who look up to me, I think it’s important to be as authentic as possible.” — Ellen Pompeo, actress on Grey’s Anatomy
74. “I believe that we all have enormous creativity in us. If you are not using it, somewhere along the way you have probably been told that you’re not good at it. Or somebody made fun of you. Or somebody said you are tone deaf. That belief has been instilled in you in. However, I believe there is so much creativity that can be withheld. Do the things that you have always wanted to do.” — Rita Wilson, singer
75. “Ripping the Bandaid off is sort of a motto of mine—you either do it or you don’t. It’s like otherwise, you’ll never get there.” — Cate Luzio, CEO of Luminary
76. “My best successes came on the heels of failures.” — Barbara Corcoran
77. “We call it the water around rocks mindset, which comes from a Buddhist expression. When faced with an obstacle there are only three ways to react to it—one, to scale back your dreams or two, react as a victim, but that doesn’t serve you.” — Julia Pimsleur, author and creator of the Million Dollar Women Summit
78. “I always get asked, ‘Where do you get your confidence?’ I think people are well meaning, but it’s pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, ‘You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You’re not skinny, you’re not white, you’re a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you’re worth anything?’” — Mindy Kaling, actress
79. “If we are disturbed internally and we don’t feel grounded or we don’t feel safe within ourselves or honest with ourselves, or a sense of self love and respect, then it’s really hard for us to make any kind of major changes because we’re still coming back to the same issue over and over and over. And so my self-care wellness always comes down to what is bringing me the most joy right now and what’s going to kind of help me be a little bit kinder and softer to my emotional experience in this moment.” — Shailene Woodley, actress
80. “I try to make sure that I have the right amount of time at home and time on the road. I definitely don’t ever want to burn out at my job. I also need to have a personal life and be able to go home and be normal.” — Miranda Lambert, singer
Related: Every Day We Hustlin’—155 Inspiring Hustle Quotes That’ll Help You Stay Motivated
81. “One thing led to the next, and here I am, several years later, doing construction. It’s definitely not what I planned to be doing in my life, but I am certainly enjoying the ride.” — Rachel Street, star of the DIY Network series, Philly Revival
82. “[…] finish what you start, and also allow yourself to do things imperfectly. If you start that project with your friend, finish it, even if it’s awful. Because the next thing will be better. You have to finish it before you can learn how to be better. That’s the advice that got me through.” — Jenna Fischer, actress
83. “Starting a business is not the time to be humble. Be as bold, loud and feisty as you can because you will need it to win.” — Tami Garcia, founder of Mully Lingua, a one-stop-resource allowing parents to locate and schedule language and cultural activities for their children
84. “Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities. Know that there is no finish line; fortune favors action. Race balls-out toward the extraordinary life that you’ve always dreamed of, or still haven’t had time to dream up. And prepare to have a hell of a lot of fun along the way.” – Sophia Amoruso, Nastygal founder and author of #GIRLBOSS
85. “I think it’s not a sign of weakness to ask questions and just find experts in whatever areas you’d need input on. It’s actually a sign of strength to realize what you don’t know and to seek out answers from other people. Know where your blind spots are, know where you need support and seek out that support. And that’s absolutely critical when you want to start your own business.” — Naomi Furgiuele, founder of Nuria Beauty
86. “Someone told me this once, and we should all hear this when we’re young: ‘Life is a marathon, not a race.’ It’s really easy—especially in this world of lists of people who are ’30 under 30′ and just so many people accomplishing things at an early age—to stop and realize like, ‘OK, I have a lot of time ahead of me to accomplish what I want. I don’t need to put so much pressure on myself and compare myself to everybody else.’ Think on a longer horizon—what’s right in front of you today.” — Sophia Amoruso, Nastygal founder and author of #GIRLBOSS
87. “My daily mantra and motivational quote is simple: ‘Constraint creates creativity.’ It’s an ode to new and upcoming founders who feel they that because they lack funding, resources, or ample staff, that they can’t create something big. But I believe that when you have nothing to lose, your mind taps into a survival mode that allows you to access a creative nook you didn’t know you had, thus allowing you to create something from almost nothing.” — Monica Weintraub, CEO and founder of Down to Donate, host of The Good Work Podcast
88. “I think women take on so much and often too much,” she tells us. “I think if we’re able to create the night before, a list or those goals we want to accomplish, we’re more likely to achieve them.” — Erin Condren, founder of LifePlanner
89. “I am so very thankful for my amazing team. They are my sparkle squad and they are the ones who keep me sparkling all week long!” — Samantha Cutler, founder of Petite ‘n Pretty
90. “If I can’t focus on what I’m doing, I will change up the energy. Shift to something else, light a candle or incense or go for a walk. I find taking breaks is key to staying productive.” — Courtney Somer, founder of Lake & Skye
91. “I get over the 3:00 p.m. slump by taking a break at the office. I get up from my desk and chat with my team members about what’s going on with them. It’s a good break for everyone!” — Lo Bosworth, founder of Love Wellness
92. “I always make sure that I have time for myself which keeps me happy.” — Venus Williams, tennis pro
93. “Everyone’s journey, no matter what, is very different. My mom was always the one who says, ‘Everything happens for a reason’ and you know, there are days that I believe in that and then there are days where I don’t. I think the plan is really what you make it. It will happen when it’s meant to happen.” — Cate Luzio, founder of Luminary
94. “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” — Oprah Winfrey
95. “I’m all about inspirational quotes. Some people put on it song to pump them up or go to the gym, and for me, I can just read an inspirational quote and it nails it for me. One of my favorites is, “You can do anything, but maybe not everything all at once.” And that’s something that really resonated me because as women, we juggle so much. We’re just so hard on ourselves and can get so deflated.” — Erin Condren, founder of LifePlanner
96. “Being an entrepreneur, it’s really hard. I’m a control freak, so when you lose a little bit of control, it’s tough. The rollercoaster is tremendous. And it never goes away.” — Cate Luzio, founder of Luminary
97. “I’m really excited about the future because I think we women have got this tremendous momentum behind us. I think we have to work together, not just amongst women, but with men to kind of keep that momentum.” – Cate Luzio, founder of Luminary
98. “I really do believe the more we know about each other, the better we are.” — Lisa Ling, reporter
99. “You can’t be what you can’t see, so I think it’s so important for women to see that it’s possible to run a fast-growing business and also to start a family.” — Audrey Gelman, CEO of The Wing
100. “We like to say that ‘any personality type can do any job,’ because it’s true—your MBTI personality type shouldn’t limit your career choice. However, by knowing your personality preferences you can better understand which parts of the job might come easily to you and which might drain you more often than not.” — Dr. Rachel Cubas-Wilkinson, a solutions consultant at the Myers-Briggs company
101. “If you speak Spanish and English, let it be known. Add it as an important skill in your resume. Step up to translate in your workplace when a Spanish-speaking client needs assistance. Offer to lead outreach to Latinx communities at your organization. Be the go-to person at your industry for everything Latinx. Realize that your language and your culture ARE part of your unique skills that make you a valuable employee or girl boss. Flaunt it and others will start to see the value in your dual language and culture.” — Dr. Luz Claudio, environmental health scientist and physician
To learn how #GIRLBOSS founder Sophia Amoruso beats burnout, click here.