We always experience a serious spike in ambition at this time of year. Maybe it’s a holdover from our schoolgirl days, when Labor Day signified the end of summer and the start of classes, but whatever the reason for our renewed sense of purpose, we’ve suddenly found ourselves sharpening our pencils and getting ready to take names. Or notes, as the case may be. To help kickstart the season, we asked some of our favorite successful ladies to share the words of wisdom they say have helped them run the show. Peruse these pieces of killer advice to get you out of your bikini and onto the next Forbes’ short list.
Photo Credit: Adam Katz Sinding
Cassandra Grey - Founder, VioletGrey.com
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given: "If you don't know what to do, go to sleep, and you will know in the morning." Your Favorite Advice to Give: "Do not use email as a form of communication for anything that requires tonality. Pick up the phone, they still work!" Photo Credit: @cassandragrey
Ara Katz - Founder, Spring
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given:
"It's not about you. It never is" - says every human I have looked to for advice over the years.
Your Favorite Advice to Give:
"Don't trust your gut. Your gut can be an ego-driven a**hole. Trust your heart. Your heart always knows - whether it's a job or a partner or a choice. It's a muscle that gets stronger with practice - so use it often to guide you and its power will surprise you. It will get you out or your own way. It will get you out of jobs and relationships that don't serve you, it will teach you how little we really know about what's going on with our boss or someone at work, it will teach you that a job or a relationship doesn't have to be bad to be not right for you, it will show you that the job title you thought meant everything isn't going to make you feel fulfilled all by itself, and it will show you what happens when you learn to love and take care of yourself."
Photo Credit: @arakatz
Stacey Bendet - Founder, Alice + Olivia
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given: "Never say 'I can’t,' I was told as a young child over and over again. As an adult, I see how those words are truly the antithesis of the entrepreneurial and creative spirit - where there is a will there is a way. I always tell my team that rather than focusing on why something can’t be done to reverse their thought process and think about how it can be done!" Your Favorite Advice to Give: "If you can turn what you love into your work, you will find both happiness and success." Photo Credit: @aliceandolivia
Gillian Rose Kern and Laura Hall - Founders, For Love and Lemons
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given: "Everything is negotiable." Your Favorite Advice to Give: "Don't take anything personally, it's all just business in the end." Photo Credit: @forloveandlemons
Jaclyn Shanfeld - Founder, Shop-Hers.com
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given:
"Don't be afraid of change. Constant transformation equals greatness."
Your Favorite Advice to Give:
"Think before you speak/email/text. I've struggled through most of my life with a faulty filter. That is the nice way of saying that I say everything I think. This spunk serves me well in some venues but not well in others."
Photo Credit: @jaclynshophers
Marina Curry - founder, BeautyCon and We Are Fitness
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given:
"The best advice I've ever received came from one of my best friends when I told her my first big idea; she casually responded with ‘great, go for it, you can do it.’ At that moment I saw what she saw, which was that I could do it, and I did! Also, I used to love watching the Donny Deutsch show and one of the guests said that it was better to start a business or launch a product in an industry that you have no knowledge of or experience in BECAUSE you have no idea how hard it will be and how much work it will take. If you already knew, you probably would decide not to do it!"
Your Favorite Advice to Give:
"Seriously, just go for it! Hear the doubt and fear and take action anyway. Big actions that scare even yourself!"
Photo Credit: @wearefitnessofficial
Cara Santana - co founder, TheGlamApp
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given:
"Know your strengths, but more importantly, your weakness, and surround yourself with those whose strengths can counterbalance your weakness. There is nothing wrong with asking for help where you need it, but it is wrong not to."
Your Favorite Advice to Give:
"You are always going to have doubt or fear when chartering the unknown. Let it make you cautious, specific and premeditated in your decisions, but never let it stop you."
Photo Credit: @CaraASantana
Natalie Mauro, Co-Founder, Bones and Feathers
The Best Advice You’ve Ever Been Given: "'Work smarter not harder.' There was a time that we were working around the clock and not seeing the results we wanted. It wasn't until a business mentor of ours told us it wasn't about how hard we working, because it was obvious we were working really hard, but what how we were approaching our work/utilizing our time. Once we started applying that to everything we did, we started getting back what we were putting out." Your Favorite Advice to Give: "Don't be an asshole." Photo Credit: @bones_and_feathers
