Here is a list of motivational quotes about social impact and business to encourage you everyday to build and create something inspirational.
At Causeartist, we have had the great pleasure of interviewing thousands of social impact and business leaders and most of these quotes are derived from those interviews.
Social entrepreneurship is often about taking risks. It’s about having an idea and turning it into something tangible, whether it’s a new product, service, or company idea.
Of course, not every risk pays off, but the rewards can be great for those who are successful.
These motivational quotes can be empowering and inspiring for anyone who is thinking about starting their own business or taking their career in a new direction.
Here are some of our favorite motivational quotes below.
If you are inspired by some of these quotes check out full episodes of our Disruptors for GOOD podcast that feature amazing motivational quotes every episode!
Going forward this list will be updated as we receive more motivational quotes. Have a great day as always 😀
All graphics made with Canva.
Prashant Mehta – Co-founder of Conscious Step
“Together we exist to work and learn from those who continue to make great strides with modern day issues, while empowering our generation to take conscious steps in their everyday lives.”
Learn more about Conscious Step.
Nur-E Farhana Rahman – Founder Knotty Gal
“Don’t give up! I can’t stress this enough. Talent and intelligence are great, but they mean very little without perseverance.”
Todd Grinnell – Co-founder of This Bar Saves Lives
“Build your business around being the most helpful to the world and don’t ever forget why you started giving back.”
Learn more about this bar saves lives.
James Henrit (aka ‘Elvis’) and Kresse Wesling – Founders of Elvis & Kresse
“We think it is important to reinvest half of our profits in the business but why shouldn’t we also reinvest half in our community of stakeholders.”
Learn more about Elvis & Kresse.
Janna Hart – Founder Bonfolk Collective
“Living near Skid Row was a HUGE eye opener for me on poverty in the United States. I saw hundreds of people a day sleeping on the streets, some in tents, some just on the dirty sidewalk.
Most had no shoes on and socks with holes in them. Such a horrible sight to see, especially here in the U.S. where we have so many resources to make a change.
This experience really made me want to do something about it and help make a change.
I talked to some of the individuals about what they need the most as far as clothing, came to find out it was socks!”
Check out Bonfolk Collective.
Seth Saeugling – Co-founder of Rural Opportunity Institute
“Do not be afraid to put yourself out there. Often, you will learn more by spending 10 minutes with your customer/user, then you will in 10 hours of isolated research or desk work. It can be uncomfortable, don’t let that stop you.
Build the muscle, put yourself in spaces where people think differently from you and learn their worldview, how they view the problem they are living that you are seeking to solve, and how they react to any potential solutions you’ve built to serve them.”
Learn more about The Rural Opportunity Institute.
Jim Ziolkowski – buildOn
“Fear is useless. What is needed is trust. As social innovators we’ve got to be tenacious, gritty and courageous. We deal with cynicism and rejection- especially when what we’re working on is important. So we can never give up. Ever.”
Learn more about buildOn.
Markus Gilles – Co-founder of Klima
“With 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions stemming from individual consumption, we know that change starts with all of us.
While we need governments and large corporations to act to decarbonize the systems we live in, individuals have an important role to play as well.”
Learn more about Klima.
Colleen Clines – Co-founder of The Anchal Project
“As worldwide consciousness shifts attention to integrating more holistic and environmental actions into our daily lives, it is vital to recognize everyday systems that can become more sustainable.
We believe there is a strong movement rising in socially and environmentally conscious products because the public is demanding a change. However there is a long road ahead.”
Learn more about Anchal.
Alexis Cook, Co-founder of Resera
“Our goal is to be able to help 20 women transition into housing and employment this coming year, which is why we’ve completely re-imagined our production processes and designs to scale the company.”
Learn more about Resera.
Jeremy Heimans – Founder of Purpose
“Ask yourself – should I start my own thing or join a social enterprise that is taking off and needs brilliant people to scale and succeed?
The world doesn’t just need more social entrepreneurs – it needs organizations that get big and successful enough to be a model for others.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is get on a rocket ship, not try to start your own.”
Learn more about Purpose.
Scot Tatelman – Co-founder of STATE
“If you’re going to create real impact, it has to be done with the same focus and level of intensity as your business.”
“The one thing I learned about running a business is that you can’t please everyone, but if you want to make real impact you have to take real risks.
We knew there would be negative blowback around some our initiatives and special projects, but if you have a platform, I believe it’s a responsibility to use it for good… in whatever way most speaks to you and your business.”
Stephen Garten – Founder of Charity Charge
“Every year over $16,000,000,000 in credit card rewards points go unused and expire. Doesn’t it seem like they could be put to good use by schools, organizations or charities?”
Learn more about Charity Charge.
Devan Anderson – Co-founder of MyClo
“It’s imperative that your social mission comes from a 100% real place. In other words, make sure that it’s something that comes from actual experience or that truly inspires you in some way.”
Cayla Mackey – Founder of Unicorn Goods
“You don’t have to eat 100% vegan or wear hemp to do your part. Change can start with your wardrobe and happen gradually, one purchase at a time.”
Brett Hagler – Co-Founder of New Story Charity
“The problem is not that people don’t want to help others, the problem is they don’t know who to trust and whether their money will actually make a difference to someone’s life”
Peter Diamandis – Founder of XPRIZE Foundation
“Even if you fail in doing something ambitious, you usually succeed in doing something important.”
Steph Korey – Co-founder of AWAY
“I think, as a society, we’ve been too focused on post-conflict resolution, but there’s so much potential for preventing conflict from happening at all!”
Hannah Davis – Founder of BANGS Shoes
“Don’t over think it; nothing will ever be perfect so just prepare as best you can and do it already”
Learn more about BANGS Shoes.
Mark Horoszowski – Founder of MovingWorlds
“Simply put, just by virtue of being from somewhere else and a different industry, I had a different mindset and ideas about how to solve problems.”
“We also see that people tend to not value their own skills enough and instead default to offering manual labor or offering to teach a language they speak.
We’re trying to bring awareness to the fact that one of the leading barriers to progress is a lack of access to talent, so by Experteering, you can really catalyze impact in areas that need it.”
Kristen Dickerson – Founder of Raven + Lily
“Don’t ever compromise what makes you passionate about what you are doing, no matter what.”
Hayley Santell – Founder of MADI Apparel
“That interested us, and upon further investigation, we came across the statistic that underwear is the most needed, under-donated item of clothing.
Around the same time, a family member of mine revealed that over 30 years ago before her longtime marriage, she fell victim to domestic abuse in a previous relationship. Domestic violence wasn’t in the media much at this time, so I didn’t know much about it.”
Seth Maxwell – Founder of Thirst Project
“We believe young people have the greatest power to be agents for social change.”
Monty Hasan – Founder of Topiku
“I suggest social enterprises to look more upstream in the supply chain. To change the standards of our society, we can’t just offer a product sold to consumers, but a solution that proves our sustainable processes ARE an environmental, social, and financial improvement to the norm.”
Jenny Amaraneni – Founder of SOLO Eyewear
“People walk into operating rooms blind in one or both eyes, undergo a quick, 10 minute surgery and have their vision restored for as little as $15. It’s crazy how so little can drastically change one person’s life!”
Mick Ebeling – Founder of Not Impossible Labs
“We were able to make an arm for Daniel so he could feed himself for the first time in two years, then we were also able to train his village so they would have the potential to keep creating arms when we left”
Learn more about Not Impossible Labs.
John Wood – Founder of Room To Read
“Don’t tell us all the reasons this might not work. Tell us all the ways it could work.”
Scot Chisholm – Founder of Classy
“For me, it’s exciting to see such growth in the social sector year over year—it shows just how many people are dedicated to tackling today’s biggest societal issues.”
“With a great product, word of mouth referrals start to happen, and then from there you have enough tail wind to build out a sales organization.”
Steve Larosiliere – Founder of STOKED
“For the past 5 years in a row we have a 100% High School graduation rate. For the past 2 years 100% college acceptance”
Dan Barry – Founder of Marc Skid
I believe that small actions, multiplied by many people, can make a genuine difference in the world.”
Patrick Clarke – Founder of Cape Clasp
“You only have one life, so make it yours! Find what you love to do and pursue it relentlessly. Stop treading water and start making waves.”
Aanchal Bansal – Redo
“We love fashion but there are just too many clothes being produced, consumed and discarded thoughtlessly. Over 26 billion pounds of garment and textile waste reach the landfill every year.”
Hamza Farrukh – Bondh E Shams
“2.1 billion people lack access to safe water, with 3.4 million, mostly children, dying annually from preventable, water-borne diseases.”
Jen Woodgate – Cuddle + kind
“For us, it’s about putting the principles of fairness and decency before profits.”
Tirthak Saha – Trolysis
“71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be traced back to just 100 fossil fuel companies.”
Vaishali Umrikar – The Empowerment Bag
“I remember sobbing my way through the book. Reading about the exploitation of innocent young girls and women who were tricked into sexual slavery left me angry, upset, and appalled.”
Claire Coder – Aunt Flow
“Founding a social enterprise that would be a sustainable solution to help women has been a dream. And I am proud to say it’s a reality.”
Sian Conway – Ethical Hour
“We’ve seen entrepreneurs disrupt entire industries before and tackling climate change is undeniably the greatest disruption of our time.”
Zack Mellette President – Swope Dreams
“What we are advocating for is an ecosystem that welcomes all players and is willing to think outside the box to find innovative solutions for housing affordability.”
Dallas Crum – Vivid Roots
“The idea is to inspire people to live more vividly.”
“Our main priority is not getting rich, it is promoting and encouraging people to live a life full of joy and value (Living Vividly) and feeling a sense of responsibility as humans in fortunate situations to help those that are not as fortunate.
Our mindset is that most anything is attainable with hard work and truly believing that success will happen.
As time goes on, this fact is further and further validated.
We have a long way to go before this will be a solid source of income for us, but like i said, it is about spreading the message and helping make the world a better place for everyone.
it is comforting knowing the beautiful and fruitful impact of giving someone with such a simple, and necessary opportunity that comes with clean water.”
James Bartle – Outland Denim
“It is devastating to see what the garment industry has done to peoples lives through pollution.”
“Simple things like working in a safe and supportive environment where they are loved and appreciated make a huge difference in the healing process.
A career path waits for them now along with incentives, so they become more driven and find they have more purpose as they are now part of the solution for getting the next girl out of her hellish situation.”
Seungah Jeong – MPOWERD
“We want to showcase how clean technology can revolutionize consumer electronics.”
Jigar Ganatra – Halisia Travel
“Traveling forces you to change this notion of development dominated by economics and consider the wellbeing of people and the environment when thinking of progress.”
Branden Harvey, Founder of Good Good Good
“I wanted to figure out how to help people feel more helpful about these problems.”
Kimberly Novod, co-founder of Saul’s Light
“I was diagnosed with PTSD a few months after my son passed away and five years later, it’s something that I still navigate in my daily life.”
Aditi Gupta, co-founder of Menstrupedia
“We need to raise our girls with power, and we need to raise our boys with information. I want the girls to be proud of who they are, of their bodies.
I dream of a future where menstruation is not a curse, not a disease, but a welcoming change in a girl’s life.”
Farrukh Lalani, the founder of Daria Day
“We strive to provide the artisans with a sustainable livelihood and path to prosperity, hoping to break the cycle of poverty and show that we are all connected.”
Maya Ajmera, the CEO of Society for Science & the Public
“Believe in yourself, push the boundaries, don’t be afraid, and listen to your inner voice, listen to the genuine inside of you.”
Katy Sherratt, CEO of Back on My Feet
“I’m here to have impact. We are here to help as many people as sustainably possible.”
Kuropatkin Tawil, the founder of KUROS
“Our mission is to enhance the safety and mobility of women around the world.”
Treana Peake, the Founder of Obakki
“There is a ripple effect to our actions and it all begins with giving.”
Rafik Riad – Founder of Buy Good Feel Good
“I am amazed at the speed at which the social enterprise movement is growing around the world. A new economy exists and it is time to support it”
Tamra Ryan – CEO of The Women’s Bean Project
“I really believe that when you change a women’s life you change her family’s life as well.”
Jenny Silbert // Founder of Rewilder
“We believe that business has a unique opportunity to lead in environmental issues and shine light on the huge waste in all industry.”
