Successful Entrepreneurs Share the Best Advice They Ever Got

Restaurateur Jon Taffer: See every detail of your business.

"Years ago when I was very young," recalls Taffer,  "a VP of Hyatt looked at me and said, 'You look, but you don’t see.'" Taffer learned to look not just at the big picture, but also at every place setting, light fixture, and customer exchange. "See every crack, every detail. I learned to really see and not just look at my business," he says.

Billionaire Mark Cuban: There are no shortcuts.

"Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts." The advice came from his father, who did upholstery on cars, when Cuban was in high school. "He was always very encouraging but also realistic," Cuban says of his dad.

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis: Get into a business where you can be a big fish.

"It was very simple. It was get into a business where you can be a big fish, not the little fish. Get into a business where you can be a change agent, where you can make a difference. It's worked well for me."

Founder of Dunkin' Donuts William Rosenberg:

"Show me a person who never made a mistake, and I will show you a person who never did anything. In business and in life, it is impossible to avoid all mistakes. Successes are due in part to failures, and mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process

Founder of Patagonia Yvon Chouinard:"How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top." Since founding Patagonia, one of the world's most successful outdoor clothing and gear companies, Chouinard has been a pioneer in mixing environmentalism with sound business practices. How we play the game, whether in business or in life, can matter more than how we finish. 

David Marcus, president of PayPal

 "People will only change the way they do everyday tasks if it’s overwhelmingly clear how it makes their lives better".

Maynard Webb, chairman at Yahoo and former COO of eBay

We must always move forward. We must always work to get better and always be searching for what we are intended to do with our lives, including with our loved ones. It’s a lesson that’s important at any age. i wake up everyday grateful for this time — I would argue the happiest of my life — and I’m inspired by the knowledge that my best years are not behind, but still very much ahead.