Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes: Week 44

Here is for your motivational Quote of the Week, personally selected to get your week off to an empowering start.

On this day in 1858, Ottawa was chosen by Queen Victoria as capital of Canada. So our quote is from Sir Terry Matthews (Mitel, Newbridge Networks, Celtic House, Mitel), probably Ottawa’s most succesful entrepreneur.

In a speech at a business awards event in Ottawa in March, in his energetic Welsh accent, Matthews offered these nuggets of wisdom to aspiring business leaders:

"I'm an engineer, I'm a business person, and I'm an enthusiast….[But] I'm not only an enthusiast, I have a go…

“It's not good enough to stand aside and say I've developed something. Ideas are 10 a penny. But you have to convert it to a business. And you have to meet with clients."

"If there is one characteristic that really embodies a winner, it's persistence… I am the most persistent son of a bitch you've ever come across."

"Go for it. Have a crack. Start up a business."

"You must be competent. You must be bold. You must work hard. You must be enthusiastic, be passionate. And absolutely, you must go visit the clients."

Thanks to Mark Sutcliffe and the Ottawa Citizen for covering the event. To find out how Sir Terry went to visit a client, peed on his shoes, and still got the order, read the original story here.

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