We asked all our FACES of Louisville for 2013 and our FACES of the South to share advice for life or business. Together, the list is impressive and provides words to live by. Here is what they had to say when asked, “Can you share a piece of personal or professional advice?”

Special thanks to Adele Reding as our official photographer for FACES of Louisville.

FACES of Louisville

“…customer service is everything and not to be greedy. Also, don’t spread your clients into two overheads!” Betsy Jones Cooper

” …life has a lot of chapters. There is hope and possibility present in all things”- Maryanne Honeycutt Elliott

“Stay out of debt and don’t be greedy.”- Kathy Cary

“If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll end up being nothing at all. Be authentic and you’ll find your best clients.”- Kara Mohr

“Go with the flow and never, ever, ever say ‘never.'”- Kim Gordon

“Be persistent. Nothing that is worth doing will EVER come easy. You must work for it.”- Erica McDowell

“Never enter a business partnership with someone you do not know and/or trust.”- Brooke Vaughn

 

“If you have a good mission, people will support you. Stay focused on your mission.” -Lara MacGregor

“‘Be grateful wherever you are in life.’ Sometimes the things you think you want the most aren’t meant to be. I spent months trying to get a job as a reporter in Tulsa and Little Rock when I was starting out and was crushed when that did not work out. If it had, I wouldn’t have applied to work at WDRB where I’ve spent the last 15 years.”- Elizabeth Woolsey

“Follow your heart and the money will come.”- Amanda Tyler

“A positive attitude can take you anywhere, there is absolutely no time for negativity. When facing challenges, I have realized it is all about keeping positive thoughts and it truly helps you to not only succeed, but help others around you to be better persons as well. This is not only in business, but so important at home, too, to show my two sons positive energy always!”- Catherine Delaney

“Success doesn’t happen overnight, be patient, and never get comfortable.”- Aockquee Burgess

“Only do business with people you respect, and don’t undervalue your products. I don’t really cut “deals.” I price my products fairly and good things cost good money.”- Jacqui Van Ham

“If you have one foot in front of you and one foot behind you, you can’t do today to the best of your ability. Just do today and, God willing, you can come back to your desk tomorrow.”- Abagail Mueller

“Be proactive, not reactive.”- Debbie Houston

“Hone in on where your passion and skill can be of the highest service to your business and to the world. Then trust the members of your team to do what they do best, freeing you to do what you do best.”- Rhona Kamar

“Quality first. This should never be compromised.” – Kenya Turner

“Surround yourself with good advisers.” – Shane Shaps

“Take calculated risks.”- Janna Flowers

“Treat people with respect and they will do the same in the end.”- Tiffany Cardwell

“My parents are my mentors. As individuals, they are the most hard-working and level-headed people I know. I realize and appreciate more and more how I inherited their ability to take everything in stride, not let stress invade your life, to smile and laugh every day, and to treat everyone like family. As a couple, they have always been such an effortless example of what it means to marry your best friend, which taught me to never settle for anything less.”- Karen Alladin Gittli

“Be open to new ideas and to change with the times.”- Summer Eliason

“Adapt to change.” – Terri Weber

“Listen intently. Formulate your questions, interpret their needs, and then speak. Provide a service or design that will make people LIKE you in five years rather than curse you. When in doubt, simplify! Honesty is the best policy.” – Barbie Tafel

“If you are not hearing no, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to be successful.” – Stephanie Wetzstein

“I’ve gotten so much great advice as we have taken on this new adventure, but one thing that continues to resonate with me is to “start small.” That is how we have approached our brand launch as we initially introduce a small selection of items and have plans to expand into a full lifestyle brand offering a full array of merchandise for the bourbon lover. It has certainly helped me to not feel too overwhelmed and to learn what type of product most interests our fans and customers.”- Louise Van Winkle Breen

“Doing what you love will bring nothing but joy and a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.” – Lauri Arnold

“I was part of a CEO forum group when I first became President of The Oliver Group. I learned that I will let people down each day when my days are too packed to return every call or finish every project. I have taken the advice from another forum member, to make sure that I don’t let down the most important people–my family, friends and coworkers. Important, too, is that we can’t feel bad for letting someone down if we are doing the best we can and responding to the largest priorities each day.”- Jennifer Mackin

“Be a good listener and be very organized. In my field, it is difficult to be organized while being creative, but this is essential to success.” – Marketa Greer

“A very good friend of mine, Virginia Rankin, has a plaque in her office that says, ‘We strive for perfection and accept nothing less than excellence.’ I have adopted this motto and work toward executing it in everything I do.”- Marcie Hancock

 FACES of the South

“Stand up for what you believe. Follow your gut, which most of the time is your heart talking. This has been my hardest lesson. I have given this advice and not always followed it myself. The truth is, there is no other way.” – Faith Hill

“Love what you do. Never compromise your dreams or desires for the sake of money.” – Carla Hall

“My friend and fellow jewelry designer Nicholas Varney told me: ‘Buy what you think is beautiful. If you do that, you will always end up with a beautiful final piece.’  It is true. I take that with me any time I am looking for materials to work with.” – Kimberly McDonald

“My father told me, ‘Remember who you are and who you represent.'” – Michelle Weaver

“If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that life passes by in phases, and phases end. So if you’re in a phase of life that is just totally amazing, then relish every second. On the flip-side, if you’re at a low point or in a stressful place, keep the faith because that phase will end and a new one will begin. You just have to hang on until then. I’ve given that advice to a lot of deployed troops or friends going through work or marriage troubles…or newborns, ha ha!” – Angie Johnson

“Strive for the three ‘Be’s’: Be naïve, be real, be hungry. Be naïve enough to believe in your dreams, but also be aware of the obstacles. Know the odds, but believe you can beat them. Be real enough to connect with consumers and cross that difficult divide from brand loyalty to brand love. Be hungry enough to realize that when ideas stand still, they get old and are eventually replaced by better ideas.” – Laurie Ann Goldman

“I was never allowed to say the word can’t or quit any sports when I was a little girl. My parents taught me that I could do anything that I set my mind to and that to be successful, you had to keep going even when the going gets tough.” – Heidi Elnora

“To live wholeheartedly with compassion, courage and connection. This is my daily mantra as a mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend, business owner and mentor.” – Elaine Turner

“During those heavy workload, sleep deprived years of the early 1990s, my mother-in-law, Mary Chapman, suggested I pray this simple prayer every day: ‘Lord, lead me today to those I need and to those who need me and let something I do have eternal significance. Amen.’ That simple prayer continually reboots my anticipation and openness about what a day might hold.” – Amy Grant

“Life is finite. Every single day I wish I could have just one more conversation, or cup of coffee, or even just one more laugh with my dad. But missing him helps me to love the people in my life with that much more abandon. And so it is the best lesson of all.” – Damaris Phillips

“It really goes back to my parents instilling in me the belief that one can do whatever they want to if they don’t give up. So, I guess, my mantra is all about guts and being willing to do things a little differently. The letter that hangs in my office from a reader in 2009 that says, ‘If you close this magazine, I will hunt you down and shoot you!’ was also a pretty good motivator to overcome the odds.” – Rebecca Darwin

“When something would come up that was something I did not feel comfortable deciding on, I have always sought advice from the people that had the expertise and knowledge that I did not have. I do know this: you must believe in yourself and in your product or service. Grow as fast as you can, but as slowly as you have to to maintain your quality. All things are possible with God’s help. I believe I was lucky to bring a product to the marketplace at just the right time—a fully-baked frozen yeast roll—when there was nothing else like it at the time. We filled a niche in the grocery stores, and that made it much easier to sell.” – Patricia Barnes

 

We hope you are all just as inspired as we are.