Quotes from Les Wexner

Entrepreneurs, guys that start businesses, grow with them. It's more painful than it would appear.

Growing up, I knew you were supposed to have a profession - and something better than being a shopkeeper, which is what my parents were.

Society can't wait. It's sad there are so many entrepreneurs, business successes and venture capitalists who give no thought to society.

If you start painting yourself into a corner, life starts shutting down. There is always hopefully a next.

I was single for most of my life. The best thing that happened to me is my wife. I've got four kids. All of them go to Harvard. Much better than their dad. They're really bright kids.

You're not going to be a 1.000 hitter all the time. You're going to be more wrong than right. You just have to correct your errors as quickly, as economically, as possible.

Sometimes I wish I lived more in the day, but I'm happier thinking about tomorrow or the day after. The way I see it, there's always a new or next thing.

A woman at the Limited once asked me, 'Why do you work?' She said, 'You made a lot of money as a young man, so why are you still working?' I had never thought about it before. Forced to consider it, I told her, 'You know why? Because I think that if you stop to smell the roses, you'll get hit by a truck.'

In the '70s and '80s, the mentality of America was that everything was disposable. The notion of quality wasn't important.

I don't think most analysts understand that whether I work a 70-hour week or an 80-hour week, I take my head with me when I go home.

As an entrepreneur, you work out solutions.