--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We didn't know how to run a business, but…" description: "\"We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.\" — Ruth Handler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg" --- # We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams… ![“We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.” quote by Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg) > “We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.” [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of business experience can be offset by vision and talent. **In simple terms:** Dreams and talent compensate for inexperience. Key Takeaway Leverage strengths while learning business basics. Themes entrepreneurship vision talent learning Mood inspirational reflective Type motivational business When to use this quote - startup founding - product design - team building - market entry Key Concepts innovation skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can you acquire needed business skills? - What strengths can you lean on? A Different Perspective Success still requires business acumen and strategic planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [For over forty years, I've been one of the most passionate believers in entrepreneurs. From day one, I've learned that too many small businesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerber/for-over-forty-years-i-ve-been-one-of-the-most-passionate-believers/) [Michael Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerber/) > [“Don’t let your business dreams turn into your personal living nightmare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/don-t-let-your-business-dreams-turn-into-your-personal-living/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [“...all these things were part of the business of dreams. He had learned not to laugh at the advertisements offering to teach writing, cartooning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/all-these-things-were-part-of-the-business-of-dreams-he-had-learned/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“All of the myths of mankind are nothing but show business,' the other man said to me during our initial meeting. 'Everything that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/all-of-the-myths-of-mankind-are-nothing-but-show-business-the-other/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“Happiness is the worst threat to my business. Dreams are what it's all about. Frustrations. Fantasies that never come true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/happiness-is-the-worst-threat-to-my-business-dreams-are-what-it-s-all/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [“Revitalized and healthy, I started dreaming new dreams. I saw ways that I could make a significant contribution by sharing what I’ve learned. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-johnson/revitalized-and-healthy-i-started-dreaming-new-dreams-i-saw-ways-that/) [Whitney Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-johnson/) > [You can't run a business or anything else on a theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-geneen/you-can-t-run-a-business-or-anything-else-on-a-theory/) [Harold S. Geneen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-geneen/) > [When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business, it'll be called rent-a-spine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-i-m-out-of-politics-i-m-going-to-run-a-business-it-ll-be-called/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If you run a business, put on top your employees, then your consumers, and then your shareholders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/if-you-run-a-business-put-on-top-your-employees-then-your-consumers/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [No matter how confident you are in your own abilities, you can't build and run a business alone. You need your army pulling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-zwilling/no-matter-how-confident-you-are-in-your-own-abilities-you-can-t-build/) [Martin Zwilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-zwilling/) > [I'm a writer. I could not or would not ever run a business. I don't even have a secretary. And contrary to some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/i-m-a-writer-i-could-not-or-would-not-ever-run-a-business-i-don-t/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“Run your business like you own it. When you trust people to solve problems and make decisions, and then let them go, that’s when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-taylor/run-your-business-like-you-own-it-when-you-trust-people-to-solve/) William C. Taylor > [I've got a phone, answer machine, TV set, computer, hand grenade - everything you need to run a business in Los Angeles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/i-ve-got-a-phone-answer-machine-tv-set-computer-hand-grenade/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [I feel like I have my MBA in business at this point. And it's just insane how far I've come with learning about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-mondo/i-feel-like-i-have-my-mba-in-business-at-this-point-and-it-s-just/) [Brad Mondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-mondo/) > [You have got to have discipline and focus - on the customer and how you run the business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cantalupo/you-have-got-to-have-discipline-and-focus-on-the-customer-and-how-you/) [Jim Cantalupo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cantalupo/) ## More by Ruth Handler > [Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/barbie-always-represented-the-fact-that-a-woman-has-choices/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [I thought the Barbie doll would always be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/i-thought-the-barbie-doll-would-always-be-successful/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [It took us three years to even come close to catching up with the demand a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/it-took-us-three-years-to-even-come-close-to-catching-up-with-the/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [I wasn't a financial pro, and I paid the price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/i-wasn-t-a-financial-pro-and-i-paid-the-price/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/through-their-play-barbara-imagined-their-lives-as-adults-they-used/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [The doll had an adult shaped body, the thing that I had been trying to describe for years, and our guys said it couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/the-doll-had-an-adult-shaped-body-the-thing-that-i-had-been-trying-to/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [I did not think this doll could ever be this huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/i-did-not-think-this-doll-could-ever-be-this-huge/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [It's the degree of success and the length of time that is amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/it-s-the-degree-of-success-and-the-length-of-time-that-is-amazing/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [They were using the dolls to project their dreams of their own futures as adult women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/they-were-using-the-dolls-to-project-their-dreams-of-their-own/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) > [Television speeded everything up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/television-speeded-everything-up/) [Ruth Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) [Explore all 11 Ruth Handler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ruth Handler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but-we-had-dreams-and-talent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but-we-had-dreams-and-talent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ruth-handler-40105_business_we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but_2402198.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.” — Ruth Handler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ruth Handler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-handler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We didn't know how to run...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but-we-had-dreams-and-talent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-handler/we-didn-t-know-how-to-run-a-business-but-we-had-dreams-and-talent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```