Karen Mills Quotes
Born: September 14, 1953
Karen Mills has become a defining voice in the pursuit of Resilience & Focus, transforming personal struggle into a masterclass in mental fortitude. Her philosophy rests on the radical idea that clarity is not a gift, but a choice forged in the crucible of adversity. Mills teaches that true focus isn’t about ignoring noise, but about harnessing it as fuel. Her quotes resonate because they strip away pretense, offering a raw, actionable blueprint for anyone fighting to reclaim their concentration and strength. She leaves a legacy of unshakeable calm—a reminder that our greatest power lies not in avoiding storms, but in learning to steer through them.
Karen Mills Quotes (30)
"Small businesses want things streamlined, and one of the great successes we're having is less paperwork, faster turnaround times."
— Karen Mills"We are not going to be the agency where large businesses can masquerade as a small business and get a contract. We are closing down on fraud, waste and abuse."
— Karen Mills"I grew up in a family business... that really has provided the core of my belief in American small business, and in America's ability to grow and operate important businesses that can compete and be successful."
— Karen Mills"In October 2008, when the credit crunch hit, small businesses were really crushed by the lack of capital."
— Karen Mills"We really accomplished what we set out to do with the Recovery Act programs, which was to fill the lending gap created by the crisis."
— Karen Mills"We spend a great deal of our energy making sure that small businesses have help in navigating to the outcomes that they want."
— Karen Mills"The morale when I came in was not the best. It was because the agency had not been valued."
— Karen Mills"We see entrepreneurship and small businesses and supply chains as a critical part of the economic growth and competitiveness agenda."
— Karen Mills"One of the most important things we hear is the S.B.A. needs to be ubiquitous. We do all these things, but people still don't know."
— Karen Mills"We've gotten tremendous support. Everybody now understands how critical it is to help small businesses get out of this recession and into recovery."
— Karen Mills"Among our responsibilities is to make sure that 23 percent of all government contracts go to small businesses. That's about $150 billion annually, from all the government agencies."
— Karen Mills"As you probably know, half of the people who work in this country work for small businesses. And it's more than that, because two out of every three net new jobs come from small business. So we mean it when we talk about small business being the engine for the economy."
— Karen Mills"It's not government that creates jobs; it's small business. Our job is to make sure they have the access to capital, the access to contracting opportunities, and the help, advice and mentoring that they need to go out and be successful."
— Karen Mills"This is not a zero-sum game. We know that if we provide access and education, particularly where there are gaps in the market, we will create more jobs, we will create more growth, and we will create more activity in the U.S. market, which will be good for our economy."
— Karen Mills"Small businesses have told us that having cash in their pocket is one of the primary things that they need."
— Karen Mills"Small businesses pay 18 percent more than big businesses for health care, the same health care, just because they're small and they have too small a pool of risk."
— Karen Mills"I recently had the opportunity to participate in Inc.'s first-ever 'Hire Power Awards' event in Washington, D.C. The event was a testament to the power of American entrepreneurship and the role that it plays in driving job creation and innovation in a wide array of industries."
— Karen Mills"One of the most important tools we have at the Small Business Administration (SBA) to reach high growth entrepreneurs is the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program."
— Karen Mills"After four years as Administrator of the SBA, I have let President Obama know that I will not be staying for a second term. I will stay on until my successor is confirmed to ensure a smooth and seamless transition."
— Karen Mills"Small businesses are really the engine in the economy."
— Karen Mills"Small businesses, you can give them capital, but what they often need as much is mentoring, advice and help with their business plan."
— Karen Mills"President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address to make assisting domestic manufacturers a top priority for his second term."
— Karen Mills"The S.B.A. does not lend directly to businesses, but instead backs loans to encourage banks to invest in small businesses as part of a nearly $90 billion portfolio."
— Karen Mills"If you want to have prosperity here, we really have to see our small businesses able to grow and compete around the world."
— Karen Mills"I saw the S.B.A. with just enormous potential, and that's what I told the president - this is really a jewel."
— Karen Mills"Health care is the No. 1 concern of small businesses and the status quo is untenable."
— Karen Mills"We have to keep the momentum going in the economy. And we have to make sure that we give small businesses as much cash and liquidity as possible so they have the confidence to hire that next worker."
— Karen Mills"We don't want to give a business that is not going to come through the troubled waters a loan that they can't pay back."
— Karen Mills"I haven't checked this out yet, but one of our guys told me we have a counselor within 45 minutes to an hour of most small businesses in this country. That's really powerful. I call it our bone structure."
— Karen Mills"We were able in the Recovery Act to get a program where we increased our loan guarantees to 90 percent. Because we had that program, a bank wouldn't have to take that much risk."
— Karen Mills