15 Career Lessons From Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sara Blakely and Other Successful Founders The lessons these founders can teach you - and how to apply them to your own career.

By Jessica Thomas Edited by Jessica Thomas

VCG | Getty Images

It's easy for it to seem like everything Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Sara Blakely touches turns to gold. And it's true that each has been incredibly successful in their respective industries. But every one of those founders had to start somewhere, and success is never guaranteed — even for billionaires.

Related: 61 Books Elon Musk Thinks You Should Read

The internet is full of career advice from successful people, but overseeing a multi-billion-dollar empire is different than managing a small business. So, Resume.io took career advice from someof the world's most successful founders and distilled it down to the following pro tips that can apply to your own career, whether you're just starting out or already up and running.

Related: Do You Get More Sleep Than Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Winston Churchill?

Jessica Thomas

BIZ Experiences Staff

Senior Digital Content Director

Jessica Thomas is the senior digital content director at BIZ Experiences. Prior to this role, she spent nearly five years on staff at Worth magazine and was a staff writer for Bustle. 

Want to be an BIZ Experiences Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Starting a Business

These Brothers Started a Business to Improve an Everyday Task. They Made Their First Products in the Garage — Now They've Raised Over $100 Million.

Coulter and Trent Lewis had an early research breakthrough that helped them solve for the right problem.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for BIZ Experiencess to pursue in 2025.

Franchise

10 No-Office-Required Businesses You Can Start for as Little as $5,000

With strong Franchise 500 rankings and investment levels starting under $5,000, these brands are ready for new owners to hit the ground running.

Franchise

How to Prepare Your Business — And Yourself — For a Smooth Exit

After decades of building your business, turning it over to someone else can be emotional. But with the right mindset and a strong plan, it can also be your proudest moment.

Business News

Here Are the 10 Jobs AI Is Most Likely to Automate, According to a Microsoft Study

These careers are most likely to be affected by generative AI, based on data from 200,000 conversations with Microsoft's Copilot chatbot.