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Entrepreneur vs. Small Business Owner—Why You Should Care

Written by: Stefan Doering

Article Overview: If you run your company (or career) from a place that is what you think you “should” or are “supposed to” do, not from what is right for you, it may be a very bumpy ride. Knowing the key differences between being an entrepreneur and small business owner should help guide you down the right path:

Entrepreneur vs. Small Business Owner—Why You Should Care

One evening late last year I was a bit nervous as I got on the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan. I was heading to dinner with a woman who I lived with and loved for nine years.

And until the week before that subway ride, my ex-wife and I had not spoken in 12 years.

When we first met I was 22 years old. And while we had a lot of fun together over the next nine years, as we grew older, we also grew less similar. Eventually it ended with an intense bang which took us both years to come to terms with.

Seeing her for dinner a few months ago for the first time in so long was really nice. All the anger and hurt was long gone, allowing us to really just be with each other.

After catching up, we spoke candidly about what really drove us apart.

We agreed we were just very different people and because we were so young when we first met, we were not clear with ourselves or each other on what was most important to us, both individually and as a couple.

And as we hugged each other goodbye and wished each other the best in our lives ahead, I could not help but think that if had we continued to stay married and tried to be the spouse each of us wanted the other to be, we would have been pretty unhappy.

The same is true with your relationship with your business. If you run your company (or career) from a place that is what you think you “should” or are “supposed to” do, not from what is right for you, it may be a very bumpy ride.

Knowing the key differences between being an entrepreneur and small business owner should help guide you down the right path:

Entrepreneurs tend to be

* innovators
* ambitious
* inspired by what they do
* self-motivated, and
* shift directions quickly and decisively

Small Business Owners (SBO’s) tend to be

* content with status quo
* looking to do well, but not aggressively so
* steady, reliable and predictable and
* needing motivation and inspiration

Do you see yourself falling into one more than the other? If so, you’re like most of us. And while most of us have characteristics and traits from both and in many ways they overlap each other (that is why many people use “entrepreneurs” and “SBOs” interchangeably) we tend to have dominant characteristics of one over the other.

The power of being able to distinguish being an entrepreneur or SBO, you’ll be able to better:

* keep your focus on what you should go after
* build your team of like-minded, synergistic people
* create a powerful game plan and stick to it
* build a format and structure to your business that supports you
* avoid major pitfalls and mistakes

And just as I learned the hard way with my first marriage, understanding the type of business person you are can help build a very powerful relationship you have with your company.



Action Steps for the Week:

Take five minutes and reflect on where you tend to fall: entrepreneur or small business owner. Meditate on it, be honest with yourself and ultimately “own” (accept) it.

Then look at how you’ve been running your company. If, for example, you have the dominate traits of an SBO, are you creating growth strategies, business plans and raising investment capital? If so, are you happy, or feeling stressed out and that something is wrong?

Or, for example, are you an entrepreneur feeling like you’ve been playing it “safe”, not really innovating powerful solutions to your company’s challenges or taking a new and important direction? If so, are you happy or feeling like you are playing “small”?

Get clear on how it feels to be going in the direction you have been going as an SBO or entrepreneur.

And if necessary adjust your sails to what feels right to you.

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Article Tags: 22 years, anger, brooklyn, bumpy ride, entrepreneur, innovators, inspiration, manhattan, motivation, nine years, relationship, shift directions, small business owner, small business owners, subway



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