If you were to ask enough people what is the difference between an entrepreneur and a small business owner, you could literally write books about the vast differences that you would be given.  Many of them would be so kind as to provide you with example after example to prove their points.

As for me, I have never thought about the difference very much as I tended to think more about the functions that I was being pressed to provide or to acquire along the way to business success.  But, I realize that the question is not really an idle one.  There is a purpose and some value to come to a conclusion as to which of these titles best describe you and what you are all about in business.

So, to help you in coming to a decision, we have jotted down a few of the commonly held definitions or characteristics that are generally contributed to one or the other.  Hopefully, this process will give you something to think about and a path to follow in deciding if you are an entrepreneur or a business owner.

On a purely personal level, let me give you my belief in this matter.  I believe that it is possible for an entrepreneur to be a business owner, but a business owner may not necessarily be an entrepreneur.  That is my way of dealing with the question.  Do you agree or disagree with that conclusion?  I would love to hear your opinions about it.

So, moving forward – Here are some of the standard definitions that we have gathered regarding this question:

Small Business Owners tend to:

• Be closely attached to their business and tend to want to hang on to them forever.
• Think more about what they may need to do for the next few days or weeks, but usually not much more in advance
• They don’t take a lot of risks preferring to keep everything under control and predictable.
• Make sure that their ideas are doable and that their customers will approve of the changes that any ideas might require.
• Although they will often hire employees, they make certain that they remain as the “boss” and in control of all of the decisions.
• Tend to not enjoy delegating to others, especially if the tasks are critical or important ones.
• Not likely to be eager to take the business to the next level as that sometimes implies more risk.  Keeping the business as it is and on track is usually a bit more attractive to them than to expand their activities in a major way.
• Stability is better than rapid growth to them.  Inviting outsiders into the business, even as investors, is often an uncomfortable idea for them.

Entrepreneurs tend to:

Think a great deal about building the company and obtaining growth by any means necessary.

• They are not afraid to assign tasks to others.  In fact, that skill is usually a major part of their ultimate success since nobody can do everything that needs doing, so it is vital that an entrepreneur learn how to delegate responsibilities to others.
• Focus on the future in a long-term view and not just for the next few weeks or months.
• Being able to obtain necessary capital or to engage with potential partners would not cause them to hesitant if they felt that doing  either one gave them a good chance to make a major step forward in their planning.
• Are not overly connected to their business and are more likely to “sell” the business and begin another one under the right circumstances.
• Very likely to have a flood of ideas in their heads and can become very excited over an idea long before they really know if it can even be achieved.
• Absolutely love the thrill of taking risks from time to time, but usually will go “all out” to achieve whatever the related goal or objective might be.

Perhaps the best way to resolve this often held debate between small business owners and entrepreneurs is to simply define yourself as an entrepreneur who owns and control numerous small businesses.  That way, you can legitimately be described as both at the same time.

This article was written by SDK Hunter Consulting Group

About The Author:

Sherman Hunter and SDK Hunter Consulting Group staff consultants provide global moneymaking opportunities and proprietary strategies that quickly accelerate business activity. You may familiarize yourself with these unique concepts by visiting the SDK Hunter Consulting Group blog located at:  https://sdkhunter.com

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