Are You More of a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur?
Over the years of coaching clients, I have noticed there is a difference between being a business owner and an entrepreneur. Even though having entrepreneurial spirit is a significant component of owning a business, it is not the only one. And being a great business owner does not necessarily make you a great entrepreneur.
If you agree with the philosophy, “entrepreneurship is about creating streams of income”, then a business that has significant time demands could limit the creativity that many entrepreneurs need to travel several paths at the same time. Many entrepreneurs get bored after a few years in the same business and seek to move on to new endeavors. These “serial” entrepreneurs are always seeking to create the next big idea. For example, franchising does not always work for them, as they enjoy completely creating the business from scratch. If this sounds like you, here are a few things you can do to position yourself for properly.
- Build your business with the intent that you could walk away from it. – This does not mean to build a bad business, but do not get too emotionally attached. When that next great opportunity comes up you will want to be able to run to it.
- Create a business that can be sold. – The amount of time and energy that you will put into any successful business, will be hard to run from unless you have a return on your invest. This ROI could be the seed money for that next big venture.
- Consider bringing in a business partner from the beginning – This business partner might be able to take over the business when your attention is diverted or maybe even in a position to buy you out if you do decided to completely leave. Since they were there from the (development or initial phases) they could be as vested as you.
Great business owners tend to be a little more conservative than the “serial” entrepreneur. They prefer the idea of being in charge of a business for the long term versus creating a whole new business model. They get enjoyment from growing a business, managing employees and opening multiple locations. A franchise opportunity is a great idea for them because they do not have to worry about creating everything and can focus on growing the business. Even great business owners should keep their eyes open for the following items as they grow their venture.
- Do your research! – Not all business are created the same. Make sure any opportunity you take on provides you with the level of support you need. Even though the level of support maybe relative, the reason you are buying in is for a proven business model that YOU can readily implement.
- Recognize the limitations – Make sure there is the flexibility that is needed to grow the business. Some owners are quite sensitive about their brand and will limit your ability to be creative, change certain work processes and where you can do business.
- Understand the commitment.- Since you are buying into this business, make sure this is something that you can see yourself doing for at least the next 5 years. The reason being is that it takes most business owners 5 years to break even. If you close or sell your business prior to that time, you will have a hard time generating the return on investment that you planned.
Any entrepreneur regardless of personality needs to make an honest evaluation of why they want to go into a business. And once completed, build a business that will position them to be as successful as possible.. At the end of the day there is no one perfect business for all entrepreneurs, but there is always a perfect business out there for each entrepreneur.
