Grant Diggles

Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners – What’s the difference?

// September 30th, 2009 // Business

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to the difference between Entrepreneurs (ENTS) and Small Business Owners (SBOS). Everyone seems to believe that, as a default, SBOS are ENTS because they were courageous enough to start a business in the first place. Unfortunetly, this is a common misperception and one that should be cleared up. Here is a comparison to consider:

SBOS: Love of craft and the desire to do things their way drives the desire to be in business.

For example, a person who enjoys gardening may decide to start a small gardening business selling flower arrangements, literature on gardens and seedlings to their local community. An SBO can think of nothing more inspiring than combining personal passion with income to create a lifestyle based on joy and fulfillment.

ENTS: The business of business and financial success are the driving forces of the enterprise.

ENTS are people who leverage. They leverage money,  resources and people to create, build and, many times replace themselves. Using the same example from above, an ENT may identify a social environment that is experiencing a growing awareness for community gardens. An ENT may then use financial leverage to recruit gardening specialists to build a pilot program for a community garden in the area. Through marketing and networking, this ENT would eventually grow a self-sustaining program that would allow funding for a permanent replacement to maintain and grow the business out of passion and expertise, more commonly known as…  a Small Business Owner.

As an entrepreneur I’ve come to realize that instead of trying to do everything myself, my real strength is identifying individuals who thrive in their giftings; and I bring them together to accomplish a common goal. In essence, I am only as good as the people I hire.

My partner, who is more Small Business minded, loves his craft. His real strength, is derived from being masterful. The more skilled and knowledgeable he is, the more value he adds to the business. In essence, he is only a good as his skill level.

An SBO may become an ENT. No successful ENT becomes, willingly, an SBO. But whether you’re an SBO or ENT is not important, being able to identify with and embrace the driving forces in your life, is.