Are You a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur?

Fashion designer

Are you a business owner or an entrepreneur?

These two terms are often used interchangeably but they are not the same thing at all. Each has its own distinctive qualities and goals and deciding which direction you’d like to head is important for reaching your goals.

What is a business owner?

A business owner is someone who has a skill or a passion that they would like to build a career around.  They tend to take baby steps and avoid large risks.  They tend to make decisions based on balance sheets and profits and are interested in a sustainable stream of income.  They’re more interested in creating the now versus creating the future.

What is an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is someone who has goals to change the way systems are approached and executed.  They have a desire to make a bigger impact on the world; a drive to turn things up side down.  They tend to be driven by both new ideas and the evolution of older ideas. Entrepreneurs can be business owners but they tend to move on once their vision has been realized.

One key difference between a business owner and an entrepreneur is the act of putting together something that can run without the founder. They build systems to make sure the project runs smoothly. They build something bigger than themselves and a few employees.

I recently heard someone say “Entrepreneurs tend to work on the company while business owners tend to work in the company.”  I thought that was a good summary.

It’s not that either of these is right or wrong, they’re just different, that’s all. The thing is, you have to decide what’s right for you.  Because, based on what it is you want, you should be thinking about what steps you need to take with your business now.

Are you an entrepreneur or a business owner? Tell us in the comments below!

Nicole Giordano

Nicole is the founder of StartUp FASHION, an online resource and community supporting for independent designers around the world with building their businesses. A deep love for the craft of fashion paired with an adamant belief that success is defined by the individual, led her to found StartUp FASHION, where she helps independent designers and makers screw the traditional fashion business rules, create their own paths, and build businesses they truly love. More than anything else, she’s in the business of encouragement and works every day to remind makers and designers that they have something special to offer the world and that they can, in fact, do this thing!