What is the Difference Between an Entrepreneur and a Business Owner?
And Why They Are Very Different
If you are an entrepreneur, then you have heard the terms “Business Owner” and “Entrepreneur” used interchangeably. But are they really the same thing? Well, not exactly.
There is a difference between the two roles. An entrepreneur is someone who starts up a business, and a business owner is someone who has started up a business.
In this article, we will be discussing this difference in detail so that you can know what it means to be an entrepreneur.
What is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is someone who is the founder of an organization or venture and plays a major role in its development.
They can start up their own business from scratch or by taking over an existing one. They plan out how their business will function and develop it to its fullest potential.
They also take the risks involved in starting up a new venture or expanding an existing one.
An entrepreneur is someone who thinks big, has leadership qualities, takes charge of everything and pushes for innovation and change in his/her company so that it can reach new heights of success and growth.
Being an entrepreneur requires you to have many skills such as leadership, risk-taking ability, creative thinking, problem-solving skills, good communication skills, ability to inspire others and so on.
So if you want to be an entrepreneur, then you need to have all these qualities.
What is a Business Owner?
A business owner is someone who has started up a business from scratch or taken over an existing one and now manages it.
He/she may not necessarily be the founder of the business but he/she is responsible for its overall functioning.
The owner of a business takes care of all the operational aspects of his/her venture such as managing finances, setting goals and targets, hiring employees, supervising operations and making decisions regarding its future growth.
He/she also decide on what products or services his/her company will offer and how it will differentiate itself from its competitors in order to stand out in the market.
The owner may also act as a mentor or coach for his/her employees so that they can perform better at their jobs.
Being a business owner requires you to have good leadership skills, financial management abilities, people management skills and excellent managerial capabilities so that you can manage your team efficiently and ensure that they deliver on time with high-quality work.
So as you can see there is a difference between being an entrepreneur and a business owner. The former is the one who starts up a business while the latter is the one who manages it.
What are the Similarities Between an Entrepreneur and a Business Owner?
Even though there is a difference between being an entrepreneur and a business owner, there are some similarities between them as well.
Entrepreneurship vs Business Ownership: The Differences in a Nutshell
Now that you know what it means to be an entrepreneur and a business owner, let’s take a look at the differences between these two roles in detail.
Let’s start with the similarities first:
- Both are the founders of their respective ventures.
- Both have the same goals and objectives for their businesses.
- Both take risks in starting up a new venture or expanding an existing one.
Now let’s look at the differences between being an entrepreneur and a business owner:
- An entrepreneur is someone who starts up a business, while a business owner is someone who manages it.
- Being an entrepreneur requires you to have leadership skills, creative thinking abilities, risk-taking ability and so on. Being a business owner requires you to have good leadership skills, financial management abilities, people management skills and excellent managerial capabilities.
- Being an entrepreneur is riskier than being a business owner because entrepreneurs take the risks involved in starting up a new venture or expanding an existing one. A business owner does not necessarily take these risks as he/she can choose to work for another company instead of starting his/her own. However, if the owner decides to start his/her own venture then he/she will also face the same risks as an entrepreneur does.
- Entrepreneurs are responsible for everything that happens in their ventures such as setting goals and targets, hiring employees and supervising operations. On the other hand, business owners delegate many of these responsibilities to their employees and just focus on setting goals and targets for them as well as deciding on what products or services their companies will offer and how they will differentiate themselves from their competitors in order to stand out in the market. This means that they have fewer responsibilities than entrepreneurs.
- Business owners earn money through salary or profit-sharing while entrepreneurs earn their income through dividends or sales.
In summary, if you want to start up your own business then you need to be an entrepreneur. If you want to manage an existing business then you need to be a business owner. But there is no harm in being both an entrepreneur and a business owner as well. So, if you are an entrepreneur and a business owner then congratulations! You are a true-blue entrepreneur!
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces, and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
