People often confuse the terms business and entrepreneurship. Considering they both refer to a business entity, they are assumed to be one and the same. However, they are completely different. Let’s look at how you can differentiate between a business and an entrepreneurship.
Ideas
The typical businessman works on unoriginal ideas and turns them into new businesses. They can also enter existing business through acquisitions or by franchising an existing brand. The priority is to opt for something that is profitable regardless of whether the idea is old or borrowed from someone.
On the other hand, an entrepreneur is quite the opposite. They are the pioneers of a particular product and have come up with the idea on their own. The investment is greater, as there is a chance that the idea may not work. In that case, the time, effort and resources invested go down the drain. Hence the entrepreneur establishes a startup unlike a businessman who starts with a business.
Goals
A businessman works for common goals, including maximizing profits and eliminating competition. The goals may differ depending on the market they are operating in. The goals are more of a materialistic nature and all decisions they take are based on achieving those goals. The goals set by an entrepreneur are quite different. They wish to bring about change through innovation and creativity. Their purpose is to achieve their goals whilst making a difference.
Risks
Businessman work with numbers, hence all decisions are based on calculations and assessments. They wish to eliminate any risk to their business whatsoever, sometimes to their own detriement. Entrepreneurs are great risk takers, considering the fact that they invest in original ideas. They do not limit themselves to a certain goal. They are unrealistic in nature and risk so much more than just money. Keeping in mind they only invest resources in what interests them, they will do whatever is necessary to achieve the goals they set.
Employee Relation
For a businessman, the human resource is a means of boosting profits. Employees are hired based on their ability to influence the bottom-line. An entrepreneur is a leader more humane in his/her approach. Rather than treating employees like machines, they try to find the right people for the job. The growth of the business is linked to employee growth, not the other way around.
Time Management
Time management is vital for any businessman keeping in mind that it affects productivity. Whereas entrepreneurs take their time to ensure the task is handled properly. The goal is to create something of worth and rewarding.
Dealing with Clients or Customers
A business treats its customers as nothing but a source of income and sales. There is no reason or willingness to go the extra mile unless there is a genuine chance it will boost the bottom-line. Entrepreneurs usually go out of their way to satisfy their customers. They not only ensure that the product offering is topnotch, but pay special attention to customer service.
Defining Success
For a business, the barometers for success are predefined. The only way to do so is by satisfying the stakeholders of the business so that they retain or increase their investment. The definition for success varies from business to business.
There is much more to the world than earning profits. That’s what an entrepreneur understands strives for. The primary goal is to overcome obstacles and accomplish what they set out to achieve. Only when they reach their goals do they consider their endeavor to be a success.
Dealing with Competitors
Getting competition out of the way to create a monopoly is what every businessman aims for to some extent. It depends entirely on their principles and objectives. They may use ethical or unorthodox methods to eliminate any threat to their sovereignty.
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, strive to improve and innovate. They want to take their product offering to a level where they can conquer the competition. The emphasis is on using their intelligence and ideas to overcome the challenges in the market rather than using nefarious methods.
These are some factors based on which you can differentiate between a business and an entrepreneurship. Now that you have a clear idea, you will be able to distinguish between the two.
PolyMth - Product Leadership 