There are many variants of entrepreneurs out there. But how are they defined? Well, it’s important to look at the fundamental definition first. An entrepreneur is someone who focuses on commercial opportunities that others may not have invested in yet, often risking their financial standing in the process.
While this can be a noble aim, their approach to the market may not always be admirable. As we all know, there are many hucksters, frauds, and scam artists out there, or even people looking to capitalize on a moment. For example, some variants of profiteering can be illegal. Swooping in with high-priced emergency supplies in the area of an emergency, for example, would be “entrepreneurial,” but hardly acceptable.
So, all entrepreneurs, short of committing crimes, have the chance to decide how they’ll influence the market. It’s important to remember you may have more power than you assume. Some of the largest tech companies in the world right now were once started by two guys in a shed.
This leads to a simple question – what kind of entrepreneur will you be? There’s no reason to say acting as one type is going to preclude you from the other entrepreneur types. However, understanding the various motivations available can help you define your forward path. Let’s consider that, below:
The Mission-Oriented Entrepreneur
Mission-oriented entrepreneurs are mostly driven by a desire to make a positive impact on the world around us. They understand pressing issues and create businesses, sometimes even non-profits or charities, aimed at dealing with these problems.
For example, you might have someone who puts social politics at the front of their mission, perhaps raising awareness or providing tools to women who have been victimized in domestic abuse cases. Or you might aim to create mobility aids that work for people with disabilities. Often, mission-oriented entrepreneurs have strict goals that then evolve when met. They can be some of the most inspiring stories out there.
The New Process Entrepreneur
Being tired of a standardized way of working and looking for new methods to achieve your goals is commonplace. The new process entrepreneur tends to focus on executing the strategy they believe to work as opposed to just talking about it.
Often, these individuals have experience in certain fields and believe their input could help things change. For example, GiffGaff, a mobile SIM provider, offered monthly plans untied to contracts. This was relatively unheard of when they started. A new process has been created to ensure more power and convenience to customers. Through that, they bent the market in their favor.
The Innovative Entrepreneur
Innovative entrepreneurs may focus on an invention or new optimization to improve certain workflows or habits. For example, think of the former bricklayer who came up with a simple yet very useful piece of equipment for construction site professionals, winning almost full investment opportunities from the Dragon’s Den.
But what makes an innovative entrepreneur different from the new process entrepreneur? Well, innovators tend to be focused mostly on the practical necessities and systems of a new standard. You can also think of them as technicians making good on their promise. The new process entrepreneur tends to be more focused on principles and processes cohesively, so brand-new top-down standards are understood and can shift industries. Working together, a partnership of both types can be a force tobe reckoned with.
The Wealth-Focused Entrepreneur
Some people are just in it for the money and there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, money can help fuel other ambitions, be that a mission statement, a social good, or an investment in blossoming industries. Such entrepreneurs might use Kubera to value their net worth and move forward with more information about their investments.
The wealth-focused entrepreneur rarely places all their eggs in one basket. They’re also more focused on supporting initiatives and often have a successful base or connections to draw from. There’s no reason why you can’t move into this kind of entrepreneurialism after your prior approaches have been successful. Often, wealth-focused entrepreneurs have their finger on the pulse of the market, and through their time and expertise, they help opportunities fully realize themselves.
Of course, a wealth-focused entrepreneur doesn’t have to be a big fish in a small pond. They can simply know the power of sales and understand where value lies in serving as a middleman. This kind of entrepreneur is perhaps the oldest and most tried-and-tested, going back thousands of years.
With this insight, we hope you can consider what kind of entrepreneur you’d like to be, or perhaps evolve into as time goes on.
