You want to be independent/self employed, but what type of entrepreneur do you want to be? Your personality and skill-set will play into where you fit in.
Questions to consider
- What types of entrepreneurship interest you?
- Are you willing to change and develop into a new and better person?
- Are you going to do whatever it takes, or do you need to quit working at 5pm?
- Can you get uncomfortable, by surrounding yourself with more successful people thatn yourself?
- What is your “WHY” for becoming an entrepreneur?
- Do you want to do it all yourself, or have a team to spread out the load?
- Do you think big or small?
There are a lot more questions to be considered and soul searching to be done, in order to give yourself enough reason to start making the transition to entrepreneurship. Let’s see where you fit in.
Selflessness
The social entrepreneur is certainly the most selfless and caring type of entrepreneur. This is why I mention them first. A social entrepreneur’s main focus and reason for business, is to help others. They see a need in society, then create a business model designed to solve or significantly impact the issue for the better. They expand by recruiting others to help with the cause.
Of the types of entrepreneurship, I would say this has the most “laser focused” mission. This mission usually doesn’t change as the business grows. The mission/goal stays the same during the life of the business.
Other types of entrepreneurship can have a humanitarian twist to it, but it’s not the main mission of their business. For instance, I was in a network marketing company that was focused on taking weight of the world. It really worked well, because within a couple months, I was back to my high school weight! I helped a LOT of people get healthy over the 6 years I promoted it.
This company also had a humanitarian twist. Every time someone lost 10 pounds (documented video proof), 30 meals of our products was donated to kids who were overweight or obese. The child obesity rate is near 50%! That is not acceptable! This is the first time in history that our kids have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This needs to change.
To Profit – Or Not To Profit
That little twist for obese kids was a fantastic thing, but the company was focused on profits from paying customers of the product. That’s a “social twist”, not social entrepreneurship at it’s core.
One other example of a social entrepreneur, is Blake Mycoskie. He’s the founder of TOMS. Most people today know about his company and it’s mission. After a visit to Argentina, and learning that many kids are getting sick or sustaining injury because they have no shoes to wear.
He started TOMS to help fix this. The company donates a pair of shoes to the cause, for every pair sold. So his business plan is laid out so that the total cost of producing two pair of shoes, is the consumer purchase price for one pair. The consumer understands the cause and is willing to pay the price knowing they just put a pair on a child who didn’t have any.
Not To Be Confused With Social Media
Another one of the types of entrepreneurship is the Social Media Entrepreneur. It may be just one word separating the Social Entrepreneur from the Social Media Entrepreneur, but there’s no comparison in the mission.
Generally speaking, the social media entrepreneur is definitely “for profit”. Their focus marketing tactic for selling/promoting their product or service is through social media platforms such as:
- Pintrest
- YouTube
- Tumbler
- Snapchat
- Linked in
The social media entrepreneur ultimately makes money by becoming popular. Marketing via social media allows for people to rapidly spread the word about what you’re doing. These people are spreading the news directly to people who are interested in what your’re doing. This is very targeted marketing, done by people who aren’t paid to do it.
These Social Media Entrepreneurs focus on presenting their lifestyle accomplishments. You’ve seen the guy driving around in his Lambo and talking about how great and free he is. Because most people are struggling from day to day, the thought of being free with a nice car, is an intriguing message they want to learn more about. Then they tell their friends about it.
Ok, to be fair, many of these marketers provide real value, like Kevin David. He’s an expert in Amazon FBA and markets his information via social media. He’s one of the valuable social media entrepreneurs that truly can help you make significant money.
However, it just seems as though there’s a lot of “wantrepreneurs” that don’t have anything of true value, but are focused on getting money as the sole goal in social media. You have to be careful to find the good ones like Kevin. You should check out his free webinar on Amazon FBA.
We also use social media, but our fist focus is providing value. If the marketplace feels we’re good for them, we’ll have some form of monetization on some of our materials to produce income. People are overall pretty smart and can see who is a trusted adviser.
The Most Important Thing
More over the types of entrepreneurship, is the fact you have interest in becoming an entrepreneur. No matter what type of entrepreneur you want to become, you’re thinking you can trust yourself more than an employer. That is an awesome realization! After all, who cares more about your well being, You or your employer?
Entrepreneurs have different traits about them that make them the type of entrepreneur they become. However, over time that can change. Entrepreneurs are constantly making adjustments in their business and within themselves, as they grow.
When I tell people how many expensive seminars I’ve attended and how many entrepreneurial books I’ve read, they get week in the knees. I’ve gotten value from every one of these and have prospered as a result. I don’t feel like it was chore. I only went because I wanted to, and knew it would benefit me. Nobody made me do it (nobody could, lol).
I have taken on many different types of opportunities, because of learning the things I did. Even though a couple didn’t produce returns like I’d hoped, I got a huge return in experience. Besides that, the networking at events can lead to building incredible contacts with brilliant, successful entrepreneurs.
Things Change
When I first thought of becoming an entrepreneur, one of my traits was that “I can do it all”. This isn’t a good mindset to have if you want to be a big thinker and have a big business. To this day, I still fight the urge to do everything myself.
I started out by investing in a single family home to fix up and resell. This was in the early 90’s when few people did this. I knew nothing about rehabbing a home, but I was determined to do it all myself. Well, I made money on my very first deal, so I continued on doing business “solo”. I became an expert through trial and error, because I did everything.
This went on for years and I finally started hiring out roofing and flooring installs. I started to realize how much more I could get done by spreading out the workload to more people. The other thing I noticed was that I enjoyed not doing tasks that I didn’t like doing anyway. Oh, and they did a better job and did it quicker than I could. They were specialist, and I was a generalist.
Full Streamline Ahead
Dealing with multiple contractors is like dealing with employees. The management of people and getting quality work from them in a timely manner is not easy. However, it’s easier than doing all the work yourself!
So clearly, learning that having a team is better than being alone and going slow. The reality is, that one person can only be great at a few things, so the mindset of thinking that “you have to do it all to have it done right” is ignorant thinking. You have to be a great manager in order to get the result you want.
Another reason I went solo was that I’m an introvert. I didn’t want to deal with others. If you’re that way also, get counseling, lol. Kidding of course, but if you want to be in business, you’ll have to deal with others. Specially if you want growth. You can develop the extrovert within you.
What Comfort Zone?
Years later, this introvert got involved in network marketing! I had been introduced to a fantastic product that did great things for me, so I joined the company as an independent promoter. I went from not dealing with people to standing on a stage in front of 10,000 people talking about my story. Those are two polar opposite extremes!
The applause doesn’t make it any easier to get up there the next time, I assure you. Just knowing what you’re taking about, really calms you down once you start speaking.
I had a fairly significant team of promoters under me. I’m not claiming that I made a huge amount of money in network marketing, but I ‘ll tell you that I made a major impact in a lot of lives. This was only possible because of my team of promoters, all reaching out to people who needed help.
Thousands of lives were changed because I stepped out of my comfort zone. Then it was a chain reaction to gain the help of others who believed in the mission.
You’ll notice the word “MISSION” throughout your journey into entrepreneurship.
Types Of Entrepreneurship Perfect For You
You may be the creator/inventor type of entrepreneur. Are you always coming up with different ideas for products? Great products are invented to solve problems. Many of us think of a better way of doing something, or perhaps a better tool design when we struggle using what exists today.
I have been down this road a few times, years ago. I’ll tell you about a couple ideas I tried, but first, lets look at the mindset of this type of entrepreneurship.
This type of entrepreneur is willing to spend many hours thinking about and developing an idea, just to get to a functioning concept. No money is coming in at this point. Only money and time going out for materials to prove the concept. The entrepreneur is completely fine with this, because they have a vision of what can be. Passion and hope is what’s driving them.
Some of the entrepreneurs that show up on Shark Tank aired on CNBC fall into this category. Many of them have been developing their product for years to get it to the point of needing investor money and expertise to take it to the next level.
However, a lot of times it proves to be a very profitable product that makes a lot of money. So those couple lean years of working tirelessly with no pay, ends up paying off huge! Other times, it doesn’t prove out to be enough demand for it. This entrepreneur needs a lot of “faith”.
Product Invention Example
About 15 or so years ago, my friend Steve and I were always talking about invention ideas. One thing I can tell you is this:
“Just because you came up with a product that will solve a problem, doesn’t mean the product will be successful”.
It requires demand. Someone needs to be willing to pay for, and put your product into use. Not just someone, but in most cases, MANY someones. One product we came up with was called “Bee Safe”.
*Bee Safe*
Bee Safe was a pop can tab that would protect the user from bee stings, because it prevented bees from entering the can. Everyone has heard of people taking a drink of soda, beer, or other sweet beverage and sucking in a bee that had entered the can. This is a common occurrence. Many people are allergic to bee stings, but NOBODY wants a bee sting in the mouth!
It only took me a couple of design ideas to get the final design that performed the tasks we wanted.
- First, it had to completely stop a bee from entering the can.
- Second, it had to allow the flow rate to be very similar to not having it there.
- Third, our tab had to be more comfortable to open the can than the current tabs in use.
We tested every aspect and it was perfect. We solved two problems with the same design. Even though our design was SO much more comfortable for even the most delicate hands to open, our patent went after the aspect of keeping bees from entering the can.
Who’s your buyer
We were going after a large and narrow market at the same time. This was a replacement to the tabs being applied to every can today. That means that our buyer had to be PEPSICO, Coca-Cola Company, etc., or a major bottling company. It couldn’t be the public making a decision to buy our product. It wouldn’t be available without it being used in the production of the can. We were definitely thinking big.
Affixing it to the can permanently was a must to avoid a choking hazard. We also couldn’t infringe on other patents that did it another way. Ours was best.
—BUT—
It didn’t matter that it was a great product and best for the end user. The can companies said that the small increase in cost would make it prohibitive from their standpoint. The beverage companies felt that the bee sting issue was not enough of a concern for them to make a change. The comfort aspect of opening the can with our tab was also not worth the change to them.
There were deeper conversations and considerations, but that’s a shortened explanation of what happened. This was a while after the whole “killer bee” threat that kept hitting the news. So with that fear gone, we just were not important enough.
It came down to just a percentage of a penny in cost difference, spread over billions of cans produced, was too much money to spend on protecting the end users. They said it wouldn’t generate and “new” sales for them to offset the cost increase.
So in the end, we didn’t profit on this idea financially. We did however gain a lot of knowledge with the process of developing a a product, protecting the product, and marketing the product to our potential customer base and speaking with large corporate giants.
Other Inventions From This Type Of Entrepreneurship
A couple other ideas Steve and I worked with, was:
- An illuminated sign for the back of Tractor/Trailer rigs. The sign has pre-programmed messages that the truck driver could choose from that would help surrounding traffic. I won’t go into detail but, for instance, the truck driver could select the “THANK YOU” message when someone lets him into their lane. This avoids the trucker flashing his lights on and off. It’s also more personal.
- We flew remote control planes and I came up with a design in which a single plane could be flown with just a top wing, just a bottom wing, or both wings at the same time as a bi plane. It flew great as each plane configuration. I called it “The Three Way”. 🙂
Working With Your Hands Or Your Brains
Another one of the types of entrepreneurship, is the entrepreneur who prefers to oversee everything. They know how to delegate. This is truly the person you have to be to have serious growth in your company.
Not every entrepreneur is focused on growing their company beyond the point of paying the bills and providing some time freedom. But that isn’t this type of entrepreneur.
Think about the visionaries that started Microsoft, Dell Computer, Google, Amazon, Apple, etc. This type of entrepreneurship requires a leader who looks at the biggest picture and the potential impact their company can make on the world.
While they’re the brains that took on the task, they know that there are smarter people for various parts of the company. They seek out and hire those people. Every division has it’s own visionary leader. All of which report to the company owner/CEO (chief executive officer).
This type of entrepreneur isn’t afraid to let his leaders make decisions, as that’s exactly why he/she hired them. Not only that, but they have a board of directors in place, that consists of the very smartest people to help him/her point the company in the right direction. In order to have the very best company, you MUST have the very best TEAM making decisions.
But I Know Everything
So you can see a clear difference between the two types of entrepreneurship, in relation to company size and impact. The entrepreneur that wants to do everything so it’s done their way, can only grow the company to the extent of his/her time and skill level. The company can only make a relatively small impact on society.
Whereby the entrepreneur that can give the reins over to the correct people and then oversee the big picture, is the person who can have almost unlimited growth and a massive impact to the world.
Many Levels To The Types Of Entrepreneurship
As you can imagine, there are many different levels of success and impact withing the arena of entrepreneurship. We just covered a few examples for explanation reasons. The questions you have to ask yourself are:
- Are you becoming an entrepreneur just to be free of your boss, or are you wanting to create something big that provides a rich lifestyle for you and your family?
- Do you want to stay small and manageable to cover your expenses while you live, or do you want to create a company that provides for generation to come?
- Do you want a business that consumes your life, or one that provides for an expansive life to include philanthropy?
- Will you provide work and stability for yourself, or will you provide jobs to hundreds or thousands of hard working families?
You’ll probably fall somewhere in the middle. You do need to ask yourself those questions and more, because you have to know what you want. Your whole vision needs to include the view from 10,000 feet (so to speak).
You know how you get somewhere you want to go?
DRAW A MAP!
This is serious business. This is going to change your life. So take some time to give it serious thought. Then draw out the 10,000 foot view. That map is going to guide you to success. The very success you envisioned. You’ll convert this into a business plan later.
Your map will change as you go, and that’s OK. You’ll see more options as you move forward and continue to learn more about yourself and your company. If you already started a business and want to get to the next level, you MUST do this. You also need to start surrounding yourself with people that are further than yourself.
Who Are You Hanging Around?
As you’re designing the type of entrepreneurship you’re going to create or expand, you need to start changing who you surround yourself with. This is something we talk about all the time here at Profit Vs Wage. Why? Because it’s a vital change that must be made. This is where most “wantrepreneurs” fail. They are scared to lose existing friends.
You Are The Average Of The 5 People You Hang Around Most
Most people that think they want to grow as individuals, refuse to change who they hang around. It almost never works to surround yourself with people doing less than you are. The words and subjects of conversations can dumb you down, or lift you up, depending on who you are around. The attitude and what people want from life must align.
One of the easiest types of entrepreneurship can be “wantrepreneurship”. Why is it easy you ask? Because it’s very short lived and the difficulties you have running your business, will likely be over soon. Besides, pretty much all they do is think about doing it, but aren’t willing to change into the person who can do it.
Entrepreneurship Is Not Supposed To Be Easy
Entrepreneurship is supposed to be better. It’s better because you’re the master of your destiny. It’s better because you live life on your terms. You can steer your ship out to sea, or into safe water. So no matter what type of entrepreneurship you choose, you determine the limits of your success…….. OR the limitlessness of your success!
