The Entrepreneurial Business Difference

The dictionary defines an entrepreneur as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. That is certainly a valid definition, but may not be specific enough, particularly if you’re thinking about becoming one. The distinction is that there is a wide range of entrepreneurial effort, and anyone considering going out on their own should understand the difference.

Based on the dictionary, anyone who is self employed is by definition an entrepreneur. The guy who owns the corner bakery, the woman who owns the clothing store and the friendly couple who run the small grocery down the block could all be considered entrepreneurs. Likewise for any professional who sets up a practice and starts serving clients. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, and professional engineers, among others, would fall into this category of entrepreneur. All of these entrepreneurs could also be called small business people, because that’s what they are-anything with less than 500 employees or under $ 50 million in sales is considered a small business.

But there’s another kind of entrepreneur as well. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Donald Trump are also entrepreneurs, but with a huge difference-they are among the wealthiest people on the planet. Even though they have created massive wealth for themselves, they started out just like the small business people we talked about earlier. So how does one go from owning a small business that grosses a couple of million dollars a year-or less-to becoming a multi-billionaire?

The answers are relatively simple-desire, and leverage. To become wealthy to the level of Gates, Buffet, or Trump, you first have to want it-badly. Massive success requires massive commitment. And this is commitment well beyond simply saying that you’d like to be rich. It requires a passion that burns in your soul to be the best you can be. These 3 very successful men no doubt enjoy their wealth, but that’s not what drove them. The taste of success was their magical elixir.

So desire is the fuel, and leverage is the engine. Without leverage, you’ll spend your life trading time for dollars. If you have to be in the store everyday yourself to sell merchandise, it’ll be hard to grow your business. If there’s no money coming in unless you’re seeing clients or patients, your practice will sooner or later max out.

If you’re already passionately committed to success, figure out how to leverage your efforts and make more money while spending less time. And if you’re not passionately committed to succeeding, to quote John Irving, “get obsessed, and stay obsessed.”