What is an Entrepreneur?

by Ben Yoskovitz on November 15th, 2006

Ask 10 people, “What is an entrepreneur?” and you’ll get 11 answers or more (somebody always gives you more than one answer!)

I asked more than 10 people, but quite a few didn’t respond (for shame! for shame!) Luckily, others did, and the answers are quite interesting and diverse.

Lena West, CEO of xynoMedia and fellow b5 blogger at Pimp Your Work says:

My definition of an entrepreneur might be different than most. Many people see an entrepreneur and a business owner as one and the same. In my mind, an entrepreneur is someone who owns (or has owned) more than one business and earns her/his living from the income of multiple businesses. For example, Donald Trump, he’s an entrepreneur. Bob of Bob’s Bait & Tackle Shop down the street…well, he’s a business owner. I don’t say this in a disparaging way mind you. The word entrepreneur has always said ‘multiple businesses’ in my mind. The word speaks to the spirit of a person - almost like the word pioneer does - and not just to their job function.

Bill Baren at Bill Baren Coaching says:

I believe that the world is moving towards everyone, and I do mean everyone, being an entrepreneur. Imagine every single adult on this planet creating and contributing to this world based on their own rules, their own culture and their own desires. An entrepreneur is someone who is generating their livelihood through their own creative, physical and/or intellectual power. Eliminate all fears, emotional blocks and societal conditioning and everyone automatically has a desire to be an entrepreneur on some level. This may sound idealistic and IT’S TRUE.

Tony Clark from Success From the Nest and the newly-launched podcast, The Creative Venture told me:

An entrepreneur is someone who puts the pursuit of a dream or idea above his or her own insecurities, fears, and doubts. Simply someone who made the decision to count and contribute, and then began taking the exciting but difficult steps to move forward.

Where most folks say “I wish…” an entrepreneur says “I will…”

Jim Estill, CEO of SYNNEX and active blogger sent me this answer:

To me an entrepreneur is someone who is willing to forgo the security of a regular job and paycheck in return for owning a business and reaping the profits from it. In a sense, it is like having a profit sharing plan where all the profits and all the losses go to the individual.

Kelly at Tax Girl says:

I think an entrepreneur is someone with a lot of guts, who looks at the status quo and thinks “I can do it better.”

Peter Shankman, CEO of AirTroductions says an entrepreneur is:

A dreamer who’s able to put his dreams into actuality.

Ted Demopoulos, author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting echoes Jim Estill’s thoughts:

An entrepreneur is someone who happily assumes personal risk for future financial gain and freedom.

Easton Ellsworth, from Know More Media says:

An entrepreneur is a person who is deaf to the words, “It can’t be done.”

Entrepreneurs have to start businesses. That much is clear. And we’re seeing some common threads of risk-taking, passion, a “don’t quit” attitude, etc.

Mike Sansone from ConverStations snuck in a late submission:

An entrepreneur is one who recognizes a business opportunity. Whether the business solution solves a customer problem that is caused by desperation or inspiration, the entrepreneur fills the void. An entrepreneur creates solutions, revenue and jobs.

Shawn Hessigner over at bootstrapme.com was even later than Mike, but Shawn’s answer was a great one:

I would today define an entrepreneur as the individual responsible for starting a business venture by any means necessary. No funding is needed since capital is only one part of the equation. But knowledge is paramount in the creation of value. To paraphrase bootstrap guru Greg Gianforte, entrepreneurs make money, they don’t spend it. (That’s my wife’s job!)

Denise Aday at The Effective VA wrote:

Entrepreneurs are fiercely independent individuals, driven always to find new or improved ways of doing and being. They see obstacles as challenges, and believe – maybe only subconsciously – that they can defy the odds. They are people that just have to walk their own paths sooner or later.

There are a lot of elements to being an entrepreneur, and that’s the heart of entrepreneurship overall. Being an entrepreneur isn’t about fitting one specific mold. Entrepreneurship belongs to everyone that wants to play a part.

In my mind, the crux of being an entrepreneur is creating something. Entrepreneurs are creators. We build things from nothing, whether they’re products, services or what have you. How many entrepreneurs refer to their businesses as, “their babies”? Talk about the ultimate in creation…

So what do YOU think?