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Are you an Entrepreneur?

There is a lot of discussion these days about what defines a true entrepreneur and whether financial success is a pre-requisite of being an entrepreneur. Well, rather than argue moot points, let’s look at this from a practical, self evaluation perspective and see what is revealed. Below I compare and contrast being a freelancer with being an entrepreneur – I can’t wait to read your comments:

  1. A freelancer is about the work. An entrepreneur is about the business…
  2. A freelancer is a doer. A freelancer knows the tactics. An entrepreneur is a negotiator, a visionary and a thinker. An entrepreneur builds strategy and is constantly testing it.
  3. A freelancer thinks the work is the business. An enterpreneur knows the business supports the work.
  4. A freelancer is disinterested in ‘business controls and necessities’  – including thinking, budgets, invoices, business plans etc. which all get in the way of the ‘real’ work. An entrepreneur understands that without those ‘business controls and necessities’, it is simply not a business – it’s a job.
  5. A freelancer might want to grow a Client base. An entrepreneur knows a business either grows or decays, and is constantly looking for ways to keep the growth managed and within reasonable risk parameters.
  6. A freelancer lives in the now with an eye to long term Client relationships that might afford some security. An entreprenuer is looking to a vision of the business, now is a reflection of what the business will be.
  7. A freelancer often doesn’t invest in his or her own equipment, training, or help. Many freelancers don’t delegate low-level skills or tasks that they don’t do well, because they think in terms of cost rather than investment and best use of time and resources. An entrepreneur knows that time is money, invests in future development and the business vision. An entrepreneur will pay for skills that he or she doesn’t have knowing that it is money well spent on quality and commitment.
  8. A freelancer works from day to day. An entrepreneur has a business plan.