Knowing whether you are more comfortable as an enterpriser or an entrepreneur is key to deciding the best direction for you to take when buying time into your business.
Do you know the difference?
I don’t want to be too stereotypical, because most business owners have a mix of both enterpriser and entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur tends to be focused on the big picture – looking for the next opportunity then assessing the risks and returns before they create the next project. They keep the vision alive, whilst adapting and responding to client demands and market changes. They are less interested in finishing and the fine detail with little patience for repetitive tasks but they do like control, so they learn how to delegate and release control to those better suited to a task.
An enterpriser is also driven, but more likely to be project related or more specific outcomes. A definite finisher they are motivated by milestone achievement and making a difference each day. They respond well to team work and collaboration, bringing creative thinking to problem solving to the party. Their key skills are usually organisation skills and determination to finish.
In your small business – which are you?
I’m an entrepreneurial enterpriser – Whilst I do keep an eye on the market, and leaving my ‘safe’ corporate role and career was a definite calculated risk, I do like to chunk things down and plan. My skill is in creative problem solving and collaboration. Bringing the best out of the resources available.
My partner however is an enterprising entrepreneur – He’s much happier with risk, calculated risk, he always does his homework. And he’s much happier to go ‘out there’ with almost done to test the market. He does do detail when he absolutely has to (usually in the viability stage) but he is much happier creating and assessing the next thing. He’s learning how to collaborate and delegate!
Knowing which of these categories you (mostly) fit into, is key to understanding how you need to grow your business.
When it’s time to step out of the ‘doing everything yourself’ phase, you need to understand the skill set you have, the skill set you need and what the gap is. Bringing help into your business should generate time for you operate in your zone of genius, wherever that is.
Quick Takeaway
Why not take 5 minutes out of your day to direct your thinking to you own strengths and challenges. If you could buy some time into your business right now what challenge would they overcome for you?
