An entrepreneur takes ideas and turns them into reality. But no two entrepreneurs are the same and the way ideas comes into fruition differ vastly from entrepreneur to entrepreneur. This tends to change depending on the individuals background, sector, skills and personality. So what type of entrepreneur are you?
1. The Innovator
Steve Jobs, Google’s Larry Page and Bill Gates are all examples of Innovators. Innovators are entrepreneurs who come up with entirely new ideas and transform them into viable businesses. Innovators have the ability to change minds and influence new behaviours. They tend to obsess over things and find deep motivation in the idea itself. Innovators have the ability to market their products by creating unique selling points which make their product or service stand out from the crowd. In fact, they succeed in creating entirely new crowds in support of their idea. Advantages of being an Innovator are that you create the rules and face minimal competition (initially, at least). The disadvantage of being an Innovator is that your idea often requires big capital to get going and the timeframe to success is longer.
2. The Hustler
Hustlers are hard workers and are ready to get their hands dirty. They start small with the intention of getting bigger in time, as they grow and can manage the demand. Hustlers are highly motivated by the dream which is driving the business. They favour risk over short term comfort. An example of this type of entrepreneur is Mark Cuban who started a small business selling garbage bags and newspapers and which later morphed into the internet sensation Yahoo! Advantages associated with being a Hustler are that you tend to have a thick skin and don’t get knocked down easily, seeing rejection as confirmation that you are headed in the right direction. Disadvantages of being a Hustler is that you are prone to burn out and tend to wear out your colleagues who don’t have the same bandwidth as you.
3. The Imitator
Imitators know a good idea when they see it. They copy an existing idea and improve on it, taking it to the next level. Imitators are part Innovator and part Hustler in that they don’t stick to the terms others have set, and they have the self-confidence to make things happen their way. The advantage of being an Imitator is that refining an idea is a lot less stressful than creating one from scratch because you have an existing bench mark for your success. The disadvantage of being an Imitator is that your idea will always be compared to the original and you may always feel like you are playing catch-up.
4. The Researcher
Researchers have a great idea but don’t act on it right away. They take their time, gather more info on it and analyse it from all angles. They feel it’s so important that the business has a high chance of success before they put the hard money and work in. They also rely strongly on data over intuition. The advantage of being a Researcher is that you understand multiple variables and will be prepared for various scenarios if and when they transpire. The disadvantage is that your business will take time to grow and you are risk averse so could possibly killing a good idea prematurely.
5. The Buyer
These entrepreneurs have large capital reserves and specialize in recognising a business with big potential and then buying it. The advantage of being a Buyer is that by buying an established operation, your risk is largely reduced. You don’t need to worry about innovating and can just focus on adding value to the market already established. The disadvantage is that the business will be expensive and the reality of things may not be quite what was anticipated.
6. The Conservative
The Conservative entrepreneur lives and dies on the principal that resources are limited and caution is key. This type of entrepreneur is related to the Researcher where there is often more thinking than doing. The advantage of being this type of entrepreneur is that you will be unlikely to put yourself in risky situations, but the disadvantage is that growth will be slow.
The bottom line
The appetite for entrepreneurship directly links with your backstory, personality and skill set. Luckily all types of entrepreneurs find unique ways to slice the proverbial pie. Sometimes different types of entrepreneurs join together in one business. This partnership can really balance out risk profiles and help business innovators challenge themselves in unique ways which can ultimately benefit a business (and the entrepreneurs at the helm) in the long term.
