Entrepreneur and businessman are two terms widely used daily in the business world and, although they seem to be the same and often used interchangeably, they are not. In fact, we could say that one is the evolution of the other. And is that the entrepreneur is one who has a business idea in his head and has to fight against the wind and tide to turn it into a successful business and the businessman is a person more experienced and with a high degree of responsibility as a team leader. But would you know how to distinguish between them? In the following points we tell you the 5 key differences between entrepreneur and a businessman.
1- Attitude and objective
One of the differences between an entrepreneur and a businessman is their attitude. An entrepreneur focuses all his efforts on working to make his project successful, and doesn´t care about the hours he has to devote to develop a business idea, because of his enthusiasm. You could say that an entrepreneur gets carried away and his motivation is the conviction for the product or service he wants to create.On the other hand, a businessman aims to develop an increasingly stronger successful business. As a result, their attitude is focused on developing growth and expansion strategies, as well as on making decisions that continue to improve the company’s profitability.
2- Team and Work
Likewise, an entrepreneur tends to be on his own in the face of danger, he carries out tasks alone and assumes the responsibility of both errors and successes. Although you can always find support from other entrepreneurs, the difference between the way an entrepreneur and the businessman work is that the former does not have a large support structure at his side. In any case, he has the help of a small group of likeminded people who have bet on his idea and try to develop it together. On the contrary, a businessman coordinates and manages teams of professionals – bigger or smaller depending on the size of the company. As a result, the employer must establish functions, mark objectives and delegate responsibilities.
3- Location and Workstation
Another of the differences between an entrepreneur and a businessman is that the first, in most cases, does not have a fixed location for his the company and is a nomad of business, while the second has facilities where he can go to carry out his daily activities.The shared work models such as Coworking or Hot desk are the preferred options by entrepreneurs to start working on his business idea. However, a businessman needs wider spaces that combine areas of private offices with common and open areas to be able to promote relationships and team working between employees.In Lexington we have both types of work models to meet the needs of the both profiles. Offices, personalized corporate headquarters, shared workspaces in business centres in Madrid and Barcelona to facilitate both entrepreneurs and businessmen the most productive workspace
The shared work models such as Coworking or Hot desk are the preferred options by entrepreneurs to start working on his business idea
4- Skill and experience
Following the main differences between these two profiles, the entrepreneur is characterized by having the ability to overcome any negative results and find quick solutions. He has the ability to readapt his work because it is based on obtaining an idea in which he firmly believes.
However, unlike entrepreneurs, businessmen have years of experience working in business and, therefore, design their strategies so that they can anticipate problems. Experience is always a good thing!
5- Action vs Reaction
Within the differences between entrepreneurs and businessmen, day-to-day mechanics are also important. The entrepreneur does everything in his project: Idea, design, execution and evaluation. On the other hand, a businessman is focused on controlling that all the machines parts run smoothly and has the task of representing the company in the major events. Their view and thoughts are always on market fluctuations and how the external environment is changing to be able to adapt the company to it.Therefore, the entrepreneur is characterized by constantly executing actions in order to grow his business idea, while a businessman always goes further to see what actions will affect the company to be able to always react in time.No obstante, y pese a las diferencias que existen entre emprendedor y empresario, ambos se necesitan. Y es que el emprendedor es pieza clave para lanzar una idea y convertirla en viable, mientras que el empresario es fundamental para hacer crecer un negocio una vez haya calado en el mercado.However, despite the differences between entrepreneurs and businessmen, both are needed. Because the entrepreneur is a key player in launching an idea and make it viable, while a businessman is fundamental to the growth a business once you have made it into the market.
Skills that every entrepreneur must have
What is clear is that, regardless of your profile, you definitely need to develop your entrepreneurial skills. There are more similarities between entrepreneurs and businessmen than we think, and all are indispensable for any type of project to be successful. What are they?
Empathy
Beyond being a practically obligatory human quality, empathy is the way that allows us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. Without it, we wouldn’t know how to identify the needs of our clients and, much less, we couldn’t lead teams efficiently.
Asking for help
Knowing how to ask for help and delegate is essential for any project to not stagnate or ruin. Asking for help doesn’t make us less capable, but rather more aware and committed to our work.
Persistence
We already know that life has its ups and downs, and of course, in business too. It’s precisely businessmen and entrepreneurs who have to face the most bumps. Having the ability to persist when everything goes wrong is the key to ensuring the success of your venture.
Honesty
Make no mistake, avoiding lies doesn’t make you honest. Honesty begins to exist when we practice it with ourselves. Therefore, admitting the mistakes, the weaknesses we have, as well as knowing our limits is essential to progress with our projects.