Entrepreneur VS Businessman

Assalamualaikum! We meet again! So today we are going to talk about the differences between an entrepreneur and a businessman. What's the difference? Well there are many! Without further ado, let's dive into the differences, shall we? 

Most people might think that an entrepreneur and a businessman is more likely the same person. Well, if you think they are the same person, you are wrong! For your information, not all business people are entrepreneurs, but all entrepreneurs are business people [4]. Before I explain more about the differences of both of them, let's watch this video to get a glimpse of this subtopic.

Now that you have watched the video, I hope that you have gained insights of the contrasts between an entrepreneur and a businessman. Now, let me elaborate more on the differences. The characteristics that differ an entrepreneur and a businessman include time, nature of job, decision making, effort, risk taker and goal (Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan, 2013). 

1. Time

According to Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan (2013), "A businessman only spends time buying and selling products. However, an entrepreneur spends unlimited time in studying how to satisfy clients' needs and wants and always comes out with new ideas on ways to improve his products,". In my own understanding, a businessman spends time to buy products to sell them to gain profit, simply to gain profit. But, an entrepreneur has a long vision which does not only want to gain profit, but mostly want to satisfy people's needs and wants, therefore an entrepreneur spends much time to come up with ideas to improve his products and to create new products, for the fulfillment of people's satisfaction. 

2. Nature of Job

Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan (2013) quoted, "A small businessman faces competition as an ordinary challenge which makes him rigid in adapting to changes. For an entrepreneur, the competitive market is a challenge that needs to be thoroughly assessed in order to survive in an industry. Therefore, an entrepreneur is always flexible in changing and refining his products,". Easily said, a businessman faces competition lightly because he thinks it as a basic challenge, nothing special about it. But, on the other hand, an entrepreneur sees the challenge as not a basic one, but as a real deal that needs a thorough assessment for surviving in an industry.

3. Decision Making

According to Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan (2013), they quoted, "A small businessman normally follows the decision made by others and invests only in tested and proven markets. Therefore, he has a low level of commitment on the development of new products or services, and only sells existing and available products in the market. An entrepreneur makes his own decisions, and uses his creativity in producing and creating innovative products and services that can penetrate a market which has not been tested before,". Based on my understanding regarding this particular characteristic, a small businessman has no rigid principle. He follows whatever the people above him say and he also sell things that are obvious proven markets, products that are proven to be in the market, accepted by people. That is why a businessman tend to sell only things that are already in the market, rather than wanting to create new products. On the contrary, an entrepreneur is independent and has his own principle. He does not follow anyone's decision. He follows his own decision and also uses his creativity to produce and creating innovative products and services that he thinks can get through a market which has not been caught up with yet, not mainstream markets. 

4. Effort

A small businessman is not drawn to transformations and technological breakthroughs, but an entrepreneur will always keep himself abreast along with current, as well as future technological developments in order to further increases in creativity and also, productivity (Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan, 2013). This shows that a business does not give as much effort as an entrepreneur does in conducting a business. Yes, a businessman has effort. But, an entrepreneur gives more and more effort on doing a business and follow the changes, trends and technological breakthroughs in order to be acknowledged of new technologies and gadgets, so that they will be improvement intermediates to improve a business. An entrepreneur does not find opportunities, he sees opportunities because he believes that there is an opportunity in everything and an entrepreneur does not seek chances, he create chances. All in all, it takes passion to develop effort and effort is needed to gain success. 

5. Risk Taker

Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan (2013) quoted, "An entrepreneur is an individual who takes calculated or moderate risks to start and operate a business by calculating the costs and benefits in any decisions that he needs to make. A small businessman buys products available in the existing market at a lower price and sells it at a higher price. Therefore, the small businessman is usually a low risk taker compared to an entrepreneur as his main motive is only to earn profits,". Basically, anyone who ventures himself/herself in business world are indulging in a swamp of risks. In life, if you are not taking any risk, you are not living in excitement. For business people, they take risks, but not as much as entrepreneurs do, because entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks because they do not just seek for profits. They do business because of love and passion. It is said, "That and later challenges taught me that it is important to try things that might not work, and then improvise solutions along the way," [m]

6. Goal

According to Aman Shah & Soon Teik Lan (2013), "A small businessman engages in business activities to gain profits so that he will be able to support and earn a living. Meanwhile, an entrepreneur starts the venture and commits on the expansion of the venture in order to fulfill personal goals and attain self-accomplishment. A small businessman always struggles to obtain profits while an entrepreneur is more concerned with success and personal satisfaction rather than profits,". Simply said, entrepreneurs indulge themselves in business solely for self-satisfaction, to fulfill their passion and to taste success from their effort, whereas business people do business for profit.

Reference:

Aman Shah, S.H. & Soon Teik Lan, C. (2013). Entrepreneurship. Selangor, MY: Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.[4]

Branson, R. (n.d.). Richard Branson on Taking Risks. Entrepreneur. Retrieved August 26, 2015 fromhttp://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226942 [m]

Insurance Institute of India [iimtnew]. (2014, December 11). Difference between entrepreneur and business man. Retrieved August 26, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwNv_K059qY [n]