I am a Business Owner
Please, Don’t Ever Call Me an Entrepreneur
In Paris on 19th century Haussmann buildings, near the front door, there is engraved the name of the architect and the entrepreneur. This did not make complete sense to me until I learned that the French connotation for an entrepreneur, at the time, was actually the contractor.
I think most entrepreneurs are just that, contractors, not business owners.
I really don’t like being called an entrepreneur because of the company, for the most part, that would put me in.
Most entrepreneurs fall into 2 groups. First, there are the WANTrepreneurs. They are trying to figure things out and find their way. Most of them aren’t even working on their business full time and have no clear direction. These folks are fun to be around but for the most part will not achieve much success, let alone create a business.
The more troubling group is the GREEDpreneurs, focused on making a lot of money quickly and getting out. This is an immature approach and when the only objective is filling the founders’ pockets and getting out quickly, people get hurt.
The only group with a chance of success is the ASPIRATIONpreneur. This is the group with an audacious goal and an obscene dedication to their goal. This is the group that I most identify with.
I expect that this post might be provocative but it is not intended to be personal.
I actually started in business in the GREED group, anything for a buck, and learned that if all I wanted was money, I would inevitably have to take advantage of people. It was lucrative but wrong.
That didn’t feel right so I shifted to the WANT group and struggled there for quite some time. Trying to solve problems and help people but that didn’t get me much in terms of results. And then I found something to ASPIRE to.
A business, to me, is an enterprise that is stable and can survive and grow without the owner, for the most part, if at all. And only a small percentage of entrepreneurs eventually succeed and graduate to become business owners. I am humbled and proud to say that with the help of extraordinary people and a clear purpose I am finally an owner.
“The Broke Millionaire”