I have been wondering for years now, what exactly is an entrepreneur. On one side, you have those that give you that label simply because you own your own business. On the other side you hear that word when names like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Oprah, etc. are mentioned.
So what is an entrepreneur then? Thats a huge word.
In his book, Entrepreneurial LEAP, Gino Wickman describes and Entrepreneur as “someone who sees a need or an opportunity and takes the risk to start a business to fulfill or remedy that need or opportunity by creating something or improving upon an existing product or service.”
He goes on to say that someone who “…works as a freelancer or an independent contractor is a sole proprietor, or has a side hustle is not an entrepreneur.”
“To qualify, they have to rapidly grow their companies from scratch or take over a family business and make truly significant changes.”
Mr. Wickman believes there is a difference between being self-employed and being a true entrepreneur.
To be honest, I’m going to need to sit on this one a bit before I decide if I agree with what he is saying or not.
I’m curious…what is your definition of an entrepreneur? Do you agree with Mr. Wickman’s definition?